As you may know, we at Manhattan with a Twist love the unusual Plan B Tapas. We were won over instantly by their fun decor and even funner dishes. So when we had the opportunity to try out their new Fall dishes, we couldn’t pass it up.
We started the evening off with Fried Octopus, which was wonderfully crunchy on the outside and soft and fishy on the inside. For those of you who aren’t fans of octopus, you might want to give this a try as it didn’t have the chewy texture as it usually does. Next up was the Shrimp ($12), made grilled with chili pepper, romesco sauce, and orange powder. This was a real stand out dish and was gobbled up quickly.
We then enjoyed Cod Cakes ($11), which were topped with watermelon radish and whole grain mustard sauce. Unlike your typical cod cakes, these were rolled in Corn Flakes and baked, rather than fried. We had these along with some amazing Brussel Sprouts ($9), which were caramelized and covered in chili oil, balsamic and grated manchego cheese.
Following that we were prepared for a lot of seafood! One of my favorite dishes of the evening were the Scallops ($14). These were served with a passion fruit cream that went so well with the scallops, and Morcilla. For those of you who don’t know, morcilla is blood sausage and actually very tasty! It was a great combination of flavors. We also tried the Eel ($11), which was applewood smoked and served with red onion, hard boiled egg and caper puree. I had never had eel before, but was impressed by its flavor. It reminded me more of chicken than fish, and the smokiness really stood out.
We also indulged in the Tuna Ceviche ($12), made with gala apples, cider reduction, lime and candied bacon. As someone who is not a ceviche fan, I must say I enjoyed this. The cider reduction gave it an interesting flavor and if bacon’s in the mix, you know it’s a winner. And of course, it’s not a trip to Plan B Tapas without a walk on the ‘Wild Side.’ Therefore, we had to try the new and improved Bull Testicles ($13). We tried these last time, but now they are being prepared differently. They are braised and served with guajillo pepper cream and caramelized fennel. If you are brave and daring, this is the dish for you!
We continued on our ‘Wild Side’ journey with the Wild Boar Sliders ($13), served with paprika aioli and roasted jalapeno. These were a fun spin on your classic sliders. Last but not least was the Venison ($20), which was pan roasted and served in a demi glaze topped with scorpion fish mousse. The sauce really completed the dish and made it quite tasty. All of these dishes are great for Fall — a bit heavier than their Summer menu, but not overwhelming. Their use of spices and different sauces really brought their Fall menu to another level.
Over the course of the meal we also sampled some of their impressive cocktails and wines. My favorite was the Plaza Vieja ($12), comprised of Old overholt rye, vermouth negra, cardinal medoza, benedictine, and creole and angosturra bitter. I would save this cocktail for the latter dishes like the sliders and venison, which complement one another. With dessert, I tried The Green Spaniard ($12), which was made with Bols genever, gran duque crema de alba, pistachio syrup and yellow chartreuse. This was a perfect dessert drink!
We ended the evening, of course, with dessert. We tried the poached pear, as well as chocolate cake. Both were delicious, but that chocolate cake is what dreams are made of!
