AZUCAR Review
Well, since I am in San Jose on an extended business trip and have a per diem allowance for food, I decided last Friday to try this Latin restaurant located on 71 San Fernando St in downtown San Jose.
First of all, I started with a tamarind(o) mojito which was excellent. I always like mojitos, whenever I can find them, so this was a pleasant surprise. I talked with the bartender and rattled off all the mojito flavors they have.
Then, since it was dinner time, I decided to have the "Ropa Vieja", which is a Latin dish you can find all over South America/Latin America. It was just OK, with minimal quantity. It definitively did not compare to the ones I remember eating in Caracas or to the ones my mother makes. The meat was of good quality, but lacked seasoning and was dry. The rice and beans lacked salt/seasoning. I was hungry so I polished the dish off but was not impressed. So I had anothe rmojito, this time a coconut one. Definitvely a winner.
My conclusion: food is a C+,the mojitos are an A. The location is nice and they had a good Latin jazz band, which I listened to for a while. I'll go back again but will stick to the drinks which are not cheap at $8 each.
kaki3152
Jun 21, 2007 04:24PM
Thanks for taking the bullet food-wise and reporting. The mojitos sound great though.
Permalink | Reply
Thank you for the review, Kaki. I went to Azucar earlier in June and LOVED it (and, yes, the Mojitos were a large part of what I loved- I tried the pineapple one and then had a mango mojito).
Not being from a background where I am fortunate enough to have a mother who makes Ropa Vieja, I didn't have preconceived notions of what the food I ordered was going to taste like. So I was impressed with what I tried.
Sadly the band wasn't playing the night we were there- there was an MTV 1980's style selection of music videos which were entertaining and suited the mood better than the baseball games you find on most TV's in that neighborhood.
I don't get to San Jose very often, but if I go again Azucar will be a dining destination for me!
My dining partner and I found the waiter to be a great resource, since we were unfamiliar with the cuisine, and his two recommendations were superb: a Ceviche of sea bass that was a perfect combination of citrus and heat, and a shrimp dish in a jalapeno cream sauce that was truly the stuff dreams are made of (at least my food dreams). We also shared Queso Frito served with Plantains and wonderful fresh and chunky guacamole.
Permalink | Reply