Long beloved on the Upper West Side, nearly as much for its
amiability as for its fresh and innovative Mexican cuisine,
Gabriela’s was well on its way to becoming an institution – when
suddenly, unceremoniously, its doors on the corner of Amsterdam
and 93rd were closed and its windows soaped.
Furthermore, a second Gabriela’s on lower Amsterdam, had closed
nearly a year before. Signs were posted, promising a new
restaurant at a new location – but at the construction site,
signs went up, only to be covered over again in plywood. Months
and months passed and it appeared that Gabriela’s would become
another one of those fabled Upper West Side memories.
Ah, but this month, at long
last, the new and improved Gabriela’s has opened on Columbus,
between 93rd and 94th – and the difference
between this Gabriela’s and the other two is akin to Charlotte
Vale returning to Boston after a season-long cruise. In the
years since the original Gabriela’s opened, Manhattan diners
have been exposed to a finer, more subtle side of Mexican
cuisine, as represented by such restaurants as Sue Torres’
Suenos, and the ever-popular Rocking Horse Cafe, as well as the
dueling Rosa Mexicanos’ – and the new Gabriela’s, now called
Gabriela’s Restaurante Mexicano, takes its cues from these
sisters. With a smashing architectural design, complete with
huge portal and outdoor seating alongside a self-contained
tequila bar, and an interior both sleek and comfortable, with
curtained alcoves, this Gabriela’s gives the impression of
having been on a Santa Fe sojourn, with a stop at Chimayo, and
Abiquiu – and rarely has a city block benefitted so from the
opening of a restaurant.
As for the menu, Fernando
Aquino has returned with many of his regional signature dishes.
A portobello mushroom, for example, baked in a crock with
spinach, corn, tomatoes, and black beans, retains the flavors of
all, while marrying them beautifully. The chips are warm and
salty, and the guacamole chunky and rich. And the salads crisp
and brightly-seasoned. In fact, everything tastes so fresh, so
clean and delicious, it feels as if you’re eating at someone’s
home: a favorite aunt, a loving grandmother, the uncle who
always loved to cook. And the entire experience reminds you
that sometimes you’d don’t realize how much you miss something
until, finally, it returns. Welcome home, Gabriela.
Best always,
Mark and Robert
