I had steak and eggs for the first time just two years ago at Yuca Bar.  And after a 24-year wait, my initial reaction to chimichurri covered skirt steak and a mini-mountain of fluffy scrambled eggs was: “I need more of this!”   So it was with great excitement that I chose The Breslin, created by The Spotted Pig’s chef-restaurateur team of April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman, as the site of my second steak and eggs experience.  And fortunately, our basis for comparison is equal because like Yuca Bar, Ms. Bloomfield’s dish features skirt steak topped with a Latin-inspired sauce.

STEAK: The Breslin

The Breslin’s skirt steak is tender, cooked to a perfect medium rare and wears a nice outer char.  Yuca’s skirt steak could use a little more outer char but it pleasing fattiness makes it a shortcoming that’s easy to overlook.

STEAK TOPPING: Yuca Bar

When it comes to flavor, The Breslin’s “green sauce” is more grasshopper to Yuca Bar’s Incredible Hulk chimichurri.  The Breslin’s version may look nice but like a grasshopper, it’s off in the bushes, heard but not seen, on the plate but without any strong flavor presence save some mild acidity.

Yuca Bar’s concoction of onion, red pepper, garlic, and cilantro awakens your taste buds like a Hulk-A-Smash, so delicious that you should make sure to ration some for each bite.

EGGS: Yuca Bar

Comparing scrambled eggs to sunny side up is unfair but execution is unbiased and while The Breslin’s eggs look great, they were greasier than you’d expect from a kitchen of Ms. Bloomfield’s caliber.  Yuca’s plentiful scrambled eggs are always fluffy and satisfyingly moist, an airy contrast to the skirt steak’s sinewy texture.

POTATOES: Yuca Bar

No contest here.  $17 doesn’t even afford you potatoes at The Breslin.  For $13.95 Yuca Bar offers the choice of rice and beans or potatoes!  I advise the potatoes, a flavorful, albeit under-crisped (even when I ask for it well done), conglomeration of white potato, sweet potato, pepper, and onion.  And it’s all included in the prix fix.  Beat that Breslin.

EXPERIENCE ENHANCERS: Yuca Bar

NYC Food Guy always tries to enhance a meal by adding elements such as condiments or side dishes that might not be considered.  At The Breslin, this was as simple as asking for hot sauce.  And to my pleasant surprise, it was Tapatio, a popular West Coast hot sauce made of a secret blend of Chile peppers.  It’s spicy without overpowering and it was a mandatory enhancement to the Breslin’s bland accouterments.

At Yuca, I implore you to order a side of sweet plantains.  If they’re freshly sauteed and brought to your table immediately, then you’re in for a treat. Caramelized pockets of piping hot, chewy goodness.  They’re equally as delicious plain as they are combined with a bite of steak, eggs,  potato, and chimichuri.

WINNER: Yuca Bar

It’s a landslide.  Yuca Bar takes 4 of 5 categories.  And I know what you must be thinking:  If Yuca Bar loses the steak category, how can I even consider it? Well it’s the sum of the parts that equal the whole and on value alone, Yuca Bar is the winner.  But it certainly helps that Yuca Bar dominates every other category.  Looks like the new Clint Eastwood drinks caprihina.

]]> http://nycfoodguy.com/2010/02/26/skirt-steak-eggs-breslin-vs-yuca-bar/feed/ 4 http://nycfoodguy.com/2008/07/18/yuca-bar-prix-fix-brunch-1395-skirt-steak-eggs/ http://nycfoodguy.com/2008/07/18/yuca-bar-prix-fix-brunch-1395-skirt-steak-eggs/#comments Sat, 19 Jul 2008 04:05:21 +0000 The NYC Food Guy http://nyceats.wordpress.com/?p=1138 Looking for a great deal on brunch in the East Village? Head to Yuca Bar, on Avenue A & 7th Street, where $13.95 will get you tender, flame-grilled skirt steak, eggs, home fries or rice and black beans and your choice of coffee, orange juice, lemonade, a mimosa or a screwdriver. Read on to find out why Loco Tuesday’s at Yuca Bar are the best day of the week.

Skirt Steak

• This was my first time having steak and eggs and it’s probably all downhill from here mainly because Yuca Bar’s was so delicious. It came medium rare as requested, and the flavor struck a nice balance between fire, garlic and beef.
• It’s topped with chimichurri, an onion/garlic sauce that’s spicy and so flavorful I would recommend ordering a tiny side to eat with your eggs.
• My only complaint was that I wish the serving was bigger, but for $13.95 I can’t complain.

Home Fries/Black Beans & Rice

• Great balance of flavor due to the usage of sweet potato and Idaho potato.
• Like all home fries these fell short because they weren’t crispy enough for me. I asked for them well done but they weren’t cooked evenly.
• I tasted my friend’s black beans and rice and they were standard. Nothing amazing. It really comes down to what you’re more in the mood for, but you can’t go wrong with either one. If you’re with a friend, one of you should get home fries and the other rice and beans and then split.

Eggs

Cooked any way you want, mine were scrambled and delicious. They were fluffy and a little wet so if you like your eggs dry make sure to request it.

Click Here for the rest of the Prix Fix Brunch Menu

Sweet Plantains $4.00

Our table neighbors had an extra order of this tropical treat and were kind enough to share. Amen to that, they were delicious. I like my plantains cooked until they’re caramelized and a little crispy and Yuca Bar’s were just that. Sweet, ripe and delicious. I recommend an order for an appetizer.

Loco Tuesdays aka Happy Hour & Half Priced Tapas

Loco Tuesdays at Yuca Bar means Happy Hour from 1pm until 8pm Monday to Friday.

$6 sangria, mojitos, caipirinhas, margaritas and $4 draft beers.

It also means half priced tapas. Check out the menu below.

Conclusion

Great brunch spot with outdoor patio and a solid Happy Hour; It seems like you can’t really go wrong at Yuca Bar. I’ll be back to check out the rest of the menu so keep an eye out.

Yuca Bar