Mexicue's southwestern fare makes rising chain a popular local favorite

In New York City, you’ll find a fair amount of Mexican restaurants and a fair amount of Southern-style barbeque joints, but it can be rare to find a place that offers both. However, Mexicue, a budding chain with three New York City locations does just that, using the freshest spices, vegetables, and other ingredients possible with every dish cooked slowly and thoroughly.

Mexicue has become particularly appealing to young adults with its locations being near major attractions and hangout spots such as Times Square, Bryant Park, Madison Square Park, and Madison Square Garden, and also for its reasonable prices.

Other appealing factors include their taco bar and their taco and bowl bar that offers customers a choice of three tacos, which they can put together themselves. Customers can choose two out of the five types of fillings offered which are smoked chicken, smoky carnitas, burnt ends chili, and brisket. Tasty additions include corn salsa, cotija cheese, creamy chipotle sauce, or Mexican BBQ sauce to name a few. The taco bar offers white flour tortillas on the side while the taco & bowl bar also include Mexican rice, salad, and black beans. If you wish to upgrade further, the Mexicue Gold Bar includes everything in the taco & bowl bar plus a choice of one side, which are green chili mac and cheese, blackened brussel sprouts, quinoa, or spicy slaw.

 Another reason why Mexicue is such a popular hotspot is its wide range of more than 50 types of beer, wine, bourbon, and tequila to choose from which can make for some very creative cocktails. Such specialties include the Seasonal Jungle Juice containing fruit, moonshine, bourbon, and limeade, the ginger-infused Mexicue Mule with bourbon, fresh ginger, ginger beer, chili ginger syrup, and lime juice, or the delectable Chocolate Bourbon containing bourbon, coffee, kahlua, baileys, mole bitters, and cocoa powder.

Notable appetizers include Grilled Corn Bread with chipotle butter, Watermelon Radishes with sea salt, or Grilled Shrimp Tostada with citrus vinaigrette, chili bean spread, creamy chipotle, and corn salsa to name a few. Perhaps not surprisingly, enchiladas and burritos are very popular. Some of the best types include the Smoked chicken Enchiladas Suiza, the Spicy Brisket Enchiladas, the Jamburrito, the Burnt Ends Brisket burrito, and the Green Chili Pork Burrito among others.

Mexicue has three Manhattan locations: 1440 Broadway on 40th St. between Broadway and Sixth Ave. (212) 302-0385; 225 Fifth Ave. between 26th and 27th St. (646) 922-7289; 345 Seventh Ave. between 29th and 30th St. (212) 244-0002.

Seward Johnson's iconic sculptures grace the streets of the Garment District

If you’ve been walking down Broadway lately, just a little bit south of Times Square you may have noticed something out of the ordinary as though art and history were coming to life.

A collection of 18 life-sized bronze sculptures by renowned sculptor Seward Johnson dazzle five blocks of Broadway in a public art show titled Seward Johnson in New York presented by the Garment District Alliance’s “Summer Arts on the Plazas” program. The exhibition is divided into three sub-categories that are titled Celebrating the Familiar, Beyond the Frame, and Icons Revisited all of which include pieces created at different points in his career throughout the past 30 years.

With the series Celebrating the Familiar, Johnson intelligently captures the daily life in America by portraying ordinary individuals going about their business. Notable works from this series include Holding Out depicting a woman carrying a heavy brown paper bag of groceries in one hand while balancing two white shopping bags in the other. Another work from this series titled Frequent Flyers features two businessmen are walking alongside each other with one man tilting his head with a curious expression on his face as though he’s commenting on something interesting he’s observed as his partner looks at him with interest in what he might be saying.

Embracing Peace

The series Beyond the Frame is a charming ode to French Impressionist and other great painters as Johnson takes scenes from some of the most celebrated artworks of all time and puts them into a twenty-first century context. Johnson includes scenes from many of Renoir’s paintings such as Dance in the Country, Dance in the City, or Dance at Bouvigal, all of which feature couples dancing and are enchanting replicas of the original paintings. 

Johnson also re-creates the scene from Manet’s Chez Pere Lathuille where a couple are spending the afternoon in an outdoor café as the waiter looks on from a distance holding a teapot. Johnson refers to his version as Eye of the Beholder to capture the scene from the waiter’s point of view. Other notable works from this series are God Bless America inspired by Grant Wood’s iconic American Gothic painting depicting a farmer holding a pitchfork with his wife standing next to him, and Monet, Our Visiting Artist portraying one of the greatest painters of the era as though he were visiting New York City for the first time and painting exactly what he sees in front of him.

Johnson’s interest in politics and pop culture clearly emerges through his Icons Revisited series. Works from this series include a 1991 installation titled Return Visit, featuring Abraham Lincoln delivering the famous Gettysburg Address to a twentieth century man, and the 2011 installation Forever Marilyn of America’s most legendary and charismatic film star standing over a subway grate with her white dress flowing in the wind as the train passes.

Perhaps the most notable work from this series is Embracing Peace depicting a sailor carrying roses and bending over to kiss a nurse re-creating Alfred Eisenstaedt’s renowned photograph that graced the cover of Life Magazine on August 14th 1945 celebrating Victory Over Japan Day marking the end of World War II.  A much larger 25-foot version of this sculpture has been recently installed in the heart of Times Square to mark the 70th anniversary of the victorious occasion.

Seward Johnson in New York is presented on Broadway between 36th and 41st Streets, and will be on view through Sept. 15.

Artists present work inspired by residency in rural Massachusetts

The Klein Sun Gallery in Chelsea is currently presenting two solo shows this summer featuring the work of rising artists Geng Xue and Ying Zhu. Last month, both artists participated in a Klein Sun residency program at Millers Falls Art Bridge in Western Massachusetts led by Richard Widmer.

Geng Xue’s portion of the show is titled Borrowing an Easterly Wind and is displayed in the gallery’s South Gallery. Growing up in Beijing and studying under renowned artist Xu Bing, she became fascinated by Chinese folklore and incorporates ideas from the Daoist philosophies of Zhuangzi in her work that includes several photographs, sculptures, and film installations.

During her stay at Millers Falls Art Bridge, Geng began to make connections between her surrounding environment and the pipes and pathways of life described in Zhuangzhi’s writings and her works feature openings and gaps in some way or another. Her sculptures are made from plaster, wood, and iron and contain several holes and passages with a surface that’s arched to form a bridge or an opening.

Borrowing an Easterly Wind No. 2 by Geng Xue

Geng illustrates this same concept with her photographs, some of which feature the streams and rivers passing through the trees of the forest allowing the water to pass through.

Another striking image to convey this notion is an aerial shot of the spot where Manhattan’s twin towers once stood, powerfully illustrating the gaping hole replaced with water flowing into the small square opening in the center.

Ying Zhu is a multimedia artist who has studied in both China and the U.S. and examines Western culture with an Eastern perspective. Her portion of the show is titled Live Like An Astronaut, which includes installations that overturn conventional notions of sight and sound, as though living in outer space as the title suggests.

One fascinating part of the show is an alluring pattern of Styrofoam covering half the floor where visitors are invited to walk along wearing plastic slippers as they enjoy the soft surface underneath their feet and occasionally stepping on pieces of foam that may pop up. The surrounding walls are decorated with small, circular mirrors, rocks, and other objects to really capture the notion of living like an astronaut as the title of the show suggests. Other intriguing works include a set of acrylic pieces called Space Tears that depict an eye shedding a rather large tear perhaps reflecting the loneliness of being away from a familiar environment. The first piece illustrates a traditional teardrop, while the second piece features the teardrop taking on a more curved shape.

At the Klein Sun Gallery, 525 W. 25th St., through Sept. 5. The gallery is open Mon.—Sat. from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

French bistro remains a classic Midtown East staple 35 years on

Even in a city like New York where there are numerous new, trendy restaurants popping up practically everywhere you turn, there are still several classic favorites that have stood the test of time. One of these restaurants, La Mediterranee, is a lovely French bistro and piano bar in East Midtown, which opened in the summer of 1980.

For the past 35 years, loyal patrons have enjoyed the old-fashioned atmosphere that truly captures the essence of the French Riviera with the seaside paintings that grace the thickly plastered walls, the harmonious piano music, and palatable cuisine.

Live jazz music is offered every night with regular house musician Harold John performing most nights during the week. Some guest musicians have included Tony Middleton, Joe Alterman, and Laura Angyal among others.

The happy hour, which lasts from noon until 8 p.m. includes $5.00 Chilean Merlot, Cabernet, and Chardonnay as well as Champagne, Sangrias, Mimosas, and Bloody Marys. Some of the best appetizers include the French onion soup topped with Swiss cheese, and Escargots de Bourgone with garlic herb and pernod butter. 

La Mediterranee also offers Sunday brunch which includes Belgian waffles, chicken and mushroom crepes, and a wide variety of omelets including the Classic Eggs Benedict, the Smoked Salmon Benedict, or the Maryland Crab Cake Benedict among others. Delectable sandwiches include the Croque Monsieur consisting of ham and cheese with béchamel sauce and served with pommes frites, or the Croque Madame which is the same type of sandwich plus an egg on top.

Enjoyable pasta dishes include Lobster Ravioli with shallots, white wine and saffron cream sauce, Potato Gnocchi with sun-dried tomatoes in a fresh pesto sauce, and Fettuccine Primavera with fresh vegetables and roasted tomato sauce. Some of the finest fish entrees include the Pan Roasted Atlantic Salmon with lentils, asparagus and Dijon mustard, or the Bouillabaisse a'la Mediterranée which is a collection of assorted seafood cooked in a Pernod lobster broth with saffron served with croutons and rouille.

Classic meat dishes include Classic Beef Bourguignon with beef in red wine served with vegetables, onions, and mushrooms, Coq Au Vin with chicken in red wine with onions and vegetables, and Roast Pork Tenderloin served with sautéed spinach and garlic mashed potatoes in Calvados sauce.

And last but certainly not least, some mouthwatering desserts include Chocolate Mousse, Crème Brulee, Cheesecake, Souffle, and assorted ice cream and sorbet.

 La Mediterranee, 947 Second Ave. (at 50th St.) (212) 755-4155.

Marsha Doran presents 'Fragmented Symbols' at Chelsea gallery show

The Blue Mountain Gallery in Chelsea is currently presenting a series of works by Marsha Doran for an exhibition titled Fragmented Symbols. For this show, Doran unveils mixed media abstract pieces consisting of materials such as dress patterns, tissue paper, glue, acrylic paint, pencil, paper, marker, and ink.

Doran’s subjects touch on religion and mythology by depicting various symbols like crosses, stars, or flowers. She starts out by creating sketches of these symbols which she dismantles, and then rearranges them so that they’re presented in a new manner that still honors their underlying meaning.

For instance, one piece titled Crosses features several images of the iconic symbol of Catholicism arranged haphazardly with red, gold, and white paint resembling fire to illustrate the notion of crosses being burned. Snippets of text are blended in reading messages such as “We all have our crosses to bear, we carry them heavily out of love for our brothers in arms.”

Similarly, Star of David includes images of the iconic symbol of Judaism that overlap and covered primarily in white paint with touches of blue and gold. In the center of the painting is a small, clearly outlined navy blue box with a clear image of the star. In addition, there are snippets of text embedded in the piece including a dictionary definition of the Star of David.

Lotus by Marsha Doran

Another work titled Lotus depicts the legendary plant which can be found in many corners of the globe with in numerous forms, but the classic Lotus flowers have pink and white leaves that are shaped like a bowl with a yellow center. Those lotuses are native to Asia and serves as a symbol to Hindu and Buddhist religions to represent reincarnation and divine beauty.

Marsha Doran studied at Western Connecticut State University where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree with honors in Studio art and Painting before earning her Master’s degree of Fine Arts in Painting from Boston University. She has also studied at SUNY Purchase in New York as well as at the Vermont Studio Center. She lives in Connecticut and has exhibited her work throughout the New England and New York area. Many of her paintings have been purchased into private collections, both nationally and internationally.

At The Blue Mountain Gallery, 530 W. 25th St., through Aug. 18. The gallery is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.