If you love Mexican food, you are probably quite familiar with Rosa Mexicano. For almost 30 years, Rosa Mexicano has been considered one of the well-established authentic Mexican restaurants in the city featuring the ever popular guacamole prepared at your table. What you might not be aware of is the efforts Rosa Mexicano makes to continue to create an evolving menu that brings to light different influences and ingredients that make Mexican food unique. In particular, Rosa Mexicano offers a savvy approach to keeping the menu fresh while engaging diners with its signature Flavors of Mexico series—a year-long celebration of regional Mexican cuisine— offering an inspiring lineup of themed additions to the menu and hands-on demonstrations.
This year’s Flavors of Mexico begins with Desayuno, the introduction of several mouthwatering breakfast additions to the weekend brunch menu. From February 23rd through March 10th you will be able to enjoy several innovative dishes offering a change to the usual scrambled eggs.
Some of the highlights are huevos fritos y carnitas ($14)—traditional pork carnitas and chile-potato hash topped with fried eggs and served with a sweet pineapple-habanero mustard jam complementing the flavor quite nicely— machado con huevo ($14), a Mexican favorite featuring dried shredded beef scrambled with eggs, jalapeños, tomatoes, and onions and served with tortillas—and desayuno tamal ($12.50)—creamy tamale topped with chile-poached eggs, fried panela cheese, and chorizo crumbles.
Vegetarians will love nopales con huevo ($11)— soft scrambled eggs served with fried pasilla chile, roasted peppers, and molletes (soft roll spread with refried black beans) and huevos al sartén ($12.50)— scrambled egg whites mixed with chile-infused tofu, diced jalapeños, tomatoes, and cheese and served with soft corn tortillas.
If you’re craving something sweet, you will want to try the torrejas de miel rellenas ($13)—Mexican take on French toast featuring cinnamon-cascabel chile-crusted sliced brioche bread stuffed with mascarpone cheese and topped with diced caramelized plantains. This dish is sinfully delectable and might force you to fight off your fellow dining companions. It’s that good.
Along with these tasty dishes, Rosa Mexicano will also be featuring special beverages to complement your main course. Consider a glass of chilled horchata de coco ($6)—a classic Mexican beverage using pressed rice milk that is infused with coconut—or aguas frescas ($5)—a traditional Mexican beverage that mixes water with different types of strained fruits and vegetables. The cucumber-tomatillo is quite refreshing.
For stronger beverages, consider the Mezcal bloody Mary ($15)—Rosa Mexicano’s take on the classic using house made Mezcal to give the drink a distinct smoky flavor—or the horchata especial ($12) which combines Añejo tequila, horchata, and coffee liqueur and is topped with espresso. It provides a good wakeup call.
These specials are all available during weekend brunch as well as for dinner after 10 pm on Friday and Saturday nights.
Along with the desayuno segment, check out the exciting lineup of special additions and demonstrations for the rest of the year:
Mexican Passover (March 25th-April 2nd)
For over 10 years, Rosa Mexicano has brought together Jewish traditions and culinary trends in Mexico by creating delicious menu options perfect for Passover. Some of the highlights include tropical haroset, pulled beef brisket tacos, and a Mexican macaroon ice cream sandwich. As a bonus, this year’s segment will include a hands-on class on how to perfect the art of the matzah ball with some Mexican flavor.
The Art of Mexican Mixology (June 5th-June 30th)
In addition to offering a number of enticing cocktails with familiar liquors such as artisanal tequila, mezcal, and rum, Rosa Mexicano will also showcase more esoteric liquors, such as Xtabentún. This segment will invite diners to experience these ingredients mixed with local fruits and herbs including mamey and guanábana to create spins on classics like the paloma and sangrita.
Ice Cream Festival (July 31st-August 25th)
Ever wondered what guacamole ice cream would taste like? Well, you’re in luck because Rosa Mexicano’s Ice Cream Festival will be offering a selection of sweet and salty flavors including guacamole de postre—sweet avocado ice cream with assorted toppings prepared tableside in a frozen molcajete—along with chocolate negro modelo with salted cajeta and candied bacon and blueberry crema.
Huitlacoche/Mexican Truffle Celebration (September 4th-October 6th)
Rosa Mexicano will be paying homage to Josefina Howard’s (Rosa Mexicano’s founder) 1989 Huitlacoche dinner at the James Beard House by showcasing several additions to the menu featuring “The Mexican Truffle.”
Day of the Dead (October 27th-November 3rd)
Rosa Mexicano will honor the traditions of All Saints Day (November 1st) and All Souls Day (November 2nd) with their annual Day of the Dead festival, featuring enchiladas de mole coloradito and dungeness crab ceviche.
Rosa Mexicano
9 East 18th Street
New York, New York 10003
(212) 533-3350
61 Columbus Avenue
New York, New York 10023
(212) 977-7700
1063 First Avenue
New York, New York 10022
(212) 753-7407
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