Piq and Choose

  Almost as soon as the two locations of popular Brooklyn taqueria Bonita closed their doors a few months back, Mexican restaurants across the borough were racing to take their places.  

Among those blossoming taco spots, Piquant has risen in Prospect Heights.This restaurant, which replaced deli-bar-restaurant Mitchell’s Bar and Grill, doesn’t look like the sort of place to serve an array of tequila and gourmet Southwestern themed meals—it has the feel of a boutique hotel lobby bar—but despite the appearance, I stepped in and headed straight for the tall, tequila-lined bar.

Their drink menu (all cocktails run $8) proved impressive with a handful of different margaritas, mojitos and something called the New Mexico Red Eye, which contained vodka, gin, Bacardi 151 and cactus pear puree. Yikes! Given the previous night’s dalliances, I skipped that and chose the 100 percent organic (of course) agave nectar-spiked Park Slope Margarita. Half expecting it to come in a baby carriage or with a pregnancy test swizzler, I gingerly took the salted beverage and was surprised by its tartness.This is just the way I like my margaritas, though the agave added an overly sweet honey tinge.

My date and I moved to the dining area and marveled at the number of people wait ing to serve us.True, I would rather have many waiters rather than too few, but on a slow Thursday night it seemed a bit excessive.We ordered another round of drinks, and this time I tried the house margarita, which was way too sweet and heavy on the orange juice. My companion chose the perfectly-balanced Piquant mojito, and I openly expressed my jealousy.

With drinks in hand, we got down to the task of choosing from the vast menu, which featured first course options like tacos, sides, sliders, soups, salads, ceviches and entrées.We started with the crab quesadilla ($12); the lightly fried tortilla came in four wedges stuffed with hearty crabmeat structured around a mound of cool jicama slaw.What made this dish truly stand out was the addition of a rich black bean sauce swirled with a tangy ginger lime cream, which I slathered on each bite.

All the food on the menu gets its inspiration from chef and owner David Sharp’s Texas upbringing and love for Southwestern and Mexican food. Piquant is the ex-Mustang Grill chef’s first solo venture, and he plans to focus on the spicy (piquant) flavors of this cuisine. Of the dishes we tried, the one that best brought out what I know of this region’s cooking (as both a Colorado gal and spice lover) were the tamales ($10).They serve two: duck confit and a sweet potato tamale with pulled pork.The former had tender shredded duck pieces tossed in a smoky mole sauce and the latter had moist pulled pork spiked with green chilies and honey-roasted pumpkin seeds. Both the sweet potato tamale and the corn tamale were perfectly cooked and each nibble melted in my mouth with a fresh bite and savory tang.We also marveled at the simple and fresh tasting beef brisket flautas ($10), which were a nice come down from the complexity of the tamales.

On another visit, we indulged in the citrusy ceviche platter ($15 for 3 choices).The tuna with mango puree tasted sticky sweet, but it balanced well with the cool cucumber and radish.The salmon ceviche, though laced with papaya and red Fresno chilies, had a similar flavor. Neither one matched the intricate flavors of the fresh red snapper, which, with roasted corn and cilantro, was our favorite.We also ordered the salsa flight ($6) that comes with a few variations on the restaurant’s homemade Navajo fry bread. The crispy bread was excellent and we used it throughout the meal to scoop tantalizing chunks of meat and other stray morsels off the plate, but the skimpy, boring salsa tasters could easily have been skipped.

On the entrée side we delighted in the beef short ribs in a cascabel chili and red wine sauce ($22) which, despite the tender meat and thick marinade, could have used a dash of hot sauce.We also ordered the shrimp enchiladas ($20). Covered in a light cream sauce and studded with roasted corn, the sweet shrimp tasted fresh and plenty of them were stuffed in the flour tortillas.

The menu also features baby back ribs with ancho molasses barbecue sauce, a 24ounce porterhouse steak and other entrées for a hearty appetite which we weren’t hungry enough to try but might go back for.

All together, the meal was memorable thanks to excellent service, good drinks and that damn tamale, which I am craving even as I type this.

-- Piquant 259 Flatbush Ave. (betw. St. Marks Pl. & Bergen St.), Brooklyn, 718-484-4114.