Alma de Cuba
1623 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
My
fiancé and I had been looking forward to trying Alma de Cuba for quite some
time. We love Latin food, especially Cuban food because of the amount of time
she has spent in Miami. The décor and atmosphere were definitely eye catching
as soon as we walked inside. It was a little fancier inside than I thought it
was going to be, but it still had a very chic and modern feel to it, which
vibes with the whole concept of modern Cuban cuisine. I knew what I was looking for dinner
before I ever walked in the door, so making a decision in terms of food did not
take long. I ordered lechon asado, she ordered a churrasco steak, we ordered some
plantains and some mojitos and we sat back with great anticipation of what was
to come.
They
brought us out some pan de yucca to start when our mojitos came out. I liked
the flavor of it, but I really didn’t like whatever coating was on the outside
of it. I don’t know what it was, but it was similar to semolina that you would
find on pasta. If it had just been the bread, it would have been perfect, but unfortunately
it wasn’t. The mojito on the other hand was spot on. It was probably the best
one I have had outside of the Caribbean and definitely tops in Philly. The
sugar to mint mixture was perfect and not overpowering at all. The rum was at
the forefront as it should be in any mojito.
I
was pretty excited to have some ceviche for the first time in quite a while. I
was so excited about it that I decided we should order a sampler platter of
ceviche. We got a choice of three out of the seven different types that they
offered. We had the thai mixto that came with crab, shrimp, octopus and fluke
floating in a bath of leche de tigre and diced mango, Ecuadorian shrimp that
came with fire roasted tomatoes orange juice, avocado and corn nuts and the
lenguado al fuego that came with habanero, kumquat, sweet potato puree and
smoked sea salt. Nothing can compare to the freshness of a ceviche. Each of
them was perfectly acidic and the fish was tender and delicious.
I
was really excited about our main courses because it had been so long since we
had Cuban food. When they came out, I knew we were in for a treat. My lechon
could not have been any better. The skin
was fried so perfectly that it made noise when I hit it with my fork. The layer
of fat between the skin and the pork had kept the pork incredible juicy and
full of flavor. To make it even better, the pork was served over a bed of rice
and beans. Scooping up some rice and beans with each bite of pork was a
delicious touch of Latin flavor. My fiance's vaca frita steak was excellent as
well. It had a perfectly crispy exterior and topped with some deliciously
pickled onions. The black beans and rice it was served over were just as good
with the steak as they were with the lechon.
As
good as our main courses were, the side and the dessert was equally
disappointing. The plantains were undercooked and definitely didn’t have much flavor. They were a little bit too Americanized for me. I like my plantains very traditional. They were pretty bland and definitely disappointing. The peanut butter
bombe wasn’t very good either. It was ok, but the flavor wasn’t great and It
just didn’t go with the rest of the meal. Maybe it was my fault for ordering that particular dessert, but the selection wasnt very good.
Two
and half pints for Alma de Cuba. Unfortunately the inconsistencies prevented
this from being a really great place in my opinion. The prices are really steep
as well, which I am definitely not used to when it comes to Cuban food.
However, the trip is worth it once for the ceviche and lechon. Its pricey, so be prepared! Let me know
what you think! Cheers!
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