Conspicuous Consumption: El Gran Sabor

This week was an eventful one for yours truly. In addition to getting props from the Village Voice I met with a local artist regarding redesigning my banner. The latter came to pass at a local watering hole and the Mister, through a series of Keystone copesque machinations, managed to set his hair on fire. You need not worry, dear readers. He is okay. The Mister’s hair will grow back. His dignity, on the other hand, may take longer to restore.  It is the sincerest hope of yours truly that this incident will dissuade him from using Brylcreem once and for all. Whenever I see this stuff in our bathroom I feel like I am living in a retirement home. But I digress. It was otherwise a lovely evening with very nice and talented folk. Methinks something very neat will come out of it. Lastly, there were the preparations to be made for Souper Trivia Night 2. While the goodie bags for “Most Creative/Interesting Answer” were a joy to make— and I hope whoever got the one with a dvd of Goldmember and a brand-spanking new Swingline stapler is pleased with his (or her) haul— the circumstances under which they were made were chaotic to say the least. Suffice it to say it was a busy day at the junk shop.

Long story made short, by yesterday evening I was tired. And hungry. VERY HUNGRY. So was the Mister and a good friend of ours, Dale. We decided to give Sabor, the new pan-Latin restaurant on Greenpoint Avenue a try. All in all we were pleased. More importantly, no one got hurt.

The first thing I noticed is they have expanded their menu (which you can see by clicking here). Just as the chef, Perry, assured me last December more vegetarian fare has been added to the menu. This pleased me tremendously. The Mister and his buddy, however, wanted meat— and lots of it. Which brings me to this.

EL GRAN SABOR: one whole chicken, rice, beans, tostones, salchipapa (french fries with hot dogs) and avocado salad. As you can see this $30.00 culinary tour de force purports to feed four people. In ordinary circumstances it probably would. But these were not ordinary circumstances. I had two big and very hungry hombres to feed. STAT. We ordered placed our order without delay and soon enough, out came the kibble.

AVOCADO SALAD

Analysis: the dressing was a wee bit sweet for my taste but the ingredients were fresh. Finding good avocados this time of year in New York City is no small feat. It was devoured.

SALCHIPAPA

Analysis: I didn’t eat the hot dogs (I am a vegetarian), but the french fries paired with what I presume to be aioli was pretty tasty. Once again, the plate was cleaned. Thoroughly.

CHICKEN, RICE & BEANS

Analysis: Obviously I abstained from the chicken as well but am pleased to report it was consumed with much gusto. The rice was very good; the beans were a teensy bit salty for my taste. Still good, though. We did have some of this left over. It was my breakfast this morning. I love rice and beans for breakfast.

VEGETARIAN QUESIDILLA

Analysis: You probably noticed this in the previous picture. While tasty and very reasonably priced (at $6.00), I barely made a dent in it. Simply too much food! This will probably be my dinner tonight accompanied with…

GREEN SAUCE

Analysis: The only other place I have had something like this is La Vuelta in Long Island City. It can best be described in two words: liquid crack. We went through two bowls of this stuff.

TOSTONES

Analysis: by the time this came out I was full. My companions endeavored to persevere— and away it went. After a commodious meal like the previous a normal person would call it a night. Not us. We’re animals. We had dessert.

FLAN, TRES LECHES CAKE & COFFEE

Analysis: I tried all three. The cake was easily the better of the two desserts. Very rich and creamy. The coffee (the Mister’s, which I tasted sparingly— to do otherwise would ensure I’d be up all night) was aromatic and strong.

As I stated previously our overall dining experience was very good. The food was tasty and plentiful and the service very attentive and gracious. If I had to tender any constructive criticism it would be this: I really wished they had sangria. There’s something so perfect about sangria with rice and beans on a cold winter night. Maybe they’ll have it next time? Yes, there will be a next time for yours truly. Sabor has made it onto the rotation for the Chez Shitty household.

Sabor Latino Cuisine
Hours: Sunday – Thursday, 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m.
Delivery: YES!
159 Greenpoint Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11222
(347) 227-8531

Check it out!

Miss Heather

UPDATE, 9:21 p.m.: A fellow Greenpointer I hold in high esteem, rutila, dined at this establishment tonight and was not pleased with her fare. See her comment below.