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| - Definitely a big split for me between the service and the food, but man, the food was good:
Red sangria - Strong but well-balanced, not too sweet.
Sauteed padron peppers - This is a big plate, better suited for four; between the two of us, we each had over a dozen peppers. Beware: the heat is cumulative, so you may be a few peppers in before your boca goes en fuego.
Tuna cones - Least successful; Spago kills it with their tuna cones, though the tuna itself was good.
Octopus - As noted, the softest octopus out there, tastes great.
Black rice w/fresh calamari, lobster tail, sofrito, squid ink - Definitely the best dish, just orgasmically good and a must-order if you go. Also, since it's a rice dish, it has some nice, anchoring heft for your tapas meal.
Bunelos - We are not ashamed to say that we fully dipped each doughnut in the caramel sauce before consuming, and then we finished off what was left of the sauce on its own with our spoons. Gluttontastic!
Okay, so the service. Our reservation got us the worst table in an otherwise beautiful restaurant: right next to the service station, where servers zipped behind each of our chairs, even kicking the chairs a few times, with no apologies. Rather than attempt to guide us toward a complementary tapas offering, the servers (we had a couple) were more intent on getting the order and getting out. I really would have appreciated them noting, for instance, that the peppers were a pretty big order for two, or that there were three tuna cones for the two of us. There's nothing wrong with being efficient, and I can't knock them for being inattentive, but I felt set aside enough between the poor seating and curt service to pull the four-star meal into a three-star rating for the experience. I liked the food enough to want to return and hope for better service next time, though I'll probably give Jaleo a shot first.
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