Victor's 1959 Cafe

07/24/09

Double Ouch

by FoodieFan at Citysearch

The biggest disappointment of this place was all the "rave reviews" the place got compared to our experience. My daughter and I go somewhere new every Friday afternoon. As foodie hobbiests, we decided to try Victor's. The majority of the lunch crowd was leaving, so the cooks and waitstaff should have been responsive. Both were slow. Not being in a hurry no biggie.

Have you ever been to a restaurant that is old and humid and the table feels sticky? That's Victors. It's held together by insulation foam and although the grafitti is part of the charm, it still has a filthy feeling. I used the ladies room and the old fashioned hook to lock the door has shifted. Luckily the bathroom was so tiny I could hold the door with my foot and hand to keep other patrons out.

We're water drinkers, and they slapped 2 glasses of tepid water on the table with a couple of ice chips, gone in less than 3 minutes. My daughter ordered the "Bay of Pigs" sandwich with Yucca and I ordered "Bistec Encebollado" with plantains and bean/rice. It was extreme at both poles. The meat in her sandwich was saltier than jerky and overly spiced. Mine was so bland I salted everythig and it was completely cold. The Encebollado was the worst! It was bland, overcooked. dry wafer thin tough slices of beef w/onions-. So dry there wasn't a drop of juice or sauce on the plate and room temp. Do these cooks taste the food before serving? I can't believe any cook would allow that plate out of the kitchen! The only thing going for the meal was the beans and rice, but that was cold too.

My stepmother is Puerto Rican living in FL. I've had plenty and good and bad Carribean food. This was the worst. I usually don't complain, but it was so bad the waitress took it off our bill. We won't be going back.

• Pros: Funky
• Cons: Overall Bad, Food, Service, Cleanliness

11/23/08

Bad Example of Cuban Food

by IreneManor at Citysearch

Ouch.

My wife and I moved up from Tampa few years back, and miss Cuban cooking. Victor's was showcased on Food Network. It sounded good so we tried it out.

The staff was wonderful, and although there was a wait (20 minutes, Sunday 10:30am) they were well organized. We were seated by the front door which meant the people waiting were all hovering above us. That became annoying as we began to eat and could hear running commentary from the patrons standing, literally, within 2 feet of where we sat.

Prices were steep: $8 for a sandwich that's $2-$5 back home. The food should have been much better, or at least authentic. My "Cuban" sandwich strangely tasted like a Ruben due to a combination of misfires. It wasn't served on Cuban bread, and was soaked with mustard, having a strong vinegar taste. The ham seemed baked, and was cut way too thick. Aside from the mustard, the sandwich was too dry. I've had dozens of Cuban sandwiches and this tasted closer to a Ruben. For $8, it came with potato sticks.

The tostones my wife ordered were saturated in oil, and also had that vinegar taste -- you couldn't taste the plantain. Again, no cuban bread - for toast, we got rye! The black beans had as much flavor as the water they were boiled in. Her scrambled eggs were cooked to order, and the banana pancake had no complaints from our 3 year old. So as a Cuban restaurant, Victor's makes a good iHop.

We got cafe con leche. It was tepid. Window vendors in Miami usually make them pretty sweet, but this wasn't, and also tasted more like regular coffee made strong, and not dark coffee.

It just turned out that everything was overall pretty bad - very disappointing. It's unfortunate this is billed as "authentic" Cuban food. It's not even good food. When we got home, I did an image search for "cuban sandwiches" for nostalgia purposes. Unfortunately I still had a Ruben burning my throat lining.

Sorry, but save your money and time with this place.

• Pros: Decent American-style breakfast, friendly staff, social atmosphere
• Cons: Not close to Cuban cooking, overpriced, long wait, crowded...

11/10/08

Salsa the Blues Away

by betty5115 at Citysearch

Funky ambience and great food, served up by a friendly staff. I left my name on one of the walls (patrons are encouraged to do so) and would go back again when in Minneapolis.

• Pros: Ambience, service, humorous menu names
• Cons: small place with few tables