Crema (17th btwn 6 and 7Ave)

We had a great dinner there on Friday night. This place doesn't seem to get much buzz on here, and I'm not sure why. It's high falutin' Mexican food. No refried bean sides here.

We sat at the bar and ordered two rounds of margaritas. In addition to the regular (i.e., orange liqueur), they served a passion fruit and a tamarind variety, both of which were a nice change of pace. At $12, though, I think they were overpriced.

There are huge baskets of chips available at the bar, but the best were the fried white flour chips that the bartender would occasionally restock.

We split a scallop appetizer (very well prepared). Two entrees were a steak in mole sauce, and most notably, the sparerib plate which came perfectly spiced in some sort of chile pepper sauce. Portions were quite large.

The margaritas are playing havoc with my memory about the cost, but I think it was around $70 pp with tax and tip.

We're going back for more.

I've eaten there three or four times and have always found the food to be quite good. Tried most everything on the menu and it has all worked.

Had dinner there last Saturday. I felt nickel-and-dimed there: I asked for hot sauce and they said they only have habanero sauce for $8. Also, the spare ribs for my entree was too sweet, so was my companion's sea bass entree.