Ox-tail@Latin Cafe 2000 in Miami

On a hell-raising day in June, having the whole day to myself I decided to venture into the very hot and humid climate to explore the Latin based culture of Miami.  Since I love to bike so much I borrowed a friend's bike that I was staying at.  My friend lived only a hop scotch away from South Beach, so it didn't take me long to make my way towards the winding causeways and bridges that connect the vast amount of islands in South Florida.

Latin cafe

Cruising my way south along Ocean Blvd. I spotted many vendors selling whole coconuts equipped with a straw punctured in them to help beat the Florida sun.  It was cheap and helped hydrated me for the time being.  Along the trail is many entrances to the beach where you can go take a dip in the ocean and cool yourself off.  There's many loud and obnoxious street performers and mobile shops scattered about ringing there bells calling for your wallet, but also plenty of beautiful beach goers to see.  I myself had to take my shirt off due to the extreme heat.  It was so hot I could careless for the fact that my blubbery belly was making it's own waves with each pedal I took.  

 After an hour of biking and many scattered showers I began to get very hungry.  I had used up all of my energy from biking so I decide to make my way back near my friends house.  I couldn't wait to find a cafe so I stopped at a hot dog vendor I spotted along Biscayne Ave. which runs parallel to Ocean Blvd.  I ordered up a Caribbean hot dog that consist of salsa and dirty rice.  It was very tasty or maybe perhaps I was so hungry that even a palm leaf would be divine.    

Of course in Miami there's an abundance of Latin eateries,  I was so hungry I couldn't wander around anymore picking and choosing so I just stopped at the first one I found.  A rustic tiki looking place called The Latin Cafe 2000 sitting along the busy street of Biscayne surrounded by other Latin eateries.  Don't really know what the 2000 means but I'm hoping it means calorie count because I was in need of some.  This one particularly caught my attention because of the outside dinning they offer.  

As I waited for service I examine the dinning area around the oak wood bar, I noticed at each table on the ceiling was a fan mounted on the hut-like roof blowing a mist of water.  The bar I was seated at sits in the middle of the dinning area with a panoramic view of the outside.  They're no windows at all and the tables had a rustic look to it sitting on panels of wooden floor boards.



The Bartender came up to me and informed me that I need to put my shirt on before he can serve me.  After covering my well defined physique Mr. Bartender then brought me my mojito and a menu.  A mojito is a drink that consist of powder sugar, lime, crushed burnt mint leaves and Puerto Rican Rum.  Very minty and refreshing, this would be my drink of choice throughout the day and night.  



sea bass ceviche



For a starter to keep my stomach awake I ordered the sea bass ceviche cocktail, a traditional dish mainly throughout South America.  The sea bass is douse with chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro and squirts of fresh lime juice which the lime itself helps firm the sweet raw bass and actually cooks it slightly.  For a starter it's a very nice cool citrus feeling to the mouth, especially dinning outside in the thousand degree heat.



For the main dish I chose the red wine braised ox-tail accompanied by red beans and rice.  Each bite I took with the ox-tail I took in a spoonful of rice which goes really well with the sweet red wine sauce.  They braised it so long you can practically suck the meat off the ox-tail, it's like eating pot roast on a stick.  The flavor is the same as pot roast but what's unique is the intense sweet red wine sauce that enhances the taste.    



ox -tail

After I finished my meal I sat around sipping on many many more mojitos while waiting for my friend to meet me after her work.  It wasn't long before she came over, I had a mojito at the ready for her.  Since she was such a good host for letting me stay at her place I kindly ordered dinner for her.  She ordered the beef tamales for her starter which I've never tried before, so I stole a few bites from her.  It was actually so good that I ordered another round for us.  The tamale is very rich in taste from the corn and tenderly beef on the inside when you first bite into it, a very nice texture it had.  At this point I was so full my stomach was ready to burst into agony but I didn't care, every dish I order was spectacular and that's all that matters.

The slowly braised ox-tail was so good I just had to order my friend one also.  She was reluctant at first to try it but the aroma from the wine was so intoxicating it practically put her in a culinary hypnotic state.  After taking her first bite she continuously began to thanked me for allowing her to be adventurous.  She never had ox-tail before so she was proud to had tried it.

After a few more drinks I had to make way to the loo inside the restaurant.  On my way back I saw a glass dome in the cafe with assorted finger foods in it.  Knowing my curiosity in food i just couldn't resist so I ordered up some chicarons, which is deep fried crunchy salted pork belly.  Because I racked up so much on my tab the bartender was kind enough to ordered me shrimp tacos and Spanish rice on the house.  At this point I had one way to many mojitos so I couldn't remember how to describe the taste.  I'm sure it was very divine because before you know it we inhaled that thing in a matter of minutes.

We spent another few hours there waiting for more friends to arrive.  Of course I had to order some more food because by now I've had stretched my bottomless stomach out to make room.  It's been seven hours since I first arrived here so I couldn't remember much about the food I ordered due to the persuasive drink specials.  One thing I do remember is I had another order of red wine ox-tail to go.  So in one day for the first time ever I've ordered three of the same dish at the same restaurant in the same day.  Talk about glutton eh?

If you like a great Latin rustic outdoor atmosphere I would recommend this place to anyone.  Nice and friendly crowd, great food and music.  If I was in Miami right now, Latin Cafe 2000 would be the first place I go to, I'm salivating just thinking about it.