Review: Coco Loco

So over the weekend I decided to venture out of my comfort zone of Moes and Chipotle and try out a new Cuban restaurant by the name of Coco Loco. Previously, I had my standby restaurant, Havana Sandwich Shop, a very straight forward title for a straight forward dining experience. This was once you got past the metal bars on the windows. However, tragically for me, the place burned down a few months ago and there is no hope of it rebuilding. There are other Cuban restaurants in town, but are more than my preferred 7.5 minute driving radius, so I went to the internet to find my fix. What did my Cuban deprived stomach find, but Coco Loco.

First, the name made me hesitate. Why wouldn’t it? It made me think of an Americanized restaurant serving Cajun burgers next to phony Ropa Vieja. But, it was getting quite late and I was hungry and I was desperate. (Note: It is very rare for me to try out a new place it without any advice. I was way out on a limb here).

When we pulled up, and I saw it was sitting in a strip center (not to be confused with a strip joint), I really wanted to keep driving to a vacant building and explain to my wife that Coco Loco must have fallen victim to the economy. Let’s get Chili’s instead? But, I was strong and forged ahead (actually I was so hungry, I didn’t think I could make it to Chili’s). As we did a drive by (without a gun), my wife pointed out that there were authentic Cubans serving and eating inside. My wife has Cubanadar I guess.

Once I got passed the simple surroundings, and my wife informed me that real Cuban restaurants had glass table tops (these were actually acrylic), I was excited for my experience. I ordered my favorite, the Ropa Vieja with moros and maduros. My wife ate the Lechon Asado with moros and maduros, as well. While my Ropa Vieja was a touch soupier than I expected, the flavors were not all that bad. It resembled real Cuban food. It’s hard to go wrong with moros and the maduros were ripe enough for a tasty treat. My wife’s Lechon Asado was a bit dry on the edges, so they get marked down for that, but the center part of the pork was tasty, although I’m not sure I would ever order it. The server was extremely nice and knew Spanish, as my wife loves to prove I’m an idiot and talk to them in a language I can’t understand. They snicker and point at the gringo when they are done. Silly American. All in all, this was not a true replacement for Havana, but a place I will try again. I give it a Spork Rating of: