The Black Ant — Restaurant in New York

Dined at The Black Ant last weekend for a birthday brunch. The establishment was able to accommodate 16 people with multiple tables pushed together to form a long row. We were seated in the brightly lit patio in the back of the restaurant - so glad we got to dine out there as opposed to the darker alternative in the indoor parts of the restaurant. Really changed up the mood of the place

FOOD: For brunch, I ordered the Steak Rancheros. There were maybe 3 small pieces of steak in there - they weren't too impressive or tasty. Even though there wasn't that much food, I wasn't really feeling the dish, and gave the rest of it away to be finished. Many other people who ordered the Steak Rancheros were still left hungry, so they stepped out for a bit in search of pizza or takoyaki to supplement their meal.

The birthday girl ordered the Black Ant Burger - she was able to replace the beef patty with chicken instead, as she doesn't eat beef. The burger buns were black, but same taste as a regular bun (it was only black food coloring or something). My friend said the burger was good but nothing too special.

Another guy ordered an omelet for brunch - it was just a regular omelet, looked small and unspectacular. Our food took a really long time to arrive, but he got his meal last out of the 16 of us haha even though it prob takes the shortest amount of time to cook an omelet.

DRINKS: From the brunch drinks menu, you're able to choose from a mimosa, bloody maria, traditional margarita, and smoky jalapeno margarita. You have the option of adding flavor to each drink for $1 (flavors include cucumber, mango, passionfruit, and prickly pear). The drinks were strong & the favorite one of the table seemed to be the mango margarita.

TL;DR All in all, the food at The Black Ant was very meh imo. Waited a while for our water cups to be refilled. The drinks and dishes could've came out a bit faster. The waiters were nice, no complaints there. I liked the atmosphere of the patio section of the...

Came here looking for insects and it was a bit tame and lackluster than i wanted. I ordered their Black Ant Negroni, first thing was the glass they served the drink in. They gave me a taller glass for their drink that reach just halfway up. It looks absurd, like someone had a taste test and decided to sip it a few more times before serving it. Not the best in presentation. I actually was expecting the black ant salt to be on the rim or sprinkled on top but it's mixed in the cocktail. While the negroni itself was fine, the black ant salt didn't really work too well in the cocktail. The sharpness of the earthy flavor contrast with the bitter negroni flavor a bit more than I wanted to.

Then there was the grasshopper croquettes. I really should had known it was their appetizer and not one of the meals cause the 4 croquette balls were small. 3 out of 4 of us each ordered it and was left pretty unsatisfied. We probably should had ordered the main meal but $13 for those 4 small balls and $14 for a bowl of guac was enough to discourage us from ordering more. The croquettes were good but for a place that encourages eating insects, it was pretty tame. I wish they had deep fried the grasshoppers instead of blending it with the yucca where most of the flavor and texture of the grasshopper was lost. The grasshopper blended salsa had just the right amount of heat but it reminded me of anchos pepper salsa more than the earthiness of insects. The fried crickets/grasshopper on top was a nice touch but just reminded me of it's short comings (get it?).

Overall I guess this is what I should had expected for a fancy restaurant in St. Mark's area which really caters to young Middle Americans who moved to the village and wants to try exotic foods but can't seem to break out of their comfort zone enough to jump into...

n NYC, anything and everything can become fancy with a modern twist. Here at The Black Ant, they have successfully turned the Mexican cuisine into something more creative and upscale. And what else is great about this place? Their happy hour. So we decided to check them out during the happy hour.

Since we were there specifically for the happy hour, we sat at the outside. If you want to order from the happy hour menu, you have to be at/around bar area. We heard a lot about their Guacamole, so we decided to start off with that. And my goodness it was amazing! I had the "Holy Guacamole!!!" moment. And this is coming from not-so-fan of guacamole (me).

Everything else we ordered was fantastic, each very tasty, high quality, creative and delicious!

We also ordered a cactus fries off the regular menu, as I was curious.I have not had cactus fries before, and I heard they do a really great ones here. And, I would say it was a good call. They were pretty good, the texture and taste similar to zucchini.

After the wonderful meal and drinks, we decided to order one dessert to share. I noticed one dessert item that said "good to share" on it, so we decided to go with that. We ordered Ya Supe Lupe Sundae. I was a bit concerned when I read the "Avocado ice cream" as I am not a fan of avocado. But, they created the most delicious Guacamole I have ever tasted here, so the ice cream must also be delicious, right? the answer is YES! The ice cream was so tasty, creamy, velvety, just perfect! I can't believe it was made with avocado...

The food was amazing, service was great, we really enjoyed our dining experience here. It is now one of our favorite spot. I can't wait to go back for some more wonderful creations! Read my full review of this restaurant and food on my food blog,...