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| - We decided that being a Tapas joint, Malabar would be a big hit during Restaurant Week. I'm a fan of sampling a bunch of different bites, and with the menu offering two Tapas, an entree and dessert this was a no-brainer to try. While nothing really blew us away it was still a very good meal.
We ate outside at Malabar, which was a good choice. My brief glimpse at the interior made me think of a cramped, dark, loud restaurant. On the other hand, the outdoor area had about ten tables there ran along a single line, so there were no strangers to do battle with for elbow space or to be inadvertently eavesdropping on each others conversations.
Our server was very friendly, though a bit needy. She popped by a bit too often, which isn't a bad thing at all...I'd rather the server come by too many times then not enough. The wine menu was interesting and offered some wines I was not familiar with, and the prices were reasonable. After delivering the wine some fresh bread and olive oil was brought over. I was surprised at how good the olive oil was...this is definitely the real deal they serve to dip your bread in, and not some cheap stuff they buy at Sam's Club or something in bulk.
For my Tapas I went with the Croquetas and the Pulpo. The Croquetas consisted of two mashed potato, ham and manchego cheese logs all deep fried to perfection. It was very tasty, and I loved how the potato and cheese melded together. However it got heavier with each bite, and I eventually got sick of it before finishing. It wasn't bad tasting at all, but just very heavy and rich, and too much was not good. The Pulpo was a generous portion of grilled octopus, potatoes and olives on a plate with some paprika or some other red seasoning/sauce. While I love calamari I was not a fan of the octopus. I don't think it was anything Malabar did wrong, but I just don't think I personally like the taste of octopus. It was very tender (which I wasn't expecting) but had a strange taste I did not care for.
The missus ordered the Garbanzo and Tigres. The Garbanzo is just what it sounds like...a heaping pile of chick peas. They were cooked pretty well and had some spinach mixed in with them, and they made for a nice, light appetizer. The Tigres are mussels that were cooked in a slightly spicy tomato sauce. The missus is a mussel fiend and she enjoyed both the shellfish themselves as well as the sauce. The Tigres came with one lone hunk of toasted bread to dip in the sauce, and once that was consumed the two of us finished off the table service bread with that delicious sauce.
For an entree (they call platos) I got the Churrasco. This is a grilled flank steak (at least that's my educated guess on the cut of meat) that is marinated in a chimichurri sauce. The steak was cooked to order (medium rare) but was still a touch tough. The sauce was done very well, though there was waaaaaay too much garlic in it. My plate was covered with probably over a hundred small chips of garlic, and that's just too much. It was served with some yucca fries and cilantro sauce that was good. The yucca was cooked good and had a simple taste, but the cook definitely had a heavy hand with the cilantro when it came to the sauce.
The missus went with Gambas al Ajo, which was a bowl of about eight jumbo shrimp. The shrimp were cooked in a tasty garlic sauce and had a nice, fresh bite to them. For a side she was given an order of patatas bravas which we both loved. These little potato wedges were cooked with a slight spice and served with a garlicy creamy sauce that was pretty tasty.
For dessert we both split an order of the Tres Leches cake and Empanadas Dulces. The Tres Leches cake was a super moist cake topped with whipped cream and caramel drizzle. This thing was SOAKED, and was almost like a sponge with all the sweet, sweet sugary milk it absorbed inside. I really enjoyed this dessert and recommend it, so long as you have a sweet tooth. The Empanadas Dulces were kind of like homemade Pop Tarts. The two pastries came out piping hot on the outside, and molten on the inside. The exterior pastry was flaky and had a decent taste to it, though I found it to be slightly bland. The interior was some kind of strawberry jam that was like lava. It was scorching hot and thick, and oozed out as you took each bite and erupted all over the table. I wasn't too crazy about it, and definitely preferred the Tres Leches.
Malabar has some pretty good eats in a nice location. I'm a sucka for Tapas so I'm sure we will be coming back to try more of these little bites.
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