Noche Mexicana — Restaurant in New York

My boyfriend and I were craving Mexican, but since we're on a mission to try out the restaurants in my new neighborhood, we passed on Chipotle. After going through a few reviews, we decided on Noche Mexicana (it's now Noche II I guess, what a necessary name change ..).

I'm from California and have had all variations of Mexican food- Authentic, Mexicali, quick service, TexMex Southwestern, trucks, Rick Bayless, bad, good. Boyfriend and I really enjoyed our meal here at Noche. It's certainly not the best I've ever had but it's not even close to bad. It's similar to the sit down restaurants you'll find in the Bay Area, which are generally more expensive than the fast assembly line joints.

I'll agree with a few reviewers that some depth of flavor is lacking. The salsa with the chips wasn't really that spicy or have that much heat, and the refried beans didn't have enough meaty/spicy flavor. But it was good. I ordered the chicken with green mole, and that was enough for two meals. Boyfriend ordered the huevos rancheros, and the guac and pica were just want we wanted. Our meal came out to be just over $20.

We liked this place so much we came back here the following day. We ordered a shrimp burrito (not that much shrimp, but a really good burrito), and pork tamales. The pork tamales were really good. I loved the corn meal on it and teh green sauce they gave us. Okay, they do their green saquces exceptionally well. The green mole and the salsa verde were both out...

I don’t understand the bad reviews. This restaurant is phenomenal! We were walking by and just decided to go in. The restaurant is very clean and beautifully decorated. The menu is huge. I ordered the Chile relleno. I kid you not it tasted like a Mexican grandma had been making it from scratch out of the veggies and spices from her garden. The sauce was smoky and so flavorful and the pepper and cheese were cooked perfectly. We three cleaned the plate. The sour cream even tasted home made, it tasted like nothing you get in the grocery store. The guacamole was super fresh and chunky. Beware the salsa is delicious and spicy! I had one of the shrimp dishes with veggies. Cooked perfectly again, the shrimp were really big and the sauce was flavorful with a lot of different spices. It wasn’t overcooked at all. We wrapped it up with flan for dessert and it was soo good, sweet and creamy with a slightly dense consistency. The waitress was so busy trying to take care of all the tables, but she was sweet and attentive despite being really busy. She got our order completely right. I would come back here...

The problem with Mexican food and NYC is that its too expensive to run a restaurant and deliver great cheap food. Taxes are way too high. Mexican cuisine is the art of crafting delicious meals with all around cheap ingredients say compared to the food used at a steakhouse or French restaurant. Most people in NYC go to Mexican restaurants for sitting outside under fiesta lights during happy hour and cheap margaritas.

This review is based solely on a takeout experience with the beef enchiladas with red mole sauce and chicken fajitas. After a single bite of both meals there wasn't a living taste bud that craved more. Each meal was bland, unappealing and lacked any special flavor. Bland is really the best word to describe...