Thanks to a Groupon (http://www.groupon.com/stlouis/), my friends and I hit another tapas restaurant, Boogaloo (http://www.boogaloostl.com/), in downtown Maplewood - but with a Cuban flare. We definitely lived up to the FAC tradition and ordered just about every tapas item on the menu in addition to three desserts.
I actually had been to Boogaloo before but I never turn down the chance to try other things on a menu. One friend ordered what I had last time, the plantain encrusted tilapia, with sweet potato-andouille hash, orange scallion remoulade. The tilapia is so light and the cream sauce that has sweet flavor.
Another friend ordered the muffaletta sandwich, which came with a good amount of meat, but you gotta like olives! Hehe Still, I was there for tapas. While I was a little nervous about all the spicy-sounding items, it actually worked out in my favor because most of the items were not spicy at all. So it might be disappointing to you if that is what you were expecting, but the spices just brought out subtle flavors instead.
The jerk chicken wings just had a hint of spice and came with a coconut sauce but even that was not too strong of a flavor so neither one overpowered the other.
The Louisiana crawfish cakes, again, were not fishy and you mostly tasted the breading. The jalapeno tartar sauce had no kick at all either. More tangy than hot.
The Brazil nut encrusted manchego cheese was definitely my favorite by far but like my friend said, it might as well had been a giant cheese stick. I did enjoy the romesco sauce since it was lighter and sweeter than typical marinara sauce.
My second favorite was the wasabi pea encrusted tuna with mango slaw. The wasabi sauce gave the tuna a little flavor but it was not hot at all like you normally associate with wasabi anything. The tuna was perfectly cooked. I was definitely wishing for more on the plate.
Of course the ONE item that surprised me is the one that didn’t really mention spice, so of course I was totally caught off guard. The andouille sausage had quite a bit of heat to it even though the Worcestershire glaze gave it a sweet flavor at first.
The spinach and artichoke empanadas were like fried baby tacos stuffed with the cream sauce but it had a stronger spinach flavor and not the creamy-dip flavor that we were expecting. At least the fried shell made it easier to eat. Hehe
Saving one of the best for last, the island style pork ribs were very good and the meat just fell off the bone making it very easy to eat. It still had too much fat for my taste but definitely one of the best items on the menu.
For dessert, we ordered the bread pudding, the tres leche cake with caramel sauce, and I got the chocolate brownie after being peer pressured into ordering the chocolate item since that’s normally what I get. But after all those tapas and taking bites off of everyone else’s plates, I was so full!
The brownie was very disappointing because it came out hard inside and out. After taking a Facebook poll, brownies should be somewhat moist or soft in the middle at least. But my friends loved their desserts…the bread pudding was sweet but was way too heavy to eat on top of a large meal while the leche cake looked light and fluffy.
The last couple of times the FAC has gotten together for “FACing” (a new verb that was coined), we were all dying to meet up for some sushi so I have a feeling that is going to be where we end up going next. But I still haven’t forgotten about Quintessential on St. Charles Main Street.
We thought Boogaloo would be too much of a bar atmosphere but it was just casual dining and as long as you don’t sit in the bar, you won’t get any smoke odors.
Food was good, but a little pricey. The tuna was my fave followed closely by the Tres leches cake. Mojitos were very small and weak. :(
ReplyDeleteDefinitely pricy...but it's tapas and trendy so I wasn't surprised. I am impressed you liked the tuna!
ReplyDeleteSorry you didn't get as drunk as you would have liked! heheheheheh
Another opportunity to get more tapas at Boogaloo!!
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