Instagram Post 7/1/2019

I recall the days when Little Spain was an area on the west side of 14th Street in Manhattan; anybody here remember Casa Moneo? Just as Times Square rose from the ashes like a phoenix (or arguably so – we won’t go there just now) there’s a shiny new Little Spain tucked away at 10 Hudson Yards in NYC whose goal is to bring the cuisine and spirit of the enchanting country to our fair city. Unlike some of the schmancier restaurants and boîtes elsewhere in the megamall, the atmosphere of Mercado Little Spain is casual, comprising three restaurants, a few retail stalls, and the Mercado which consists of 14 kiosks and three bars. Our objective on the day we visited was to poke around the kiosks.

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Often topping the Top 10 list of tapas are Patatas Bravas, classic Spanish fried potatoes, served here at Bravas kiosk with salsa brava, a mildly spicy tomato sauce, and aioli. An eponymous-t do.

This treat from Helados is Leche Merengada, made from milk, sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest, and beaten egg whites, then frozen. It’s a bit more fluid than a semifrío (more familiarly, semifreddo in Italian), almost the texture of a smoothie.

Granja reflects the tone of a Catalan café, featuring coffees, hot chocolate, light snacks and desserts like this Crema Catalana, caramelized custard infused with lemon. Like crème brûlée, it’s a dessert that comes with its own toy: cr-a-a-ck!