It always feels good to cross restaurants off of my “To Eat” list, especially with new friends, so I was super ecstatic to try out Yerba Buena despite the struggle it took getting there. The restaurant is on the corner of Perry Street but the avenue is completely blocked off from the east side, which is where I was traveling from. I couldn’t complain for long because I found out the unlimited drinks are interchangeable here, that was all I needed to know to start loving this place.
So I indulged in the Brazilian Bellini, which included passion fruit instead of orange juice, Sangria, Mimosas and some other drink I couldn’t pronounce but didn’t like too much anyway. We happened to be starving so we decided on trying the guacamole. Neither one of us was very impressed with the flavor but it would do as we waited for the entrees.
As I looked forward to savoring the steak “a caballo” which was a hanger steak with fried eggs, I checked out the scene. Not going to lie, the place was packed but despite that our waitress was really attentive and kind to us. She even left a few extra drinks at our table before our time was up. A large party had been set up down the middle and directly behind us, which made me consider this as a reasonable location for a birthday brunch or dinner. Alas, brunch had arrived.
The rice and beans had a subtle flavor of herbs, which I got to spice up with the Salsa Criolla that you see on the side of the Congri. Apparently, Congri is a fancy way of saying “sweet banana” in its entirety. The steak was medium rare, partially overdone, and a part of it was just right. I ate what I could and continued drinking. The parts that I was able to enjoy were juicy and rich, however the egg to accompany it was basic, so I ate what I could to get filled up. I wish the steak would have been more consistent in order to devour it completely but some places you win with the drinks and lose on the food. It wasn’t an entire loss but disappointing indeed.
