The latest addition to Restaurant Row, that famously tourist-clogged strip of irrelevant overpriced restaurants, makes a persuasive argument for braving the Times Square runoff. La Pulperia, a new Latin American restaurant with handmade brass lamps, flattering lighting and plenty of de rigueur reclaimed wood, feels less like a flashy tourist trap and more like a solid neighborhood restaurant in Hell's Kitchen (which, actually, it is). Chef/Owner Carlos Barroz, who's originally from Argentina, features many of the dishes he grew up eating, but with some contemporary twists. The one that caught our eye is a traditional Brazilian dish we'd never tried before: Pacu Fish Ribs in orange-chipotle BBQ sauce.
Shortly after the restaurant opened this month, Barroz invited us to check out the dish, which resembles pork ribs. These bad boys are delicious. Succulent and rich, the Pacu fish (which is related to the piranha and has a mostly vegetarian diet) almost melts in your mouth, and the sauce walks a fine line between boldly savory and faintly sweet. Barroz told us, "We order our seafood from Samuels & Son Seafood in Philadelphia. It's one of the few places that take orders for Pacu fish, which is pretty uncommon here in the States. After some minor research, I decided to challenge myself and added a couple of them to my next order."
You should also try the beef empanadas, which are particularly juicy, just the way they're made in Argentina. (Barroz says that in his country, the empanadas are so juicy people sit with their legs spread open while eating them so they don't get juice on their clothes.) La Pulperia also has a small raw bar next to the open kitchen in the back, but you'll probably be more comfortable ordering oyster shooters to your table or at the marble-topped cocktail bar up front. The Salmon Brûlée is the raw bar's signature dish; it's made with raw salmon, brown sugar glaze, cream cheese, strawberry-ginger Leche de Tigre.
The wine list is mostly Argentinian, French, and Napa, while the cocktail menu's from Cesar Chavez (formerly of Apothéke, not the UFW) and includes such concoctions as the El Chilango: Partida Silver Tequila, Tamarind, Habanero, Cointreau Noir, and "Cesar's Spicy Sauce." All of the cocktails are $12.
371 West 46th Street // (212) 956-3055
