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| - I finally got to try this place! I know of it's rave Yelp reviews and was excited to try it when I saw it offering a certificate on restaurant.com. I put the address without the suite # and was routed to the wrong place by Maps, but the Yelp app saved the day. It's next to a gelato shop & some trashy club wear place. Very sketchy with a couple homeless people, including a man in a wheelchair offering my husband $1 for 2 cigaettes. Unfortunately, my husband had to tell him it was a vape and not a cigarette.
The restaurant itself was very clean and happy with its yellow walls. The employees were all very helpful. We ordered quite a bit of items and there were no problems accepting our certificate. We sat and the owner brought our order out to us directly.
We had:
Wood fire beef with cheese: 5 stars. This was our favorite! Very flavorful beef with stringy cheese, tomato, and lettuce.
Pulled pork with cheese: 4 stars. Juicy pulled pork that tasted smokey and tender. My issue with the arepas that I received was that not all the shell things were toasted equally. Some were crispy and would hold up and be buttery deliciousness. Others were more soft, but ended up becoming soggy and tasting like a mushy corn texture.
Reina pepiada: 4 stars. It is an avocado chicken salad. It was yummy although missing some texture.
Garlic shrimp: 2 stars. This was my least favorite by far. The arepa for this one seemed very corn mealy? It wasn't toasted very much and got soggy quick. The shrimp are tiny little guys that you'd probably find at red lobster in their pasta. Also, pretty bland.
Grilled chicken empanada: 2 stars. I've had empanadas made by my friends from Argentina, and it's all about the shell thing. This one was super thick! It was like eating an arepa with only a little bit of filling. Just way too carby for me. The grilled chicken in it was yummy though! I'd like to try it in an arepa next time.
Fried plantains: 3 stars. Not my cup of tea. Kind of slimy in texture. If they were fried in oil, I couldn't tell because there was no crisp, but because they are called fried plantains, I will assume they were doused in oil, which make it not worth the calories.
Guava & cheese thing: 4 stars. Way better shell than the empanada and yummy guava with cheese. I wish the cheese was more melted but when I bit into it, it still looked like a solid block.
Overall, I would stop by again if I'm in the neighborhood. Perhaps I'd ask for the arepa extra toasted just to make sure there aren't any soggy ones. I definitely want to try to the grilled chicken. I appreciate this small business and the love the put into their food. I fortunately, there were just some issues I couldn't overlook. Until next time!
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