Dinner Menu

What passes for Mexican cooking in New York is a joke, though Zarela Martinez has never found it all that funny. So it’s lucky for you that her fierce pride in her country’s maligned cuisine is backed up by her fiery bravado in the kitchen. Taste her blazing poblanos rellenos, snapper hash, or her slow-cooked Oaxacan lamb, and you may suddenly have an urge to buy a great big Doberman pinscher on the outside chance that you might come across that Taco Bell chihuahua in a dark alley. Now, Zarela might find that funny. — Hal Rubenstein Read more: Zarela – Midtown East – New York Magazine Restaurant Guide http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/zarela/#ixzz0ZCgpouLe

ANTOJITOS
Chile Relleno del Día	Different varieties of fresh and dried chiles with assorted fillings and sauces.	Priced Daily
Flautas	Rolled chicken tacos, crisply fried & served with guacamole.	$11.00
Enchiladas de Pollo	Corn tortillas filled with chicken and cheese, baked with a mole or or tomatillo and sesame seed sauce.	$12.00
Salpicón de Pescado	Snapper hash cooked with tomato, scallion, jalapeño & aromatic spices.	$11.50
Chilaquiles	Crisp corn tortilla strips, shredded sautéed chicken, sour cream and white cheese baked in a casserole with either a tangy tomatillo or ranchera sauce.	$12.00
Tostadas de Jaiba	Corn tostadas topped with a crab, jalapeño, capers and cilantro salad in a lime-olive oil dressing	$12.00
Tamal del Día	Tamal of the day.	$10.00
Guacamole	Coarsely mashed avocado seasoned with tomato, scallion, cilantro, jalapeño & lime juice.	$10.50
Queso fundido	Baked Chihuahua cheese with either pickled jalapeno chies or home made chorizo, Served with flour tortillas. Or both	$11.00/$12.00
CALDO
Caldo of the Day	Soup of the day	Priced Daily
ENSALADAS
Ensalada “Lol-Be”	Romaine, cucumber, celery and hisbiscus flowers tossed with cilantro vinaigrette, garnished with queso fresco and spicy pepitas	$9.00
Ensalada de Jícama	Watercress and jícama salad in Zarela’s vinaigrette.	$8.50
Platos Fuertes
DEL MAR
Crepas de Huitlacoche	Layered corn crepes topped with huitlacoche, poblano chiles ,sour  cream and cheese; served with caldillo de tomate	$17.00
Camarones con Coco	Shrimp sautéed with garlic, fresh jalapeño and shredded coconut	$19.00
Camarones Enchipotlados	Shrimp and garlic sauteed with a smoky, spicy chipotle sauce	$18.50
Salmón a las Brasas	Grilled-smoked salmon with jicama escabeche and chipotle aioli	$19.50
Pescado en Salsa Verde	Pan-seared whole trout in a fragrant hoja santa-jalapeño sauce.	$17.00
Pescado del Día	Fish of the day.	Priced Daily
DEL GALLINERO
Manchamanteles de Pato	Roasted half duck served with a tomato red chile sauce with dried apricots, prunes, raisins and pineapple.	$21.00
Pollo en Mole del Dia	Chicken braised in mole of the day	$17.00
Escabeche de Pollo Oriental	Grilled whole chicken breast seasoned with a peppery spice paste in a light chicken broth with habanero chile, grilled onion and roasted garlic head.	$18.50
DEL CORRAL
Cochinita Pibíl	Yucatán-style pork shoulder marinated with achiote and sour oranges and slow cooked. Served in a banana leaf with a red onion, habanero chile and orange relish.	$18.00
Fajitas	Grilled marinated skirt steak, served with salsa, guacamole and flour tortillas.	$22.00
Barbacoa de Carnero	Shredded lamb barbacoa slow-roasted in an ancho chile adobo over avocado leaves	$20.00
Hígado Encebollado	Pan fried liver marinated in pickled jalapeño juice and Worcestershire sauce. Served with onions and bacon.	$16.50
VERDURAS Y MÁS
Quelites	Winter greens  sautéed with bacon, garlic and arbol chiles.	$7.00
Calabacitas con Queso	Zucchini with corn and cheese sautéed with tomatoes, scallions, jalapeños and cilantro	$8.00
Tortitas de Brocoli	Pan-fried broccoli cakes served with a spicy caldillo de tomate	$9.50
Arroz con Crema	Rice baked with sour cream, white cheddar cheese, poblanos and corn.	Small $4.50 Large $6.50
Verdura del Dia	Fresh, seasonal vegetable of the day.	Priced daily
Frijoles Colados	Pureed black beans flavored with avocado leaves and árbol chiles.	$4.50
Platanos	Fried plantain slices served with Oaxacan mole.	$7.50
Salsa de Habanero	Chef’s homemade hot sauce	$2.00
Tortillas de Harina	Homemade miniature flour tortillas. 4 per order.	$2.00
Tortillas a las Brasas	Grill-toasted thin corn tortillas sprinkled with chile limón. 3 per order.	$1.50

Table food minimum $15.00 per person

Zarela Restaurant Location:
953 Second Avenue
between 50th & 51st St.
New York, NY
Tel: 212-644-6740
Fax: 212-980-1073

“Is Zarela Martinez the unsung hero of the city’s blazing Mexican food scene?  Those who can remember Manhattan’s tortilla wasteland of ten years ago would argue yes, because the talented chef and food scholar–who can still be found holding court at her favorite corner table most nights of the week –has been dishing up authentic fare since the late eighties.

Happy hour finds the bar flooded with a young, spirited crowd chucking back the addictive house margaritas.  some of them oblivious to the brilliance passing under their noses .  Try a fragrant bowl of rich, smoky posole, a bright chile relleno stuffed with chicharrones in a tomatillo sauce, or tender baby back ribs and Mexican sausage, marinated in lime, garlic, and oregano.Michelin Guide 2010. www.michelinguide.com

After having watched your son talk about your rice, a few months later on a trip tp NYC, I made the trekk to your adorable restaurant.  BEST MEAL I EVER HAD!  I ate until I alomost couldn’t move. AMAZING!  I want to hug Aaron for telling us about the rice!  I will stop back time and again.  Brandi