Alma, eh

Mirsky was in town for a few days from LA and we thought it might be nice to sit outdoors and enjoy a view. P & P live in Carroll Gardens so the walk there would be a pleasant one.

The four of us arrive in the early early evening (5PM?) and there is maybe one table occupied on the roof. We mention that another person may be joining us and the hostess informs us that parties can not be seated til everyone has arrived. I want to protest, "It's 5PM, sista!" but she must recognize the idiocy of it soon enough because when we tell her that the 5th might not even show, she promptly leads us to a table.

The view is good. As good as from the outdoor seating of the cafe at the nearby Fairway.

Anyway, having only had an Italian soda acting as breakfast and lunch, I am friggin hungry. Chips are brought over and the waitress asks if we would like some guacamole. The guac ($8.75) is good. Nobody bothers with an appetizer 'cept me. Nothing really catches my eye, so ceviche pescado it is. It's ceviche that thinks it's gazpacho. Or, shrimp cocktail. No discernible citrus-y tartness, only gloppy sweet tomato sauce. And the worst thing is the shrimp are like 250/300 size, which kind of alerts me that the restaurant is trying to do things as cheaply as possible. The menu says there's scallops and snapper in there too, and i guess there is, but they're such tiny pieces you hardly notice. While I'm muttering to myself that even the fish soup stand at the Red Hook ballfields serves superior ceviche, I manage to eat it all anyway because that's what a good daughter of Communism does.

Next up: more shrimp. My main is some deep-fried shrimp. At least these are real shrimp and not sea monkeys. But the coating is akin to armor rather than fluffy tempura which is always preferable to my palate. I end up removing the shrimp from their batter jackets to assuage the monotony. There's some cole slaw on the plate and I end up nibbling it just for contrast.

No dessert. The meal is over. We all agree the food was okay at best. But we didn't really come expecting to be wowed so nobody is terribly disappointed. Note to self: More margaritas, less food next time I want to enjoy a view.