chris r.'s Profile

Went here last weekend, tried 4 different tapas.

Anchovies on bread, they were ok, I've had better, they had little orange flower petals on the top which was weird.

Osso Bucco, this came shaped in a cylinder. It was tomatoey and peppery and very tasty!

Empanadas, very very good, tried the 3 different kinds, chorizo, bacalao and morcilla, the dip that came with them was good too.

Papas bravas, these were not like I expected, but they were good, I prefer the ones at Ceviche(because of the aioli sauce), but these are a lot different, more herby and more like home fries.

They also brought out some bread at the beginning that was very good, slightly crusty on the outside and very soft in the middle with a little dressing on top.

"I'm at Union Square, use Yelp, pick me a place within one mile of here, pick a dish and I'll go eat there, no questions"

So Paprika was chosen and the dishes assigned to me were arancini(appetizer) and oxtail ragu papparadelle. I also decided to order a salad which turned out to be the best thing I had.

Great atmosphere, very friendly staff, slightly tight seating.

good bread with olive oil and herb dip, two types of olives on the side.

The arugula salad($8) had lots of walnuts, 2 one inch round slices of goat cheese and long slices of pear. This combination was super tasty and I loved it. It had a slight bit of dressing on it which was olive oil, balsamic vinegar and oregano.

The Arancini($8) wasn't very good. I was in Sicily a few months ago and Arancini is very common there, usually it's about the size of a pear. The ones served here at Paprika were just small balls that looked like they came out of a box. They were served with a side of tomato sauce that was pink, the sauce was cold which seemed like an odd combination, the sauce added nothing, I wish i didn't order the Arancini.

My main course was the Pappardelle with oxtail ragu($13). The pasta seemed handmade, the sauce was very dark red and had some nice small pieces of meat in it. It had a few pieces of bone in it. Some pieces of the pasta were very very long. The sauce tasted good.

I was too full for desert. They have a prix fixe menu($15) from 5-7 that seemed pretty good. Another dish that i wanted to order was the butternut squash raviolis.

I'd go back again. Oh and they do not take American Express.

P.S.
Before I went in there was a man looking at the menu outside, some girls were walking by and said "Don't eat there!" and said that he should eat at the place next door.

I got the dish that has rice, cashews, pineapple and some vegetables, it was decent but not that good. Hopefully some of their other dishes are better. The price was a tiny bit higher than I wanted to pay.

about 10 minutes after I got there a huge swarm of preteens came in they were screaming, acting crazy and super spastic. This was at weekday at lunch time, so be warned.

I got the harissa falafel, it was very good, the thing that really completed the sandwich was the lime or lemon juice type sauce used in the cabbage.

I also go the side of falafel balls so i could try the other two kinds. The red pepper one was my favorite, total was just under 10$, there is only enough room for about 7 skinny people to sit in here but there are 2 benches out front.

It is hard to find, it's just down that darker street.

Line was about a 10 minute wait.

I hesitate to mention the uhh, kitchen standards, lets just say, not for the feint of heart.

I asked for the same thing that the kid before me and the kid before him got, small pork with rice.

I cringed with every high swing of his cleaver, watching while he barely missed his fingers.

For exactly $2.50 I got a small container jam packed with a lot of white rice, 3 broccoli spears and piled on top was the best Chinese pork I've ever had. It was super sweet and delicious, must be braised with honey.

Inside there is one tiny table with 2 chairs and it's usually occupied. Just across the street and down a tiny bit towards Canal is a park with lots of benches and some tables with chess/checkerboards, go here to eat. Watch out for rats of both the rodent and the skater type.

The duck also looked quite good.

It's great when a place just serves a few things and does them perfectly.

wow! the reviews here threw me off, I wasn't sure what to expect, nothing awesome according to yelp.

One review that really clicked with me was Cindy C. she said she liked the Chacarero sandwich, so i ordered almost the exact same thing as she did.

I got the Chacarero sandwich, sweet potato fries and the shrimp and cheese fried empanada.

The empanadas that are fried and not baked are cheaper and smaller( about $3-$3.50), the two that are baked are $5. The Shrimp and cheese one I got was super good!

They gave me a side of this white tangy sauce but didn't tell me which item it was for so i dipped everything in it at some point.

The sweet potato fries were tender, a little salty, and sweet. PERFECT! I've had sweet potato fries before at bbq places these were totally different and unique, I can't believe how tender they are.

The Chacarero sandwich was my very favorite thing, it had string/green beans on it, and some other green things I think Avocado. The meat was the best thing, it reminded me a little of chunks of flank steak but it was still tender and very tasty. The bread was perfect, some kind of bun I'm not sure the name of.

The only thing I didn't like is they don't have tap water only bottled.

Also I can't believe we scored a parking space right across the street! Great day, thanks Barros Luco.

Super good Pizza with Vodka sauce, and the pepperoni slice was very tasty too.

Sat at the bar.

They had 2 types of beers on tap, a hoppy beer and a blonde one. I liked the hoppy one so I had 2 of them, 9$ each.

For the first course I had the beef cheek pasta, it was tasty but not amazing. My friend had the pumpkin ravioli which was a little sweet and very good, but it didn't have much sauce on top.

For my second course I got the sweetbreads, one of my favorite things to eat if I can find it. The outside was crispy and sweet. It was served on top of Duck Bacon and I believe a few pieces of carmelized ginger and onions. The bacon was surrounded by I believe stewed green onions. This all sat in a sweet broth, possibly red wine or a red vinegar. This dish was my favorite part of the night.

The Bartender that served us was very nice.

to Start I Had the squid pancake, it was decent but I've had better.

I enjoyed the little appetizer bowls they give you, standard stuff, except the apples covered in some type of cream and these other rice logs with a orange slightly sweet sauce. The Kim Chi tasted a bit off.

Main dish was hot pot with pork, spinach, rice and a long thing yellow mushroom. It was really good.

The servers all served me so it was good I could just flag down any one of them that walked by, this seemed a bit odd to me, it's unique, but I don't mind.

The price was a bit high I think with tip this was $32 and I only had water to drink.

I went to have pernil but it was later in the day, like 4 pm, and it had all been eaten by the lunch crowd. Had a good 1/2 roast chicken, sweet plantains and mac and cheese.

The skin on the chicken was really good.

They gave me some light green and white sauce, it was a little bit spicy. Not sure of the name of it but enjoyed it. I'd go back