From the owners of Torito Tapas comes Carmen - a Spanish restaurant serving up some delicious comfort food and tapas.
They have a short cocktail list with a few beers and wines. The decor is quite eclectic with Royal Doulton-esque figurines along the wall. The open kitchen is in the middle of the kitchen.
Started off with the Fried Green Tomatoes topped with a too-tart red pepper, feta and corn chutney.
Next was the Avocado in Jicama - pureed avocado that's perfectly seasoned and sprinkled with fried tortilla bits in a Tostitos Scoops like jicama. Delicious!
For our daily veggie intake we opted for the Kale Salad with toasted pine nuts, raisins, Ricotta Salata. This was topped with a fried quail egg that could've used some seasoning. The salad overall was enjoyable.
For our main we shared the Paella del Carmen - scallops, clams, mussels, shrimp, chicken and chorizo. No regrets here! Loved scraping up the rice crust from the bottom of the pan and the chicken and sausage fats really flavored the dish nicely. The seafood was cooked perfectly - not one thing was overcooked.
For dessert (3 options total) we decided on the Atole- a saffron infused milk and sugar dessert "beverage" served with an almond-pecan biscuit.
The damage was about $90 before tax and tip but I enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Would definitely come back.