El Pequeño

Carlota & I ventured out into Queens a month or so ago for some Ecuadorian food at a spot in Jackson Heights. We walked a short distance from the 7 train to El Pequeño. As soon as we sat down at our table, we received a colorful batch of salsas. They were fresh, the chips were still warm, and holy COW was the salsa spicy. It was a good kind of hurt, though.

This place is known for their delicious and cheap rotisserie chicken, but they were sold out (que?? que??) when we arrived. Never you fear--we got over our initial disappointment and jumped on to the next offering--fried fish!

They had a special on whole fried red snapper (which was SO GOOD at Victor's), but when I asked about it, the server actually recommended a similar dish that was already deboned. Eh, what the heck? I ordered that instead. It was actually quite light and delicious--the breading wasn't too heavy, and it was perfectly seasoned. I splashed a bit of fresh orange on it and went to town. Yummy. I ignored the heavy tostones (just not my thing).

Carlota got the goat stew, which smelled AMAZING. Here's the thing--I get very clear pictures in my head sometimes. I had an EXTREMELY sharp picture of a big old goat chewing on a tin can (Saturday morning cartoons much?) when she ordered this, so although she shared a bite with me immediately, I let it sit on the side of my plate for a bit while I did battle in my mind with the visual. I did eventually try it, and it was delicious, tender, well-seasoned, and not scary at all. Am I ready to order it on my own? Not yet. But did I enjoy it? Absolutely. (please do not send me any cute pictures of little baby goats kthxbye)

I also even ate almost all of my rice. Me! With Rice! That stuff I normally ignore! This rice was delicious--perfectly cooked, not clumpy, and with a serious lemon kick to it. Holy yum. The fresh avocado and tomato all mixed together perfectly.

All in all, a good meal, even though we had our hearts (and stomachs) set on rotisserie pollo. We'll have to venture out again for that next time!

El Pequeño Coffee Shop
86-10 Roosevelt Ave
Jackson Heights, NY
718-205-7128)