Txikito
Alex Raij and Eder Montero cook Basque food on 9th Avenue, and a waiter told The Infatuation the suckling pig special has been on
for like 15 years.1 Will Hartman rated the room 8.3 in September 2024.1
Why go
The menu moves with the season and Raij puts things next to each other that should not work. Ruth Reichl's example, from her last visit before she wrote in March 2024, was a salad of chicory leaf, shredded papaya, blue cheese and a dressing with coffee in it.2 Hartman's example is Vietnamese rau ram tucked into the boquerones, and bomba rice built on uni and enoki.1 So order what is on that day, because the kitchen rotates. In summer the tables go out onto 9th Avenue and the quisquillos, tiny shrimp you crunch whole through aioli, are what to eat out there.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the cochinillo. Crisp skin, in a pool of tximitxurri with a hint of sweetness in the green sauce.1
- Order: the pulpo carpaccio, plated like a flower with bursts of olive oil and paprika, and salty enough to taste a little cured.1
- Order: a gilda to start, one olive and one anchovy, with vermouth.1
- Order: the fried head-on shrimp, which is Reichl's.2
- Avoid: arriving set on one plate. Reichl's chicory salad was a dish from her last visit, not a fixture.2
What locals & experts say
- Ruth Reichl, via The Relisher (19 March 2024), on the chicory salad:
It was delicious, and I couldn't stop eating it — you wouldn't think those flavors would work together, but they were brilliant.
2 - Will Hartman, The Infatuation (4 September 2024), rating it 8.3:
Order with the confidence that whatever comes out is going to taste fresh and, somehow, as heartfelt as that tree of life mural on the back wall.
1
Good to know
- Sitting outside: they put tables on the sidewalk in summer.1
- Group size: Hartman's advice is to walk in with a few friends and share combinations.1
Verdict
should-visit — Two dated voices six months apart say the same thing about the kitchen, that the menu turns over and the surprises are the point. Ruth Reichl ate a chicory salad with papaya, blue cheese and a coffee dressing in March 2024 and could not stop eating it; Will Hartman found Vietnamese rau ram in the boquerones that September. Neither of them prints a price.