Mary Ann's

Mary Ann's

107 West Broadway
NY,NY 10013


Food 7
Ambiance5
Service 3
Overall 15
Good For Strong drinks and stick to your ribs foods and  small groups getting ready to party!

So I must straight off confess, I learned that this was a NYC chain when writing this review. Despite my suspicion of chains, I must admit that Mary Ann's delivers in two important categories where groups are concerned: strong tasty drinks and hearty well seasoned food portions.

We arrived around 9 pm, without reservation on a Friday night, to find the main restaurant well crowded. Our hostess, who spent a good several minutes ignoring us while speaking with another client on the phone, finally hung up and hurriedly seated us at a table in the bar area.
The place is typical pseudo Mexican decor. Entertaining and soothing colors.Tile and terra cotta splashed around strategically.  The main dining room seemed cozy but unfortunately the bar was less attractive with a central large TV, showing a sports game, being the unfortunate focal point.
Perusing the food menu, I was happy to find a Tribeca restaurant with reasonable pricing (everything under 17 dollars) and somewhat shocking newflash -original Mexican ingrediants:actual cotija cheese!. They certainly offer many nontraditional jazzed up options- like a chicken roast eggplant quesadilla or whole wheat burritio- but I steered clear of these options. To be frank I was not expected anything close to authenticity in this area ,but looking at the food options ,you can be sure my heart yelled for some good ole mariachi music to dance to. I settled on the pork enchilidas and shared with my sister ,a chicken fajita. I also ordered a 8 dollar caipirina and and later a 12 dollar cadillac martini. Both were well balanced flavorful strong drinks, although the margherita was pulled off better.
Prior to our mains arriving, we busied ourselves with some fresh tasting tortillas and a mild salsa. I would have liked a little more zip in my salsa but it was , as you may note the theme, well flavored with an interesting medley of spices. My enchilidas arrived, a fairly small serving of two enchilidas with a sprinkling of cotija cheese and some red rice with beans. Although the serving could have been a little more generous, the pork was tender and fragrant. The rice and beans were substantial and made me wonder if the kitchen did not in fact hold someone's Mexican grandmother. The food tasted of home, not your commercial variety of Mexican food so often peddled here and elsewhere. My sister's fajitas were however miles above my enchilidas. Well marinated prior with a pungent mix of garlic and a variety of fresh spices which even  included in an original move rosemary, their odor wafted invitingly as soon as they danced to our tables. The tortillas, guacomole and onions they were served with were also good but the star was the delicate chicken morsels. My only complaint was the fajitas had no grill taste which would have elevated them to beyond memorable status. I do believe these were truly among the best fajitas I have ever devoured, both at a restaurant or made by my own little hands.
The main problem with this restaurant was the service which was barely existant. When present, they were very  helpful and attentive. Unfortunately, we spent too much of our dinner attempting to track down any waitstaff,  although they huddled inexplicably at the bar, only a few feet away from us.
I heartily recommend this place for a group of friends looking for some authentic tasting well priced Mexican food  and party invoking drinks  in a cool part of town.

The Quest continues....