Restaurant Review: Frita Batido
Last week, we went to eat out in downtown Ann Arbor. We saw a new restaurant near Main Street called Frita Batido. This was a new restaurant that opened in December. The interior was mainly white and gray with fluorescent lighting, a sharp contrast to many of the other restaurants in Ann Arbor, which are mainly in older brick buildings. I noticed that they had candles all around the inside. There was one big painting of a flower. There was a line where we ordered our food. The person waiting to take our order at the counter was extremely nice. He even gave my brother and I some chocolate syrup from the dish churros con chocolate. They even had a special menu for people who don’t eat certain foods or have allergies. We ordered two black bean fritas (their burgers), these fritas were pretty much burgers, with fries in the middle and flavored mayo. When I took my first bite, I absolutely loved the burger. The black bean patty was cooked to perfection. It was amazing. The fries that they put in the frita might have been some of the best fries I have ever tried in my life. I was getting thirsty and noticed that instead of serving us water, the restaurant left plastic cups at each table and a glass, corked bottle of water with the cups. That was a good idea, because the diners could get the water themselves. The waiter brought out a drink that I had ordered, fresh coconut water. 5 stars for presentation on that drink! They had taken the coconut and shaved it just enough so that it was like a pyramid. They then chopped the top off to make a hole,and after inserting a little umbrella and a straw to give that tropical experience, the work of art was complete. They also served the lime ginger water that my parents ordered differently too. They took some ice and the ginger water and served it in a plastic bag that had a straw in it. They told us that in parts of South America they would serve drinks like that, so they served certain drinks that way as well. This shows the traditional essence of the food served and that the food was not just for effect, but for purpose. When we left, the waiter escorted us out and thanked us for eating there. One thing I noticed was the philanthropist attitude that the owner had. In the restaurant, it said that she had donated to many causes in Cuba. This impressed me a lot. It told me that the owner not only was willing to use the food given by the Cuban community to his benefit, but was willing to give back to the Cuban community. Overall, I would say that this is a good restaurant that I would like to go to again. I would rate it 8.5 out of 10.