"Two Amigos", Café Condesa, New York August 2012

It was a humid afternoon in the city, and my good friend Richard and I enjoyed an afternoon outing in the West Village. After walking for what seemed like 100 blocks, we were on the lookout for a place to eat, rest our feet and dry off- as an afternoon storm with no umbrella had got the better of us. We stumbled across a Mexican gem called Café Condesa just in time, as my flip flops were soaked through!

The Mexican owners have created an inventive menu serving New York favourites for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner with a Latin American edge. The restaurant, a former cell-phone store is around seven years young, and has a space saving open faced kitchen, where you can watch how the freshly prepared ingredients come together in a flash.

Café Condesa fits in so well with the uber trendy vibe of the West Village neighbourhood. It is intimately sized with a relaxed, warming atmosphere. The owner Emir Dupeyron who was a fan of our British accents helped us through the menu. I ordered an unsweetened iced tea to drink, which is so thirst quenching. I chose the Torte de Milanesa, which is a sandwich made with breaded chicken breast on a crusty ciabatta served with tomato, onions, avocado and chile mayonnaise. The creamy, buttery texture of the Mexican avocado against the crisp breaded chicken was the perfect combination. The humble sandwich is something New Yorkers seem to get so right. This is not only due to the size, but the variety of breads and adventurous filling combinations.

Richard ate a Mexican corn on the cob which was simply grilled to bring out the natural sweetness; alongside soft steak taco’s served with avocado and zesty lime. I will always find an excuse to go back to New York and on my next visit will be returning to sample the dinner menu and wine.

The rain continued through the afternoon, and after buying an overpriced umbrella from a street corner stand, we continued walking for what seemed like another 100 blocks in order to get to the lower East side.  We found Yonah Scimmal’s Knish Bakery which was our final destination for the day. Their doors have been open for over 100 years, and after sampling a traditional cherry cheese knish followed by a well-earned cup of tea, we gave up walking another 100 blocks and me and my amigo caught the subway back up town.