Saturday, January 31, 2009

Fritanga Latin Grill


FRITANGA LATIN GRILL
1702 W University Ave
Suite A2
Gainesville, FL 32603
352.371.4454

I was first turned onto Fritanga by my friends Andre and Jorge. Both are Cuban-American and both swore by Fritanga's food, which was a good enough recommendation for me. When you walk in, you are greeted by a wondeful aroma and colorful trinkets from Spanish-speaking countries all over the walls. The menu is on the wall, and after you order and pay at the register, you are given a number to take with you to your table and the food comes out within ten minutes, which is fast considering how fresh everything is.

Fritanga serves breakfast most days, but I haven't had that yet. Due to the nature of their menu, which includes a lot of sides, I have tried many different things there. My early favorite was the 10 oz. charbroiled churrasco skirt steak (pictured), which at $12.50 is far and away the most expensive thing on the menu, but is well worth it. Their ropa vieja sandwich is out of this world, and at $6.45 it's a steal. It's shredded beef cooked in a tomato sauce, pressed with provolone cheese on cuban bread. Though I've never had it, everyone I've been with who has gotten the Miami chicken sandwich ($6.35) has raved about it - it's chicken, pesto, tomato and provolone cheese. I also once had the vaca frita ($7.89), which is fried beef with green peppers and onions. It was tasty, but a little dry for my liking. Sandwiches can have very tasty fries added to them for 99 cents. Entrees come with two sides. My favorite is the yuca frita, 3 sticks of fried yuca which taste kind of like big french fries. Their Cuban toast - buttered and then pressed - is also delicious. (Both of these sides are in the photo above, along with the churrasco steak). The menu also has a section of "small bites" which includes empenadas ($1.60), croquettas ($1.60), Jamaican beef patties ($2.35), and arepas ($2.75). Ordering a few things from this section is another way to get a lot of different food from their menu for cheap (though everything is pretty cheap and very filling). I also once had a bite of their flan ($2.75), which was very good.

Food quality: 9/10 (27)
Service: 9/10 (22.5)
Ambiance: 9/10 (18)
Pricing: 10/10 (15)
Menu selection: 10/10 (10)

Composite score: 92.5

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Being fat does not automatically make you a discriminating eater.