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The Down Low: El Puerto is delicious, plain and simple. The work-a-day crowd of diners alone (filling the dining room in mere minutes) is an indication of just how good it is. The lunch menu is hearty: a truncated version of the dinner menu, offering appetizers, entrees, sandwiches, burgers and salads.
The Digs: Situated on the corner or 5th avenue and 17th street, two blocks south of historic 7th, El Puerto (translates to “the port”, for you gringos out there) is bright and casual with paper tablecloths, animated murals and wine racks hung from the ceiling (how’d they get up there and how does the wine get down?). The tile floors bounce conversations off the walls, so don’t be afraid to speak up. There is a covered patio/entryway that divides the dining room and kitchen, situated as two separate buildings.
The Delivery: Servers bustle from building to building with trays full of food. But I’m not sure there were enough of them to cover the crowd. Be prepared to take a long lunch or visit their website (www.elpuertoybor.com) to view the menu and call ahead for take out. My guest and I were there for an hour and a half. But we forgot about time; we were too busy eating.
The Dish: The restaurant bills itself as “Ybor’s Authentic Grilled Latin American Cuisine” and that’s pretty much it, in a nutshell. Offering savory Argentine grill favorites and starchy, belly filling sides - prepare yourself for the inevitability of an afternoon carb crash (though the crime is so worth the punishment).
After our sever greeted us, we were gifted with two hot, freshly baked mini-loaves of soft on the inside, crusty on the outside bread with butter that melted on contact.
We started out with the Green Plantains Parmigiana ($4.95) – unripe, unsweet green plantains mashed flat, breaded, fried and covered in surprisingly smooth, melted, gooey parmesan cheese. It was crunchy and light – the plantains resembled more of root vegetable – nothing like the ripe, sweet, banana-y flavor of mature plantains and more like a potato.
Then for our entrees:
Skirt Steak ($9.95) unexpectedly tender skirt steak, grilled and seasoned served with two sides. I opted for the yellow rice and black beans.
Chicken Steak Milanese ($9.00) Argentina’s version of chicken fried chicken or country fried chicken but not greasy – juicy, tender chicken covered in a light breading, Though fried, it wasn’t heavy- deceiving but in really good way.
Do not forego the sauces brought out with your meal – a chimichurri sauce brimming with flavor – garlicky, lemony goodness (along with cilantro, parsley, salt and pepper) that I wish I could take home and put on everything I eat in perpetuity. There is another sauce that is very, very spicy so I just had a lil’ taste and then chugged my ice water.
The portions are gigantic and you will have at least one more meal to take home with you.
Dessert… I wish I’d had room in my tummy for Panqueque de Dulce de Leche ($5.00) warm crepes filled with dulce de leche caramel and topped with vanilla ice cream. But, I stuck with the classic finish to a solid Latin meal: Café Con Leche ($2.00).
The Damage: For drinks, an appetizer, two entrees and two coffees, we barely hit $32.
The Deduction: El Puerto is a fantastic addition to the Ybor dining scene and should not be missed. I will be back, and I’ll bring more friends next time.
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El Puerto
1623 E. 5th Ave
Tampa, FL 33605
813-248-8222
Hours:
Monday: 11am – 3pm
Tuesday - Thursday: 11am – 10pm
Friday - Saturday: 11am - Midnight
Sunday: Noon – 9:30pm
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