I wish I wasn’t right but the moment I set foot in this off-park ave south Spanish Bistro I could smell the failure. I am not sure what it was that tipped me off. The bar was well stocked, the waiters extremely attentive, the menu deep but not overwhelming and the space inviting. Especially inviting was the window seat my buddy Mike and I perched up in to share a sort of “power lunch”. The problem was, it was 1pm on a Thursday and we were one of three tables in the whole joint. I’ve never run a restaurant (officially) and I don’t pretend to know what it takes to succeed, or fail for that matter, but the rents on Park South seem to stack the deck 98% fail to 2% succeed. You’ve got to sell a whole lot of these tender, creamy, perfect bun, salty meat bomb, hamburguesa de rabo de toro to keep the doors open. Now that the doors are pad locked shut their slow braised oxtail burger with havarti cheese, pickle, arugula and oxtail mayonnaise will have to be memorialized by this picture and the faint tastebud memories of the savory last bite before Manzanilla…well…bit it.
Go there:
Manzanilla
345 Park Ave South
New York, NY 10010
(212) 255-4086
