Tijuana Picnic : Delicious Mexican in the LES!

In lieu of Cinco de Mayo being tomorrow, I wanted to rave about a recent dining experience at a new Mexican restaurant in the LES. Tijuana Picnic (151 Essex St. Between Stanton and Irvington Streets. New York, NY) impressed me!  It was cute, casual, and also trendy inside. There were real picnic tables in the center of the restaurant to stick with the "picnic" theme, which was creative and fun.

The menu is geared towards sharing amongst the table so that you get to try everything, which is my favorite kind of dining!
The drink menu was a mixology type of menu with a Mexican theme. I didn't take a photo of the drink I ordered, however all the drinks that were ordered at the table were different from each other and had tons of flavor. Mine was so spicy with a chile salted rim!

Guacamole - Habanero, charred corn, cilantro, blue organic chips

To start, we had guacamole, which was delicious! It was extremely fresh, and made to order. I liked the addition of the charred corn to it, which is different than traditional guacamole that usually has tomatoes and onions in it. The corn gave it some texture and also added sweetness which offset the spiciness of the habanero peppers. Definitely a winning guacamole.

Tirado - Flat ceviche, cured snapper, cilantro-jalapeno pesto

The Tirado ceviche was fresh and spicy! It consisted of cured snapper, fresh greens, jalapeños, and cilantro-jalapeño pesto. The cilantro-jalapeno pesto was very unique and gave the ceviche a spicy, yet refreshing flavor! This ceviche had much more of a kick to it out of the two ceviches on the menu. This version was presented nicely with a flat presentation on the plate with the fish being sliced very thin in longer pieces.

Golpe de suerte - fluke cured in red passion fruit juice, heart of palm, jalapeño, cilantro

We also had the Golpe de Suerte, which was the other ceviche on the menu. This version was a little more sweet and refreshing due to the red passion fruit juice which added some citrus flavor to the whole dish. This dish differed from the Tirado because the fish was chunkier and chewier because of the way it was cut. This was more of a traditional ceviche. I loved the addition of the jalapeño that added some spice to the sweetness.

Costilla de Res - Short rib skewers with bulgogi sauce kimchi 

The Costilla de Res, which were short rib skewers prepared in an Asian style bulgogi kimchi sauce were amazing! The short rib was extremely tender and melted in your mouth. The bulgogi sauce was delicious and made the short rib very unique since normally short rib is prepared in a more American style BBQ sauce, versus an Asian soy sauce based BBQ sauce. I liked the mix of Mexican and Asian together in this dish. Because it was prepared in a bulgogi kimchi sauce, it was sweet, yet spicy.

Alitas de Pato - duck wings, Asian spice cure

The duck wings were amazing! They were prepared in an Asian spice cure, and were nice and crispy. This was one of those dishes where we were all happy we got more than 1 wing because we all wanted more. They were a little on the spicy side because of the red pepper flakes, but also were sweet due to the Asian style sauce that was on them. MMM.

Elote Asado - grilled corn, cricket aioli, coffee-chipotle powder, cotija cheese

The Mexican corn was truly a piece of art when it arrived at the table. It looked amazing and was amazing!  I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of it before we ate it, because we were just so excited when it came to the table. It was charred to perfection with the kernels blackened to the perfect level where you could taste the char, but the corn remained moist. The cricket aioli that coated the corn was delicious and not as creepy as it sounded. The waitress told us that there were actual crickets ground up and mixed into the aioli sauce because they added something to the flavor. We looked past this fact and decided to give it a try, and are glad we did! Also, the coffee-chipotle powder gave an actual coffee flavor to the corn which was very subtle, but an amazing addition to the mixture of flavors. Something about the bitter flavor of coffee and the sweetness of the corn was a delicious combo. Something I definitely never experienced before. And of course the cotija cheese added much deliciousness to each bite :)

Falda Tacos - Skirt steak, juki sauce, spicy aioli, pickled vegetable, shiso leaf

The Falda Tacos, which were filled with skirt steak, juki sauce, spicy aioli, pickled vegetables, and shiso leaf were delicious! The steak was very abundant and cooked perfectly with a nice pink center. The pickled vegetables and juki sauce gave the tacos that Asian flare. They had a slight sweetness to them, while they were also spicy because of the aioli sauce.

Camaron Tacos - Mezcal marinated shrimp, red cabbage and crisp purple potatoes

The Camaron Tacos were filled with Mezcal marinated shrimp, red cabbage, and crispy purple potatoes. The red cabbage brought in the Asian flavor because of how they were marinated, while the Mezcal gave the shrimp a nice flavor. The crispy purple potatoes added a uniqueness to the taco since the taco was a soft taco, that now had crunchy elements to it. Definitely delicious! This taco was much lighter than the skirt steak one, and everyone enjoyed both completely!
I am so glad my friend discovered this restaurant opening, and that she suggested trying it out, because it definitely is a winner when it comes to Mexican food. I love Asian food, so the mixture of both influences made it for a unique and tasty dining experience. I highly suggest trying it out!