In New York City weekend brunches are an absolute must. Sometimes I can’t imagine even eating on the weekends if my day doesn’t start with brunch.

My friends at citizenMag recently treated me to a fab brunch at La Contenta, an adorable Mexican place on the Lower East Side. After having brunch there, I already can’t wait to go back. Not only is it moderately-priced by NYC standards, it’s also delicious. During my visit I had the best guacamole and huevos rancheros that I’ve ever had.

The margaritas at La Contenta are not only delicious, they are also naturally sweetened with ingredients such as agave so you don’t have to worry about added sugar and calories. They actually specialize in agave-based cocktails and spirits. In my opinion, natural sweeteners taste better too because they aren’t overly sweet. I often don’t order cocktails because I don’t want to be ingesting artificial sweeteners and added calories, but I was totally fine with ordering two at La Contenta. Since I saved on the sugar with the margaritas, I decided to order a slice of tres leches cake for dessert.

Having a Venezuelan mother, I grew up around a lot of tres leches cakes and flans, but I was never a huge fan of them because the consistency was always too watery for me. But since I’d already had a tasty Mexican brunch, I figured “when in Rome” and ordered the cake. It was super yummy and had a lot more structure than most of the cakes and flans I’ve had. It was a great finale to the brunch.

If you’re planning a brunch at La Contenta (which I hope you are), I suggest making reservations. It’s a small restaurant that could easily fill up fast. So make a reservation just to be safe. On top of going back for another brunch, I also want to go back for happy hour for more naturally sweetened cocktails.

Photos by: Zarif Taufiq

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