Alimentos Saludables Mexican Grill

MEXICO

[UPDATE: Name change to Alimentos Saludables, which means "Healthy foods"]

Speedy's Place looks and sounds a lot like many Mexican restaurants in Sunset Park, sparsely decorated with the jukebox blaring. There is a small dining room with about five tables (which all look like they were bought from a Chinese buffet restaurant that went out of business) and a row of seats along the kitchen like a bar.

The women who run this place are fantastically agreeable, with permanent smiles and friendliness.

To satisfy the needs of my vegetarian friend (and also because I wanted something to nibble on before my dish came out), I ordered both the tostado regular ($3.50, "regular" meaning no meat), and a taco con queso y aguacate ($2.75, cheese and avocado). They both were supremely satisfying, and the house green salsa was perfect for the taco. I will have to return to try more tacos and decide how they stack up against some of the best in the area.

The main dish I was waiting for though was the mole poblano ($11), which some time in the past I had written in my notes was good here. The source was long forgotten, but I had always intended to come back, my desires somehow suppressed by the fact that I had still never found excellent mole in New York. If you ask a Mexican friend or stranger on the street here where you can find a good one, he or she will always tell you in their own home.

I was not knocked off my seat by the mole, in fact I kind of just shrugged and surrendered to another so-so rendition after my first bite. But something happened after digging in further. Maybe it was the extremely tender and delicious chicken falling right off the bones with hardly any tearing. Maybe it was the friendly people and poetic nature of the jukebox pumping out romantic Mexican ballads. Whatever it was, by the time I finished I realized how perfect the combination of spicy and sweet the sauce contained, and wished I had another piece of chicken to soak it up with.

This version was accompanied by the house's rice and beans, which were refried and topped with a tiny bit of cheese. I was thinking to myself that I might not have had this good of Mexican beans since California a year ago. It is still a long way from being in Puebla, but for now will satisfy my cravings every once in a while.

After paying the bill, the woman who mainly served us first gave us some gum, then a couple chocolate bars and wished us a happy Valentine's Day, which was tomorrow. We walked out fully happy from head to toe, our stomachs satisfied and touched by her kind gestures.

SUNSET PARK Brooklyn

5919 4th Avenue