On my 1st full day in Philadelphia I had a full schedule starting with a private tour of the Barnes Foundation which was open to us before the public was allowed in. I squeezed in some work before a 2:00 p.m. matinee at the opera and then decided to grab one of those $35 fixed price restaurant week dinners at Alma de Cuba... A quiet unassuming darkish yet very good place that I have always enjoyed before as it is part of a chain in this country as well as overseas.
My server Lianna was quick to offer a selection of specialty drinks which of course raises your price on that restaurant week menu, but infortunately the watermelon fresca with vodka and rose wine was a bit too sweet for me. She offered to switch it out but I was OK. I started with a very nice gazpacho of watermelon heirloom tomato cucumber and garnished with radish and avocado. It was served in a short highball glass and that meant the portion size was quite small, but enough for me. It was not spicy but it was tasty on this near 90degree day. I looked around and noticed that most of the tables seemed to be extremely low and I was worried about how I was going to get out of my seat after dinner; I managed, but the design is a bit disconcerting. There was quiet salsa music, low lighting and everything was either white wood or tile with historic black and white photos of Cubans projected on the walls.
Delicious white Cuban rolls arrived with a white garlic dipping sauce, which was superb and spicy and I used them to mop up the gazpacho as well.
My main course was a delicious grilled Berkshire pork chop with kidney bean and bacon Congri rice with a sour Orange mojo and again loaded with cilantro... I guess it's a trend in Philadelphia.
I'm not a dessert person but I had to choose from the set menu, so I tasted the coconut tapioca pudding which was really very good but even better because of a sesame cashew nut toffee, coconut foam and toasted coconut on top.
It was a nice meal though not incredible and the price was very good as well as I headed out to my evening entertainment across town which was a fringe festival production called Let Me Die that truly had me wondering what the guy who conceived it was thinking of!!
