Yuca Bar

Since Mitch's cousins are regulars at Yuca Bar on the lower east side, I needed to know why.   Armed with my favorite foodies, we attempted to order half of the extremely large, tapas centric menu family style  The server, however, had the audacity to tell me that we were ordering too much.  If I did, then I would take it home or leave it behind.  And more importantly, the server clearly underestimated how much food I could eat.

Yuca Bar is a typical square box dining room in the Lower East Side. The low ceilings made it necessary to shout across the table, which, as long as you have good hearing, you eventually acclimate (although I felt badly for the servers who will undoubtedly go deaf sometime in the near future).   The better option is the sidewalk seating now that it is FINALLY spring.   Yuca Bar's drink menu had all of the standard Latin themed drinks, mojitos, margaritas, sangria, but the machine making frozen drinks was broken so we couldn't try their revered Yuca Sunrise, a blend of Sangria and Frozen Margarita.   I loved my strong margarita  BUT it was tiny.

Every dish was tasty (and devoured) but a few dishes stood out more than others.  The only disappointment of the night were the desserts.  We ordered three, partly because we were still hungry and partly because the dessert menu listed some of my favorites (chocolate souffle, bread pudding, churros).  The souffle, which was a lava cake, was overcooked, the bread pudding had a strange coconut flavor that was not listed on the menu and the churros weren't doughy enough.  Luckily, the neighborhood surrounding Yuca Bar is filled with bakeries and other fabulous dessert options (e.g. Chickalicious, Big Gay Ice Cream Shop, etc...) so if your sweet tooth is as vicious as mine, you will have no problem finding something worth savoring near by.

What to Eat:

I don't like ribs.  Not sure why, but I never have.  If Yuca Bar's Espresso Baby Back Ribs (Espresso BBQ Costillitas) doesn't turn you into a ribs fan, nothing will.  The meat falls right off the bone.  And the slightly sweet espresso sauce doesn't have much coffee flavor so this shouldn't scare off people like me who don't like coffee.  This appetizer comes with four hearty ribs so it can easily be shared with a group of four.

Another table favorite was the Shrimp Skewers with a Mango and Papaya salad and Coconut Rice (Antucuchos de Camaron).  The chipotle marinated shrimp had only a tiny kick to it which was the right amount for me.  The plump shrimp were grilled to perfection, as you can see from the tiny char marks on the skewers.  The rice served on the side brought back tasty memories of our Columbia vacation. I'd kill for this recipe! 

We only ordered one entree (because the server told us we had already ordered more than enough food), the Brazilian Tomato & Coconut Broth with Shrimp and Octopus (Moqueca da Bahia).   You probably can't go wrong ordering at Yuca Bar but we definitely struck food gold on this choice.  This seafood stew was filled with slices of octopus, medium sized shrimp, and long slices of hearts of palm.  The coconut broth gave the tomato sauce a rich, slightly creamy texture.

Looking for another stop on your Cinco de Mayo Sunday Funday? Yuca Bar will keep the party going,

Your foodie friend

Insider tip:  Yuca Bar offers incredible deals during the week, including: half price tapas until 8pm on Tuesday and half price happy hour drinks on weekday nights until 8pm.