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September 16, 2008

Streetlevel: New Mexican for Columbia Street Waterfront

calexico0002.JPG
Lost City reports that the space once occupied by Schnack, at 122 Union Street near Columbia, will be a "gourmet" Mexican restaurant called Calexico — no relation to the band, we don't think. Neighborhood folks got to sample some of their fare at a street fair this weekend, and apparently they own a couple of trucks that roam Manhattan with taco offerings. There's another Calexico on 5th Avenue in the Slope; any relation, you think?
Photo by Lost City.




Posted by lisa at 11:05 AM | Comments (14)
Categories: Columbia Street Waterfront

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Comments

i thought city laws prevented more than one business operating under the same name, so it would have to be related ot the 5th ave location right?

Posted by: Jimmy Legs at September 16, 2008 11:47 AM

That space is cursed, there have been 2 bakeries, a deli, another restaurant there and Schaack in just the past 7 yrs or so.

Posted by: bmfesq at September 16, 2008 11:57 AM

Not sure about the law, but there's absolutely no relation. Actually, the one on 5th isn't bad, but this new Calexico is fantastic--at least what I sampled from the cart they positioned in front of the store for the festival. Much needed food for this area.

Posted by: pclem at September 16, 2008 12:20 PM

whats the deal with naming a restaurant after such a nothing of a city? does the name alone evoke some sort of romanticized vision of california mexican cuisine in people?

instead of competing for name with the one on 5th, just name it after the city's much-worse-s.hole to the south, Mexicali.

Posted by: goldie at September 16, 2008 1:23 PM

Mexicali is taken. It's on Court St. near Atlantic.

Posted by: an at September 16, 2008 1:40 PM

As much as I love authentic mexican food, somehow the words "gourmet" and "mexican street food" seem contradictory.

Posted by: wasder at September 16, 2008 1:52 PM

wasder, I wonder if somewhere in Mexico City there's a guy with a Nathan's stand selling gourmet New York hot dog street cart weiners and pretzels.

Posted by: Biff Champion at September 16, 2008 1:56 PM

Better yet "gourmet street knishes"!

Posted by: wasder at September 16, 2008 2:22 PM

wasder, hopefully they would be Yonah Schimmel knishes and not those fried square potato ones.

Posted by: Biff Champion at September 16, 2008 2:31 PM

I had their carne asada burrito last weekend and it was great. Should do really well. Alma is not competition since it is much more upscale. Buddy's and California on Court are just okay--California better than Buddy's (and has tamales) but Calexico better than both, I would think, based upon my lunch and reactions from others and rep of their carts in Manhattan.

Posted by: Carol Gardens at September 16, 2008 4:18 PM

Calexico is a city in California, right across the border from Mexicali:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calexico,_California

Posted by: grvsmth at September 16, 2008 7:25 PM

The Calexico Cart in Soho has excellent food. I get lunch there at least twice a week, and hopefully this one's related to the carts...

Posted by: carfreenation at September 16, 2008 9:25 PM

It's the guys with the carts.

Posted by: Carol Gardens at September 18, 2008 6:29 PM

Hey Neighbors,

The guys from Calexico here. Seems there are some questions about our name. Calexico is indeed a little border town in Imperial Valley, California. It happens to be where our family - and our recipes - are from. The name also happens to describe our food, which is a mash-up: California+Mexico=Calexico. Across the border from us is our sister city, Mexicali. And yes, there is a fantastic band from Arizona that uses the same name (we actually catered for them a few weeks ago). And to clarify, we are the guys from the carts, not the place on 5th Avenue. Legally speaking we own the rights to the name, but we don't mind sharing it with them.

Anyway, we're really excited about coming to the neighborhood. Hopefully we can make this "cursed" space work!

Thanks,
Jesse, Brian, and David Vendley

Posted by: Calexico at October 6, 2008 6:31 PM

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