Yuca Bar
Whenever anyone asks me where to go eat, I always mention Yuca Bar first. This is my favorite restaurant in NYC, hands down. I never have a bad experience here. The food is amazing, the drinks are on point, and the service is always welcoming. My brother made a surprise visit from Pennsylvania and I knew right away I wanted to take him here for LOCO TUESDAY. Yuca Bar's happy hour is amazing! It is from 1-8 on weekdays and on Tuesday it's half price tapas until 8pm. We got there a little after 2pm to beat the after work rush, and on a Tuesday, it wasn't bad at all. Walking in, I always love looking at the large scale photos on the walls. It transports you to a different part of the world. I also love how all of the colors go with the decor.
To start off our drinks, Joanna got a frozen passion fruit margarita, David got a passion fruit mojito, and I got a coconut mojito. All were very good, strong, and only $8 each!
For happy hour, all tapas are half price so of course we started with guacamole for the table. The guac was awesome; it was creamy, salty, a hint of lime, and came with corn chips & plantain chips. Next to the guac was a bowl of spicy salsa.
Now for the main attraction... El Platano Relleno! Every single time I go to Yuca Bar, I order this dish and it never disappoints. The sweet platano is cooked until it's perfectly crispy on the edges, the ropa vieja is perfectly seasoned with a hint of spice, and it is topped with delicious crema. What else do you need in this world?!
David and I both ordered the Platano Relleno and Joanna ordered the Arepa con Churrasqueso (White corn cake stuffed w/ skirt steak fricassee & melted cheese, topped w/ guac). It was sweet and salty, with crispy edges, and well seasoned steak! Look at this beauty taken with the Sony Cybershot qx10 I got Joanna for Christmas! Artistic plating right there!
Continuing with the tapas, we ordered Calamari for the table. These calamari were perfectly cooked, crispy & salty on the outside, and fluffy on the inside. Just a squeeze of lemon and I couldn't get enough!
We also ordered the Empanadas Mixtas (three crispy Latin turnovers filled W/ Chicken fricassee, seafood & beef fricassee). Beautiful presentation once again!
This is the inside of the seafood empanada.
It wouldn't be happy hour without a third round of drinks so Joanna ordered the jalapeño frozen margarita recommended by our server, and David got a Cusqueña beer.
We left feeling full, satisfied, and a little drunk. What more could you ask for at happy hour? The best part was, all of us paid about $35 each! That's a great bang for your buck at happy hour for amazing food and drinks! I couldn't go out to my favorite place without dressing up of course! Details on my outfit: Crop top from Express Blazer from H&M High waisted black jeans from Forever21 Ankle boots by White Mountain
I really, really, really hope you check out Yuca Bar! It is located on 7th street Avenue A. You will not be disappointed!