Profile

Though you can’t tell by looking at this cavernous restaurant, with its dull, flat colors, desperately in need of a piñata or something big and joyous to anchor the room and reflect the kitchen’s exuberance, Centrico energizes and elevates Mexican comfort and street food, the same winning way Spice Market jazzes up Southeast Asian pushcart fare. With a menu that gives classic regional dishes unexpected but smart twists, Aaron Sánchez (son of Mexican cooking star Zarela Martinez) repeatedly transforms the familiar without intimidating anyone. Sánchez treats the classic combo of mango and jícama as a tart salad alongside flash-seared sashimi-style tuna. Instead of the traditional fried-fish taco, he marinates and grills swordfish, then wraps it in a warm, soft corn tortilla with a dollop of cucumber-mango salsa. Sánchez’s ingenuity carries right on through the entrées. The monotony of pan-roasted salmon is relieved by a creamy succotash made with roasted poblanos and a shower of fresh huitlacoche. (That’s corn fungus to you. Don’t think. Eat. It’s delicious.) — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

The house drinks are as intoxicating as they are delicious; beware, or not, as you see fit.

Related Stories

New York Magazine Reviews

• Hal Rubenstein's Full Review (10/17/05)
• Gael Greene's Full Review (10/3/05)