“Isn’t it the best?” asked a woman waiting outside of Itzocan Bistro, the modest Mexican-French eatery on a gentrifying block in East Harlem, a stone’s throw from Mt. Sinai Hospital.

Well, actually, it wasn’t

I had had a terrific meal at the spare bistro about a year ago and was looking forward to a return visit. But this meal just didn’t measure up.

My advice: stick to the appetizers. Two in particular, a savory goat cheese flan and a souffle made with huitlacoche, a corn fungus that’s considered a delicacy in Mexico, were winners.

Less successful was a lamb dish–braised lamb shank in Merlot mulato chile & potatoes– that had been cooked for hours and topped with a too-sweet sauce. Surprisingly, the lamb was dry. A friend and I both ordered semolina hoja santa tamalitos with corn, zucchini, tomatoes and saffron. Though the dish presents an intriguing mix of textures and colors, the flavor profile was just plain bland. Salt helped, but not enough.

Prices range from $14 to $18 for entrees, not too steep in other parts of the city, but pretty hefty for this particular part of town.

Itzocan Bistro
Lexington Avenue at 101st St.
New York, NY
212 423-0255

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