Kristin "Live life, love life, tomorrow might not be here" N.'s Profile

We decided to come here for my birthday lunch since I had heard such great reviews about their food and ceviche. It was lunch time and they were pretty busy but I'll get to that part later....

Lets start off with the appetizer ceviche where we were able to split and get two different kinds so that we can savor each bite with different tastes. Well we didn't get the ceviche for our appetizer because when the staff came out with our lunch plates we told them we never got the ceviche and they didn't know what happened.

I got the Mexico City Taqueria Platter - Flank steak with salsa verde, pico de gallo, sour cream, rice and beans and tortillas. This dish was well... Let's just say there were hardly any left overs to take home. My boyfriend ordered a burger that had chorizzo and cheese, wow was this good.

We did finally get our ceviche and honestly I was disappointed, I didn't find it to be that great. It was good but just not anything to rave about. Our waiter was very apologetic and he ended up not charging us for the ceviche since we wanted as an appetizer and got it pretty much like a desert. All in all, the food was good, the service was okay, but the fact that they owned up to their mistake made it all the better and made me really respect and feel that I can definitely come back here for some more food.

xo,
kristin nicole

I came here for my birthday because we were in the area for lunch and we were craving something good. We had the chocolate muse and another scoop of oreo something in other. The place was empty and I wonder if they ever get truly busy... then again it was only lunch time. I have to say though, I was impressed. The chocolate muse gelato was oh so yum yum in my stomach. I will definitely have a gelato here again if I'm in the area.

xo,
kristin nicole

I have been here a few times and it was over a year since I've been back, they have changed a few things on their menu and added a few new ones. The service was good and as usual the food was really good too.

The bread here is so good with their pesto olive oil dip which is just to die for.

I had the chicken Marsala which was phenomenal and my boyfriend as usual got Lily's chicken - chicken breast with spinach, artichokes and goat cheese... Need I say more?

We will definitely be back soon.

xo
kristin nicole

I have come here a few times to order take out from their bakery. They have fresh empanadas that are really good, tequenos, pan de bono, croqueta, and more. The coffee here is pretty good and their prices are reasonable.

We have ordered their bandeja piasa, steak, chorizzo, chicharron with rice and red beans. I have honestly had better but being so close to home this place really comes in handy when craving this dish. The red beans here are fabulous, very thick and Delish.

I haven't tried any other dish but this one is pretty good. I have also eaten here and the waitress was very nice and attentive.

xo,
kristin nicole

We came here on vacation and the town is so cute and different that we had to try a place to eat. So we chose Cafe International. I had the chicken soup with tortilla chips, this soup was really good and it was perfect for the cold weather in December, especially since we were brave enough to sit outside. I also ordered the ruben which was very good, the bread was a bit soggy so I didn't finish all the bread and the coleslaw was very tasty. We opted to try the German Chocolate Cake, it was good but not enough chocolate for my taste buds. It could have been better.

The service was good and the atmosphere was great.

xo,
kristin nicole

I came here with a friend for lunch and I have to say that I was very impressed. I always wondered what was in this little shopping center, and to my surprise this little gem of a place was Delish. I ordered the bagel roll and pad Thai. I have tried the pad Thai from different places and this place is up on my list. The sushi was fresh which is a plus in my book.

We came during lunch and it was around the holiday season so they may have been more busy than expected, but we had to wait a bit for the water and our food. I then had to flag the waitress down to get the bill. Other than the service the food was really good.

I will definitely have to try this place out again with my boyfriend soon.

xo
kristin nicole

I have been here twice already for lunch since it's a step and skip away from my job, and I have to say 'YAY'..... It's bar food, but they don't just specialize in burgers and wings, you can actually come here and eat healthy if you want.

I have tried their chili which isn't too spicy so for those who can't handle the spice, this is a perfect dish.

My friend ordered the cheese and chili fries, which was enough for at least 4 people or more, or a meal in itself. She has also ordered the tuna melt which she says is fabulous.

Their cheese steak sandwich is oh sooo good, the cheese that melts over the steak and hoagie type bread is DELISH!

So what's healthy about this menu, you ask??? Mahi Mahi caesar salad with dressing on the side.... This fish is fresh and cooked to perfection. I was actually pretty shocked on how good this tasted here. You can also get a Dolphin wrap which is pretty good too. If you don't want the caesar, you can always ask them for a blackened dolphin (which my friend said was very good) with a side salad.

So if you want the bar food, they got it, if you want to eat healthy, they got that too. Watch sports and eat great food, this is the place....

FYI - Great service - I haven't had to look for the waitress/waiter to try and get refills of water or anything.

xo,
kristin nicole

WOW! Is all I have to say!

I haven't been to the Actor's Playhouse since I was younger, the inside is a little old school looking but it makes that theater experience come to life. Very clean and the people are all very friendly and helpful. It started off with the director giving you the run down on all the future plays, which turned me off a bit because I didn't know what to think about that, since I am used to seeing shows at the Arsht Center in Downtown Miami. But because it is a local playhouse and more intimate they give you that feel.

My boyfriend surprised me with the show 'Hairspray', it was absolutely amazing. Great on set designers, music, actors, it had the works. I would definitely start coming here for more shows.

xo,
kristin nicole

OH BARU.....

How I wanted to like you... The decor is funky, good music and the outside was great, but your lack of service turned me off completely.

We sat down and was introduced to our waiter, he told us we had 15 more minutes for happy hour, so we decided to have a drink.... 2 minutes later a waitress comes out (First she automatically speaks to us in Spanish, thankfully I know Spanish, but how does she know we speak spanish???) Two she says she's our waitress and asks us if we want drinks. We told her our waiter already asked us. She later comes back with our drinks and tells us she is our waitress.... We order our appetizers and dinner, she repeats our order back to us.....

20+ Minutes later we finally get our appetizers....

Calamari - Nice and crispy and sauces were pretty good.
Tequenos - with a Garlic, Cilantro sauce and a Guava Sauce - This was by far the best dish I had there all night. I would consider coming back ONLY for this appetizer and happy hour special......

I see the waitress and she asks if I want another drink. I tell her just one PLEASE.... 5 minutes later she brings 2.... Okay whatever... we will drink it...

15+ more minutes later I'm wondering if the chefs went to go kill the food we ordered..... She comes to see everything is okay... I said (insert sarcasm) Yeah great.... and the food???? She looked at me as if I was the crazy one.... then asked "They didn't bring you the appetizers?" I said yes but we ordered dinner too. My boyfriend proceeded to tell her what we ordered. She then remembered we did order and went to check on it. She comes out giving us an excuse that she forgot to tell the kitchen to process it after the appetizers....

10 minutes later we got our food - My boyfriend had the Salteada chopped chicken with barú fries and white rice. This wasn't your normal Salteada but it was good, chicken was brought out on a fajita like dish with the rice and fries on the side. I ordered the Paisa - Piece of steak, chorizzo, chicaron, rice with an egg on top. The best thing from this dish was the egg with the rice and the steak, and even that was just EEEhhhhh okay.

After all this I showed her my Groupon which I had mentioned before ordering even my drinks and she wanted me to hand her my phone, I told her I would go with her. They took the $40 off and re-did the receipt. After all was said and done, they did not offer a discount for the wait or even a free desert... NOTHING... and our bill came in much higher then we calculated, even adding 18% gratuity.... UHHHHH I don't think I would have given her 5%..... needless to say we most likely never come back. It's sad because there is so much potential for this place being good.

The only reason I would come back is for those Tequenos and maybe happy hour drinks, other then that, it was a disappointing night.

xo
kristin nicole

I decided to try this place out since it is so close to my work place. When we got there, there was only one or two tables filled with people, by the time we sat down and ordered the place was empty. We had asked for water and took about 5 minutes before the waitress came back empty handed asking if we were ready to order. I politely explained that we hadn't received our water and she apologized and went to get the water. I had asked if I can have a water with lemon and when it came without lemon I didn't bother asking for it. We decided to order off the lunch special thinking it would be faster to make. When they came out with our food about 15+ minutes later they had brought out my wrong order. Two of the other girls got their food and I was stuck waiting for mine along with my friend who they hadn't brought out yet. (FYI - They didn't have Brown Rice and the waitress said they didn't have it "yet".)

When our food arrived it did arrive fast and hot at this point and the food was good. Mine could have used just a tad more flavor but overall pretty tasty. The reason I gave it a 2 star is because I can't give it a 2.5 but my review is 2.5

I think that for being a new restaurant they need to be a little more organized with their service, I understand they are new but the place was empty. I will definitely like to try this place out again if I see that it starts doing good. Hopefully the service and food will get better in time.

xo,
kristin nicole