Two notaries, a burrito, and a black & white cookie

Once upon a time, JR and I went in search of a notary. We had an affidavit to get notarized, and this being NYC, we figured it shouldn't be too difficult to find someone within a reasonable radius of Hell's Kitchen.

First try: the UPS store. Fortunately, we called before we went, a call that revealed our notary did not exist. On to Plan B: some quick googling revealed that, lo and behold, there was a combination tax preparer/notary right across the street from me. We went in, and about 15 minutes later, we emerged having experienced one of the weirdest 15 minutes of our lives. It's not even possible to describe in words-- just suffice it to say that we took our "notarized" document, marched right up to my apartment, and commenced Round 2 of preparing a new version, finding a new notary, and getting it done legitimately. There ain't no chance that the New York Bar Association was going to accept Round 1.

A few more calls later, I finally spoke to someone at the local Capital One bank. Did they have a notary? Yes! Could we just walk in and get something notarized? Yes! So walk we did, straight over to that branch, and announced that we were in search of the notary. Tough luck, us: She just left on her lunch break. For an hour.

And so, dear readers, that's how JR and I ended up at El Centro in the middle of the afternoon, having burritos, chips and salsa, and a sangria-ita (JR) and a Diet Coke (me). The other patrons of the restaurant included a trio of roaringly drunk youngsters-- hey guys, more power to you. Perhaps they, too, had ordered the sangria-ita, a combination of margarita and sangria. It was potent and tasted kind of like a sweetened, refreshing, fruity margarita.

This can't be good.

As for the food, it got a thumbs up from JR. He got the burro hellicioso--no, I have no idea what that means, but it involved chicken, guac, chipotles, rice, and beans. It also came with a little mesclun side salad coated in a spicy dressing. Nice!

Lots of colors here

Oh, and there were chips and salsa

Despite our best efforts, lunch only took a half hour or so. So on we pressed to the farmer's market on Ninth between 56th and 57th. We browsed. I bought vegetables and one apple. Then JR bought a black and white cookie from Meredith's Bread, and we sat in the corner of the park, soaking up the sun (me) and eating a cookie (JR).

Look to the cookie

And then, readers, we finally made it to Capital One, where the notary was alive and well and in attendance. We encountered a fetching coconut sculpture in the waiting area, which was a plus. And then we left, with a legitimate-looking notarized document.

Yes, I returned to my apartment two and a half hours after leaving. But it was actually a lovely afternoon. Good luck, JR!

El Centro
824 Ninth Avenue
646-763-6585

Some question marks at Centrico

A couple weeks ago, I met up with a big group of friends from my old job for cocktails and bites at Centrico, an upscale Mexican restaurant in Tribeca, before heading to an 80's cover band (Rubix Cube) at the Canal Room up the street. Now, there's not much at a Mexican restaurant that I can eat, so I mostly came for the drinks and the company.

First, the drinks. Surprisingly, Centrico does pitchers (a bit of a contrast to their upscale attitude and prices), so the table got pitchers of margaritas, both frozen and on the rocks. They met with approval around the table; of course, always the contrarian, I got what appeared to be a more interesting drink: a Frozen Strawberry Caipirinha. This drink appeared with a bright, day-glo color and a festive wedge of lime. I took one sip and my taste buds nearly exploded: this concoction was overloaded with flavors. For one, it was incredibly sweet; for another, it was powerfully tangy. There was a bite from an alcohol, although this ended up not being overly strong. It was actually a bit hard to get through a whole glass of this stuff, due to the flavor overload, but that made it good for sipping.

Frozen, with salt

Yeeeooowwzaa

There was also food, some apps for the table and some individual entrees. I didn't taste any of this, so I can merely provide you with some pictures and some overall observations, as follows: In terms of visual appeal, the guac at least fell short. For some reason, the precise texture they chose... not really creamy, kinda a little bit too chunky, but small chunks... I dunno. Not my cup of tea. The other main observation is that the portion size here was disappointing. Guac and chips for $12; the tiniest quesadilla I've ever seen for $10; chicken mole for $20... this stuff isn't cheap, and they don't give you much of it.

In any case, we had quite a bit of fun at Centrico. I wouldn't necessarily return, because again, I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food, but it's worth noting that the service was very friendly, and our awesome server dealt with our obnoxious group with aplomb. And with that, I'll leave you with some pics of the goods so you can decide for yourself whether it's worth a visit.

Not the most overwhelming portion either...

Yes, this is $10. That's, like, more than $1 per bite. Sheesh.

Mahi-mahi tacos

Chicken mole, with mushrooms and an ice-cream-scoop of sweet potato puree

Pork belly tacos

Centrico
211 West Broadway (at Franklin Street)
212-431-0700