Peachy Picks Sofrito
If you want your dinner party to be a PARTY, you go to Sofrito.
Located on a lovely block on the serene Upper East side in contrast, Sofrito will save you a lot of cash on the plane ticket south to immediately enter a land of boisterous commotion that equals fun, especially if it is your birthday. It reminded us a bit of spring break in November! We think every Latin person in town absolutely must go here on their birthday since we heard "Happy Birthday" three times before our entree even came, and by the time dessert arrived, we counted seven in two and a half hours. We don't think we've even seen one before in a dinner review....we would not suggest going here for a serious dinner conversation or a proposal or a romantic date, but if you have dancing and partying on your mind, this is the place. It is a bit like eating dinner in a nightclub with super cuisine.
Sofrito was first featured in Tasty Tidbits:
& it has graduated to Peachy's Picks because of its fabulous lobster, fantastic service by Eddy, shown above, and its original theme. We are still surprised to find something so original in over 110 reviews by now but that is the charm of living in New York.
Above is the number one reason to go to Sofrito:
The lobster with mashed yucca!
The lobster was fresh, succulent and delicious and presented beautifully, as you can see.
Peachy Deegan had never heard of yucca before nevermind had never tried it, but it was terrific and a had a nice consistency. The combination was a winner!
The second best culinary item of the night was the pumpkin pie.
They must be practicing for tomorrow!!!
Let us assure you this has every taste of New England in it which is a huge compliment as our panel is 100% from Connecticut on this review.
Starting at top left and going clockwise: corn fritters, marinated roast pork, chicken chunks, calamari, baby fried shrimp and plantains with yucca were our first appetizer experience.
By far the marinated roast pork was the best and the plantains with yucca-totally new to Peachy-also had a nice flair.
The Empanadas were quite tasty and we tried the cheese, shrimp, beef and chicken.
If you are a seafood salad person who likes olives, you'll like the codfish and octopus salads, featured above.
Another new item for us were the green fried plantains topped with sauteed shrimp, codfish, steak and octopus!
Our esteemed panelist adds:
If you are looking for a lively scene of good fun and dining, Sofrito is the place for you! Settled between 1st and Sutton on 57th Street is the place to go for excellent Spanish Cuisine on the Upper East Side. The chic ambiance of the restaurant makes it very upscale, but it is clearly a place that patrons go to with family and friends for an exciting and enjoyable dining experience! Throughout the night, there were seven birthdays being celebrated which made the evening fun for all! We started out with a wide array of appetizers, which were all so delicious! My favorites were the empanadas which came with their own special dipping sauce. They were excellent on their own, but the sauce made them even better! I also thoroughly enjoyed the Sorullitos de Maiz (corn fritter sticks stuffed with cheese). I had never tried anything like them before and was pleasantly surprised with them!
For my main dish, I ordered the skirt steak with garlic shrimp, accompanied with mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach. The steak was not only cooked to perfection, it was also a very generous portion! The chimichurri sauce on top was delectable, making it the perfect steak. The mashed potatoes had a perfect buttery, garlic flavoring to them and were so creamy! I could have eaten an entire plate of them by myself, they were THAT good. The jumbo shrimp were sautéed in a creamy garlic sauce that complimented the dish so well too!
For dessert we got the opportunity to try four different creations! While all of them were excellent, the pumpkin pie was, without a doubt the best pumpkin pie I have EVER eaten! The pie crust melted in my mouth and the entire dessert disappeared way too quickly! I also loved the cheese flan, which was unlike any flan that I've ever had before! Very innovative dessert! Sofrito is the perfect place not only for some of the best Puerto Rican dishes, but also for a celebration with your friends and family! I can't wait to invite my friends and family there for a get-together in the near future!
Peachy Picks Sofrito!
