Fonda, Brooklyn, NY. December, 2009

Cozy and chic. Great food, terrific ambience, wonderful people. This was my first trip to Fonda, Chef Roberto Santibañez’s truly Mexican restaurant in Brooklyn’s Park Slope. Wildly popular since it opened in the summer of 2009, Fonda was tops on my list of places to try during my birthday visit to NYC. It’s now tops on my list, period. Roberto, who had been executive chef at Rosa Mexicano in an earlier life, finally has a free hand to do exactly what he wants here and it shows. Beautifully prepared and presented urban Mexican comida like duck zarape (braised duck-filled soft corn tortillas with roasted tomato-habanero cream sauce), pork adobo (braised pork shoulder served with ancho chile sauce, black beans and warm corn tortillas), fish and seafood specials and other contemporary takes on the food of his native Mexico City. There are always changing seasonal offerings (I had some terrific pulled-chicken enchiladas with a dark and flavorful mole poblano one night) and his justly acclaimed guacamole, brought to the table in the molcajete in which it’s freshly made to order along with hand-pressed tortillas, chips and pasilla de Oaxaca salsa. My birthday entree? Carne asada con hongos, a grilled marinated skirt steak with a mushroom cream sauce, served with honey mashed sweet potatoes and quick-sauteed spinach. Mmmm. No chimichangas here, folks. (Mexican food all this week on Sandy Leonard Snaps. ¿Tienes hambre?)

Fonda, Brooklyn, NY. May, 2011

Mexican Food Week continues with a return to our favorite restaurante mexicano, bar none, Fonda. And what could be better to counter the Brooklyn heat than this refreshing ensalada de sandia? Cubes of chilled watermelon, chunks of peeled and seeded cucumbers, just the right amount of slightly salty queso fresco, all laced with a lime juice-olive oil dressing, then sprinkled with pumpkin seeds and a pinch of chives. Just the thing to start us off on another wonderful dinner at Roberto Santibañez’s jewel of a restaurant in Park Slope. So simple, so satisfying. (See more of Roberto’s offerings in his new book, Truly Mexican.)

Fonda, Brooklyn. May, 2011

More Mexican Food! And a return to our favorite restaurante mexicano, bar none, Fonda. And what could be better to counter the Brooklyn heat than this refreshing ensalada de sandia? Cubes of chilled watermelon, chunks of peeled and seeded cucumbers, just the right amount of slightly salty queso fresco, all laced with a lime juice-olive oil dressing, then sprinkled with pumpkin seeds and a pinch of chives. Just the thing to start us off on another wonderful dinner at Roberto Santibañez’s jewel of a restaurant in Park Slope. So simple, so satisfying. (See more of Roberto’s offerings in his new book, Truly Mexican.)

New York, New York. June, 2015

I've written here before about how much I love my friend Roberto's Fonda restaurants. The original one is in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The second in Manhattan's East Village. And now there's a new one in Chelsea, which it was my good fortune to visit for the first time on a recent trip. Same magnificent food (I had carnitas.) Same cool vibe. And, since word spreads fast, same crowded scene. Here's a look at the guacamole bar with an order of the award-winning guac about to be served.