Mojito - I don't think it's a gay drink

Ok...well, yea, it is a gay drink. Anything that is composed of THAT much sugar is automatically placed in the "chick drink" file. Anyway, I digress.

Mojitos Tropical Cafe is new on the Columbia scene. Being that it's not a sports bar, it's a very welcome addition to the Vista part of town. It's decor is charming and spare. There is no TV on the wall, well, there is a projection screen that runs a loop of beach scenes, and there are not as many tables as you might expect for a restaurant in this part of town. It's a break from the regular since most places have you eating on top of the people next to you.

Husband and I ate with a couple of friends who were, like us, strangers to Cuban food. Husband and I are part of the ignorant section of people that believe that all Hispanic food is exactly like Mexican food.  We fully expected the normal meat plus cheese plus tortilla bit. Yes, we are the stereotypical American morons. Shh, don't tell. We like to pretend we're all well-traveled and junk. Our reasoning behind This? Well, if you've ever seen Ralphie May do stand up, you would understand.

The food was great, definitely different than expected, but great. It seems that this place is more lunch-friendly than dinner friendly since there wasn't an appetizer section of the menu. I had the beef empanada plate with red beans, rice, yuca con mojo and sweet plantains.

The empanadas were delicious, I haven't had many empanadas so I don't have a lot to compare them with, but I love juicy meat stuffed in dough, nuff said. The rice was flavorful and perfectly cooked. The red beans were interesting, they had green olives in them. Green olives happen to be one of those foods that if I close my eyes, I have no problem with, but I despise the color of them, I always have. If they weren't such a staple of martinis, I would order vodka in an unstable glass that could be used as a plate much more often. The yuca con mojo seemed to be yuca sans mojo, but I enjoyed it. I have had yuca before and have had it undercooked, which it like eating a raw potato, this yuca was yummy. I wished I had more of the sweet plantains, they were like bite-sized candy, but there were only two pieces on the plate. Plantains have to be the most under utilized produce in this country. You can make them savory or sweet and they are like potato chips, you can't have just one!

After destroying what was on my plate, I was ready to go for dessert. Really, as soon as I looked at the menu and saw the words "avocado pie" I was hooked. I mean, those are two really sexy food words joined together. Unfortunately, they were out of the pie (which gives me an excellent excuse to return), so I settled on a liquid dessert. Yea, I got the mojito.

It was everything that I needed after dinner. It was sugary, it was minty, it had a lot of alcohol in it. On a whole, a good time.

The Breakdown:


The decor: A little sparse, the bar takes up the focal point of the place, which is a shame. No TV, which is a plus.

The food: Delicious! Worth a second try, although, I would recommend visiting this place for lunch as there are no appetizers on the menu and the majority of the menu is lunch fare (soups and sandwiches).

The wait staff: We had the meekest little server. She was quick but quiet. The manager (owner?) was floating about the place and helped clear some tables and looked over shoulders, but never asked patrons any questions.

The drink: There's a good selection of beer and some awesome looking flavored mojitos.

The atmosphere: Dark (in a good way) and cozy. The absence of the TV makes sure that you are paying attention to who you are with and not what's on ESPN. (ABSOLUTELY nothing against ESPN!)

The price: For the amount of food, the prices are very fair. My plate was about $12-13.