Pampano Taqueria

July 29th 2009

Pampano Taqueria
209 E 49th St (between 2nd and 3rd)
212-751-4545

4 / 5

$11.25 – Veggie quesadilla combo – included a side of rice and beans, chips and a drink


Pampano is an upscale Mexican restaurant on the east side. The taqueria (taco restaurant, usually fast food) is a lunch joint, by the same restaurant, in the unnamed Crystal Court Pavilion on 3rd avenue between 49th n 50th. I ate at the taqueria after reading rave reviews online. The menu looked a bit uninspiring. It had, Tacos, Burritos, Quesadillas & Tortas all served with either Chicken, Shrimp, Grilled Steak, Hanger Steak, Fish, Pork or Veggie (onion, zucchini, mushrooms, chile poblano and cheese). I ordered the veggie Quesadilla combo. They were very busy and it took a while to get it. When it finally came through it looked like it was made in a hurry and stuffed into the aluminum foil packaging, disgorging its appearance. The first bite confirmed my initial suspicion – edible, but nothing to look forward to. The key to this place (at least for the veggie options, the meats might taste better) is the range of condiments. There are three different salsa’s (mild, medium and hot – all delicious!), cilantro, lime, pico de gallo and white onions. I would ideally like my food to be tasty the way its cooked and enjoy it without having to douse sauces/spices to add flavor, but these sauces are sooo freakin good, I don’t mind the extra effort. The rice and beans were also a bit disappointing – the portion contained a small box of white rice and black beans – quite bland for my taste. Had to recreate the dish a bit to be able to eat it – I added some pico, squeezed lime, generous portion of the medium and hot salsa, and topped it off with cilantro – and that was delicious! I had half the mind of taking my creation back to them and asking them to make it a regular menu item instead of the sorry portion of rice and beans they serve!

Bottom line – the food itself is a bit mediocre, but the additions make it worth it!