“ Danny Bowien is a genius, that being the premise, Mission is no Mission it is pure pleasure. Opening in corner joint that onced housed a burger place then a Asian fusion, Mission is a welcoming spot. Starting with an app of radish, anchovies and queso fresco my palate was peeked for more. I went with tacos, but larger groups could do rotisserie chicken or whole fish. A calabaza taco- stew squash and queso fundido as tasty. Even more tasty was the hongos- mushroom and chicarron de queso fundido. Tip- Going early is key! You can take out a burrito and only take out a burrito and for $10ish it looks like the way to go as the weather heads towards warmer pastures. ”

“ Perhaps it's because I came in for lunch by myself, and the cooks took pity on such a wretchedly lonely man and offered me their best efforts. Perhaps I caught them on a good day (and Danny Bowien was in the kitchen). Perhaps the varied reviews are just a function of the same issue that plagues every eatery there ever was: consistency. All I know is that if you ate the same tacos I ate, you couldn't possibly be upset.* I ordered three: al pastor- roast pork belly, fermented pineapple. carnitas- pulled pork shoulder, pork jowl, pork crackling. alambres- brisket, smoked bacon, chicharron de queso Perhaps I didn't need pork in ALL of my tacos, but pork is the best of all the meats, and I stand by my decisions. Especially since the al pastor had the delicious but balanced heat that eludes so many dishes, the alambres was such a well-conceived combination of flavors that it overcame a bit of underseasoning and toughness on the brisket itself, and the carnitas was simply perfection. Corn tortillas can have a grainy, unpleasant texture when they are unfresh, but there was no issue here. Perhaps there is only a whiff of "authenticity" in their methods and their madness, but I've said it before and I'll say it again: I couldn't care less whether it's authentic or not. I came in looking for good food, and I left quite satisfied (and with the most terrible of diced raw onion breath). I can't wait to try the wings. ____________ *Unless for some reason you think tacos overflowing with carefully cooked ingredients produced in a brand new sit-down restaurant in the Lower East Side should somehow cost the same as those slapped together in the back of a bodega in Queens. I'm not saying I'm above bodega tacos (I'm actually quite far below them), I'm just saying you should be reasonable. ”

“ Danny Bowien can do no wrong. Except for getting shut down by the Department of Health. Rats be damned, his food is so good I still ran over to try his new Mexican place weeks after Mission Chinese was shut down. So now an amazing hipster Chinese place has been replaced with an amazing hipster Mexican place half a block away, so all is good. On just the second night of being open, luckily I arrived right at 6, because it was almost immediately packed with tons of people waiting outside to get in. From the moment you walk in, it takes a moment to adjust to the funky day-glo lighting and the incredible smell of the fresh tortillas cooking. It's a very hip, trendy feeling, with some great old school hip-hop music pumping pretty loudly, but at a still manageable level. I don't have the patience to come back too soon to deal with these crowds, so I figured I better just try everything. As usual, I ordered way too much for the two of us, enough to get the waiter to look at us in shock, but I have no regrets. It was all incredible: - Chicken Wings ($10) These are an even better version of the wings at Mission Chinese - they are a little less spicy (which is a good thing since those other ones are lethal), and pack a ton more flavor with the sesame and crema sauce. This is a pretty generous dish with 6 or so hearty wings and is a must try. - Soft Scrambled Eggs ($12) This was a little strange, but still very tasty. It's a very mushy texture, which is to be expected with a dish containing scrambled eggs and sea urchin, but the flavor is great. If you love uni, this is also a must. - Alambres Taco ($5) - Beef Tongue Taco ($5) - Carnitas Taco ($4.50) - Octopus and Chicken Wing Taco ($5) We got a lot of tacos. They brought all four of these beauties on one plate, and all were delicious. I think the Beef Tongue stood out the most to me as being the best, with the great mix of flavors of the peanuts and the tender meat. The Alambres (grilled beef brisket) was also excellent, but it's all about the delicious tortillas that they are apparently making on-site. - Chips and Two Salsas ($5) These aren't just your regular chips - these were some of the best I've ever had. Don't fall into the trap of just getting the Guacamole and Chicharrones, which I'm sure are pretty great too, and make sure to give these a try. The chips are super thick and crunchy and coated in some coarse salt. I'm not in the habit of polishing off the basket of chips when eating Mexican, but I had no choice but to finish the entire bowl of these as they were just that good. - Whole Rotisserie Chicken ($35) The waiter kept warning us that this dish was huge, but it really wasn't all he made it out to be. Sure, it's probably too much for two normal people if you get all the other stuff we got, but we were able to polish off nearly all of the incredibly succulent and juicy chicken, and I definitely finished off every last grain of the ridiculously good rice that was served inside and under the chicken. The rice alone is enough reason to get this dish - it's loaded with chorizo and pecans and is drenched in some kind of brown rice vinaigrette, which makes it nice and oily and just too good to describe. Excellent dish. Everything is made to share and it comes out as it is ready, so we were buried at one point under an insane amount of food, but we happily dug our way out through nearly everything. I definitely want to come back, but I will be sure to hit up the early bird special right at 6 PM again to avoid the immediate crowds. I need to try the rest of the tacos, the Lamb Meatballs, and the other large plate for sharing, the Rack of Lamb Ribs. I better come back though before the dirty rats invade like they did at Mission Chinese (and I mean that literally, not the hipsters). ”