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| - I want to like Alma. My experiences have been good enough that I'll be back, however, they could stand to improve on a few fronts before I'll be a regular.
My first visit was during their "soft" opening before they had the cantina up and running. I went with a group, which afforded me the opportunity to try several dishes besides my own. Of the appetizers ordered, I loved the Plátanos maduros con salsa de habichuelas (Cuba) $5 (Sweet, ripe plantains with spicy bean sauce), but the fried yuca was extremely dry and bland, downright bad.
I tried the mango and arugula salad, which should have been an easy win, since that should be a great combo, but it was lacking something to really bring it together. I could have saved the $7. For my entree, I ordered the Plato vegetariano con quinua y ensalada de choclo ($13; vegetarian plate with quinoa, assorted fresh vegetables and hominy). It was okay, though the quinoa was replaced with rice and the server did not mention this when I ordered nor when the dish was brought. A minor point perhaps, but quinoa is a nice source of protein for us vegetarians, so that was disappointing and further added to the nutritional imbalance of the plate. A major pet peeve of mine is that too many restaurants do not think through their vegetarian options, just pulling the meat off the plate, leaving essentially a side dish to stand on its own, and failing to ensure that the dish will be a filling meal. While this dish would be a fine side accompaniment to an animal protein based entree, alone it was a bit under-filling. The portion was modest and the plate was dominated by a large (3" x 4" x 0.5") slice of grilled, but nearly raw, zucchini. Zucchini is more or less nutritionally devoid and even a slice of that size has almost no calories. Great for your diet and water intake, lousy at filling you up (not to mention rather bland in its raw state). The flavors were fine, but I was not wowed.
I tried my friends' Arepa de vegetales con plátanos maduros ($11; fresh beets, avocado, cabbage and cilantro on an unleavened Columbian corn pastry with sweet plantains) with much the same reaction. The portion was too modest, given the lack of calories and protein and the execution was uneven. It wasn't bad, but it was lacking...something. The Vegetales al tagine ($13; fig and date rice with assorted fresh vegetables and tagine sauce) fared a little better since the tagine sauce was pleasantly flavorful and livened up the plate.
The Biscochito de chocolate con dulce de leche y helado de canela ($6; warm chocolate cake with a sweet center, topped with cinnamon ice cream) was as delicious as it sounds.
I've gone back a couple of times since that early foray, (most recently the last Friday of October) and I'm happy to report that they have somehow managed to mitigate the unbelievable noise with appropriate acoustic paneling. It was so bad during our first visit that the server got one of our orders wrong through no fault of her own. That point alone would have kept me from going back, so it is a critical improvement.
On my second visit, I tried the one remaining untasted veg option, the Torrejitas de frijolitos ($13; pan-seared legume cakes served with collard greens and ripe plantains), and was pleased to find it considerably better than it's compatriots. The legume cakes offer protein to fill you up, the fried plantains are a deliciously savory-sweet complement to the bitter collard greens. I liked this dish so much that I ordered it on my last visit, however, I did not find it to be executed quite as well. The plantains seemed a bit undercooked, but the flavors still melded nicely.
The service has been good, though some of the staff could use a bit more training. Some servers were still getting to know the menu, and a few were of the eager-but-young type -- friendly and well-intentioned, but a little unpolished.
I am hopeful that with a little time, Alma will blossom into its own since I think the menu is promising and I like the concept. They need to work on consistency, both in the execution of the dishes and in service, and I would definitely like to see them tweak their vegetarian options with an eye toward heartier and more nutritionally-balanced plates.
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