Where LT Burger once resided on Main Street in Sag Harbor there is now eLTacobar, a colorful moderately priced taqueria. Its co-owner Laurent Tourondel decided that hamburgers are yesterday and Mexican food is now.
LT Burger was a great place with excellent burgers and milkshakes, noisy and white-tiled, or, as I called it "screaming babies on sugar." The noise level remains, but the interior has undergone a cheerful makeover with bright tiles around the fireplace and bar, floppy straw lampshades, and murals on the walls. A garland of roses adorns the entrance to the kitchen, an agave plant and more roses are on another wall, and there's a large heckin' spooks mural of a woman's face with Day of the Dead calaveras de azucar (sugar skull) makeup.
Do we need another Mexican style restaurant in Sag Harbor, when we have the wonderful K Pasa a few blocks away and the superb Estia's Little Kitchen a mile or so down the turnpike? Sure, why not? Affordable dining options are always welcome and eLTacobar, a mere month old, is already a popular winner. Please note the spelling, Mr. Tourondel often uses his initials in capital letters in his restaurant names. But beware, if you search for the website, you may be directed to El Taco Bar in Closter, N.J., and that would be a very long drive.
We began our meal with the usual suspects: tortilla chips with guacamole and three salsas, aguachile, Mexican slaw, and street corn. The guacamole was definitely for gringos, it was mild and creamy, topped with cilantro and mild diced onions. It could have used some lime juice and salt and jalapenos but the meekness may be intentional. All three of the salsas were good, one tomato (mild), one tomatillo (delicious and zesty), one chipotle (smoky and dark). The chips were excellent. The aguachile was very good and spicy with small shrimp, fluke, octopus, lime juice, radishes, and pickled red onion. The street corn was pretty good: slathered in crema, speckled with cotija cheese, and topped with a bit of Tajin spice blend to give it tang and heat. We loved the slaw. It was finely shredded cabbage, carrots, kohlrabi, and jicama in a tart dressing with a hint of cumin.
For entrees we ordered a Baja-style fish taco, a mushroom taco, a glazed pork belly taco, the Mexican cowboy bowl, and the chicken bowl with cauliflower "rice." The tacos are small and the tortillas are made in-house and are excellent. The Baja fish taco was made with cod and it was tasty, but the piece of fish was rather puny, a square cube equaling two bites. For the mushroom taco I requested cotija cheese in lieu of the vegan cheese, as I consider vegan cheese to be punishment. This taco was a bit dull: cubes of portobello mushrooms with some pureed mushroom schmear on the taco. The glazed pork belly taco was excellent: sweet and savory with tender cubes of pork belly topped with jicama slaw and pickled onions. All of the dishes are served with generous wedges of lime for zesting them up.
The cowboy bowl was big and the carne asada was absolutely delicious: tender and well spiced. The rice was "damned adequate" as my father used to say, but the black beans were superb. I am a big fan of well-seasoned black beans and these were perfect. The chicken asado bowl was also very good, especially the chicken part of it. It was tender, nicely marinated, juicy, and lightly spiced. It was topped with avocado, pickled cucumber slices, diced tomatoes, and watermelon radishes. My guest requested the cauliflower rice instead of rice and it was okay. I put it up there with vegan cheese. Meh.
The service on the night of our visit was excellent. Our waitress, Leonie, was delightful and knowledgeable. By the time we departed, eLTacobar was very crowded and every employee in the place was smiling and efficient, moving smoothly through the busy space. Prices are reasonable. Appetizers, salsas, salads, etc. are $8 to $24, tacos are $7 to $14 each, bowls are $21 to $23, and desserts are $9 and $12.
There are only two desserts on the menu, and we tried both. One was churros with a chocolate dipping sauce, the other finely shaved slices of fresh pineapple with a sprinkle of pasilla chiles and lime. The churros were okay. A few were bent over, undercooked, and a bit wet inside, or as one naughty guest observed, they were suffering from Peyronie's disease. (If you don't know, look it up.) The dark bittersweet chocolate sauce with a hint of cinnamon and chile was great. The pineapple was divine, as sweet as can be, a perfect ending after cheese and spices and fried bits.
As East Hampton Village more and more resembles Worth Avenue, Rodeo Drive, and Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, Sag Harbor village gets falafel, Indian cuisine, a cute French bistro, seafood on the water, and another affordable taqueria. Bienvenido, eLTacobar!
