Is NYC takeout joint Ursula America’s ‘best new restaurant’?

Ursula is not America’s most effective new restaurant. Ursula is hardly a cafe at all — only a takeout storefront in Crown Heights with a few out of doors seats.

But this sweet small place is, ridiculously, a James Beard Award nominee for Best New Cafe in the complete U S of A — a coveted honor beforehand acquired by the Major Apple’s Momofuku Ko, Le Coucou and Frenchette. (This year’s winners will be declared in June.)

It isn’t just Beard lavishing praise on this New Mexico-encouraged eatery, which serves breakfast burritos and a handful of lunch sandwiches. Grub Street extolled, “Ursula could be America’s ideal new cafe.” Eater New York and the New Yorker went bananas in excess of it. It is just one of the New York Times’ “following fantastic breakfast places.” BonAppetit.com prominently highlighted the recipe for Albuquerque-born chef-owner Eric See’s chorizo-and-scrambled eggs burrito.

Sorry to burst the burrito bubble, but in spite of acquiring the very best burrito in city, Ursula is not even the most effective cafe in Crown Heights, which has quite a few good places to consume that in fact permit you sit indoors.

It’s simple to fall for this reasonably priced neighborhood eatery that didn’t question to be thrust into the countrywide highlight. Ursula allows you try to eat really very well for peanuts. (Burritos for $11 every are significant plenty of to feed nearly as numerous people today.) Smiling workforce produce dishes from the little kitchen area to al fresco tables with an abundance of cheer.

See’s menu draws overdue attention to the components of New Mexico — particularly crimson and eco-friendly chiles from the state’s Hatch Valley location — which he correctly states are less than-represented in New York.  

But does that make Ursula much more deserving of a national prize nomination than New York’s Le Pavillon, Iris or Carne Mare, wonderful, fully understood establishments led by good chefs? In fairness, Beard did also nominate thrilling Indian restaurant Dhamaka. But it is really hard to notify what Beard even signifies by “new” — Ursula opened in 2020.

Truth check: In the close, even the very best burrito is just a burrito. Ursula’s oft-Instagrammed variation with chorizo, scrambled eggs, hash browns and cheddar stuffed within a flour tortilla sent a payload of multiflavored, multitextured satisfaction. Skillfully calibrated New Mexican pink chile lent a satisfying spark to the flawlessly cooked substances — devoid of scorching them.

But for my funds, the vegan selection, anchored by pinto beans, experienced a pasty texture and confined flavor. Eco-friendly-chile fried chicken and ground beef sopaipillas have been palate-pleasing sandwiches way too huge for standard human fingers.

Ursula’s lease is up this yr. See launched a GoFundMe marketing campaign to elevate dough for a new home. I guaranteed hope he finds one. He justifies a good placing with indoor seats and a whole-measurement kitchen to display us what he can do further than burritos.

Ursula is open from 8 or 9 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Burritos and other breakfast objects are obtainable only right until noon, or earlier if they run out the relaxation of the menu is offered from 11:30 a.m. till closing. No mobile phone.