Pequena Review (and a Cake Man too)

A few commenters have been urging me to try No. 7, the new-ish restaurant on Greene Ave in Fort Greene, so last night we headed out, determined to give it a try. Unfortunately, it was closed. I don't know why, maybe they just don't like Mondays? Who knows.

Not to be deterred, we headed down the block to a restaurant I've been meaning to try for quite a while now, Pequena. Owned by the same people who run two other neighborhood favorites, Maggie Brown and Olea, Pequena's an ever-so-tiny Mexican restaurant tucked behind Moe's Bar, also owned by the same people.

Pequena's got a great tequila menu, though none of us were really in the mood. So that's all I have to say about that. On to the food!

We started with tortilla chips and salsa and an order of fried plantains, which were surprisingly good. The plantain chips are very soft and tasty, and come with sour cream and queso fresco, a delicious cheese that's very similar to feta. Dunk a plantain in the sour cream, then in the cheese, and you have a very potent potable foodstuff. The chips and salsa were also good, but the plantains stole the show.

We tried three separate entrees, although since it's mexican food, it's all very similar. Let's be honest, you know what you're getting - some sort of mixture of beans, rice, sour cream, guacamole, tortilla, and meat, and hopefully a lot of it. Pequena doesn't disappoint - everything was very tasty and the portions were huge.

First off, the stewed pork quesadilla. The pork was very juicy and spiced well. Consider it highly recommended.

Next, a chicken fajita, also very good.

Finally, stuffed poblano peppers, which more fried plantains substitued for the beans.

There wasn't a whole lot left over by the time we'd finished, but there was some. It's just a lot of food, so plan on having some to take home.

Any issues? Not really. It's a tiny restaurant and kind of cramped, but that adds to the charm a bit and we didn't feel too stuffed in. They also don't accept credit cards, which is a little annoying, forcing me to run to the ATM next door at Moe's. That's really the only thing that bothered me about the experience. The food is great and the prices are very reasonable.

Afterwards, we decided to hunt around for a place to buy some dessert to bring home. We popped into Greene Grape Provisions briefly, but they didn't have anything that struck our eye. That's when I remembered that the Harlem Cake Man was right across the street and that I'd never been there.

My father didn't believe me when I told him we were going somewhere that only sold red velvet cake. At $6 a slice, it isn't the cheapest piece of cake in the world, either.

Is it worth it? Yeah, it's pretty worth it. We actually bought three pieces but only split one. These are giant pieces of cake and will easily serve two people, even three in our case. Stop in next time you're in the area and have a famous piece of cake.

Information:

Pequena
86 S. Portland Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718.643.0000
http://www.pequenarestaurant.com/

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Cake Man Raven
708 Fulton St.
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718.694.2253
http://www.cakemanraven.com/

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