ATLA

Atla is the latest addition to the growing empire of Enrique Olvera starting with Pujol in Mexico City.  The first time I went to Pujol it was delicious, the second time not at all.  Enrique had made the move to NYC to open Cosme and dazzle us with his talent of a new twist on Mexican food.  I have been to Cosme a few times and have always been impressed.

Atla is casual but has the same black, gray motif although here there is are huge glass windows are right on Lafayette. The place is chic.  Meals start at 9am for breakfast and continue until they close which is probably somewhere past 10pm depending on the night.  I went with Emily during the week around 1130 where you can walk right in.

We began with the Oaxacan coffee that is strong, sweet with a massive shot of alcohol.  Just a sip in the morning our of pure interest.  The hot chocolate with coconut tastes and smells like Mexico.  If I close my eyes and take a sip, I can pretend I am in Mexico City.

The arctic char tostada is excellent.  Enrique’s version of a Mexican bagel, lox and cream cheese.  A crisp tostada slathered with creme fraiche, topped with arctic char, slices of chiles and salty capers with a lime to squeeze over the top.  I could eat this daily.  It is so good.  The mixture of the crunch, the salt, the cream, the fish and the citrus is perfect.

Concha is a classic Mexican sweet bread that goes back to pre-colonial days.  This one has just enough of a crispy exterior with a super-soft interior that is perfect for dipping into the hot chocolate.

His take on avocado toast?  A molletes is a Mexican tartine, open-faced sandwich.  Piled on this slice of bread is guacamole, goat cheese, cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced red onions, cilantro, jalapenos and a light vinegar that the tomatoes were tossed in.  Not sure where those tomatoes came from but this tasted like a good summer day.

Ranchero eggs with hoja santa.  Poached eggs covered with a spicy tasty red sauce over corn tortillas.

This reminds me of an empanada.  It is not crunchy but the dough is chewy almost like a dumpling then stuffed with split pea mash that is almost smeared across the top with a light cream sauce.  It is a tlacoyos.  I really liked this.  A Delicious pairing of flavors and the texture of the dough took a classic dish and twisted it up.

Great spot.  We had everything from the breakfast menu.  I need to return to have the dinner menu.  I am sure they probably serve some killer cocktails too.