Angela K.
Yelp
After browsing through Yelp, my dad and I decided to go with this place because their page said we could get free ice cream if we checked in... which was not the case lol! However, I'm still glad we came because their food was really delectable!
Operations run kind of like a fast food chain, where you order up at the counter, grab a number, and they bring it to your table once it's ready, but it's definitely slower because their food is of higher quality and requires longer prep times. They even have a drive-thru, which I'm curious to know how long it takes for the customer to receive the food because it already took a really long time when dining in.
It wasn't necessarily packed when we went during dinner time, but there were maybe 5 or 6 parties in total, including my dad and I. We ordered 2 starters and one specialty plate, which was just the right amount to share between 2 people. My dad and I waited for 35 minutes, and as I mentioned, it wasn't like the place was packed to the brim, but I also don't know how busy the drive thru was either.
When 35 minutes had passed, and I was honestly starting to get really really hungry, I flagged a worker down to let him know that more than 30 minutes had gone by, and we hadn't even received the appetizers yet. Not sure if that made a difference in speeding up the process, but they eventually brought it out to us a minute or two later. Then the specialty plate came out a few minutes after as well.
For our starters, I was originally going to order the yuquitas rellenas because I had heard positive things about em, but the employee said they wouldn't be able to serve it for another month for whatever reason I couldn't catch. Therefore, we ended up going with the beef empanada and the tostones baskets, which were both great options!!
The beef empanada was pretty big. It had a nice outer crispy shell, and the inside was filled with juicy, tender beef that had a bit of a sweet taste from the marinade. I was anticipating something totally different, like ground beef, so this took me by surprise (a good one)! It was served with some kind of sauce on the side, it reminded me of the chuy's jalapeño dip.
The tostones had to be my dad and I's favorite. Everything was so fresh and the combination of avocado, salsa criolla, and queso fresco with the tostones and rice was AMAZING. They loaded that thang up generously with all the toppings. Pretty darn filling and pretty darn good for $8.
As for the specialty plate, I wasn't sure what to expect, I just opted for a chicken dish and read a few reviews on the causa limena de pollo. My first initial thought when I saw the dish come out was like woah this is smaller than I thought it'd be and I also wondered why it took so long to prepare because when I looked at it, I figured these were ingredients that could have already been premade. But I don't want to make assumptions, and plus, they made the presentation of it look so beautiful!! It honestly tasted like ordinary potato salad with shredded chicken to me, so it didn't exactly blow me away. I probably wouldn't order it again, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to try such a delicacy.
I went back up to the cashier and asked him about the ice cream for the yelp check in, and he said they didn't serve ice cream cones anymore. I showed him a review from a month ago, with pictures confirming that the customer received an inka's delight after checking in, but he said that was too expensive to be giving out for free, which I then asked why that customer was able to receive it. He said it's because she really wanted it. I wasn't trying to fight for it, but I just wanted to hear his reasoning, and I wanted to clarify whether this promotion was going to remain on their yelp page or not. He did say they wouldn't be offering it anymore, so I told him it should be taken down then. He let me know that he would consult with his boss. I only wanted to mention all of this as a heads up for anyone who is going to be visiting soon and was expecting to get ice cream at the end haha.
Overall really enjoyed the cuisine! Service could be better, but there's always room for improvement! No issues with parking, and there's plenty of indoor seating.