Star Rating: 4.5
Let’s not mince words, this place is a-la-carte and pricey. With an old-school feel and charming decor, you’ll enjoy an evening that’s completely centered around the menu. On that note, we applaud the chef for taking on a culinary challenge, with an ever-changing menu, every three months to be precise, you can look forward to exciting new flavors and different gourmet dishes.
For starters we sampled a plate of “Stracciatella Cheese” served with heirloom tomatoes, peaches, mint, a tart vinaigrette, and a piece of toasted ciabatta bread - simple but good. We then sampled the “Ropa Vieja” a braised beef fricassee, topped with a crispy polenta cake, sweet pickled red onions, and a lemon-honey raita drizzle on top - a modern twist to a classic ‘Cuban’ dish that’s sweet and savory and oh so good. We then moved on to a plate of “Smoked Jamaican Jerk Ribs” garnished with a mixture of roasted/diced pineapple and a pinch of mint and cilantro – a luscious topping on the most tender ribs we’ve had in quite some time. We suggest using those same ingredients with some honey to create a sauce that will further enhance the ribs and tone down the overwhelming flavor of clove.
For the entree’s we chose the “Iberico Pork Loin” a well-prepared chop paired with a unique mixture of crispy brussels sprouts, roasted apples, bacon, and a honey mustard dressing that made this dish simply delightful. We suggest larger portions of this flavorful mixture – it really makes the pork proud. The next dish took an ordinary “Ribeye” and turned it into a steak on steroids. Served with “crisp veal sweetbreads”, a culinary name for the thymus or pancreas, typically from calf and lamb, along with seared maitake mushrooms, and a mushroom reduction/sauce that was to-die-for. Everything in this dish was “delicioso”, though we suggest increasing the portion size for sweet breads and mushrooms – making this ribeye the most flavorful steak in the entire region. As we skimmed the menu and considered our choices, we saw an old standard, and the least expensive of their entree’s – a burger. The Divino “Burger” is served with “Holey Cow Cheese”, (a hand-made, semi-soft cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk, similar to swiss-cheese), “Beefonnaise” (a mix of mayonnaise and rendered animal fat), bacon onion marmalade, shaved onions and pickles, with a side of steak fries that were decent – indeed a “gourmet” burger worth ordering for yourself and/or your kids.
Finally, for dessert we ordered the “Pecan Pie” with “black pepper-bourbon” ice cream – WOW – definitely one of our favorites, and we can't wait to sample the other tantalizing options on their menu.
All-in-all the bar served inventive drinks and the over-all service was good, but could have been better. Though the main hostess redeemed the evening when she came up to the table and asked if we’d like some water for our “two pit bulls waiting in the car. Yep, we loved it, her attention to details meant the world to us, and thanks to her and the alluring menu, we’ll be back again for sure.
