Fougoo's visit to Hecho en Dumbo

After getting pissed at the brusque hostess at Cafe El Portal, petiteseour, Redneckhunter, and another friend took the recommendation of a friend of Redneckhunter's, seconded by remembering 1000yregg's delicious-sounding blog post, and went a few blocks away to Hecho en Dumbo. We were not disappointed.

We shared a bunch of plates, starting with Picaditas de Jaiba - small masa rounds topped with dungeness crab, avocado and jalapeno oil. Then we got 2 types of tacos -- Cochonita Pibil (Berkshire pork, which 1000yregg had also gotten) and Red snapper with crispy shallots.

But the favorite dish of the night by far was the Mixiote de Conejo - braised rabbit in a banana leaf wrap with honey, cinnamon, and chile mulato, served with Michocan-style rice with almond, bacon, and avocado (pictured above).

The rabbit was falling-apart tender and aromatic with the flavor of the banana leaf. The rice was also wonderfully flavored. The dish was served with little warm tortillas so that you could wrap your own little tacos, but it was just as delicious just eaten with a fork. The rabbit was so amazing, we ordered a second one. Petiteseour thought it was the second-best rabbit she'd ever eaten, second only to a dish her friends had prepared for her in France. So essentially it was the best rabbit she'd ever had in New York.

For dessert, we had to of course order the tres leches cake. I thought the caramel sauce on it was too much sugar - added to an already sweet cake. But clearly the chefs have a sweet tooth - the Cafe de Olla, a Mexican coffee drink flavored with cinnamon - was undrinkably sweet, even after petiteseour asked them to tone down the sugar.

We also ordered an almond cake served with a cinnamon-chocolate ice cream and mezcal-flavored-chocolate sauce. The best part of any of the desserts was the ice cream.

Hecho en Dumbo
354 Bowery, NYC
(212) 937-4245