I knew I had to go to Cienfuegos after Pat and I had been to one of the two bars downstairs, Amor Y Amargo, with which it shares a kitchen. For one thing, there was the delicious flan we had tasted earlier; for another thing, the Yelp reviews spoke of rum punchbowls that would knock your socks off. I was like a moth to a flame.
And so it was that we found ourselves ensconced in dramatic chairs at Cienfuegos, in the East Village, admiring the brilliant turquoise walls and chandeliers, a re-creation of Cuba at, presumably, its best.
The waitstaff was funny and helpful and personable. The food was very good - we really liked the croque cangrejo appetizers (fried balls of crabmeat), and we got to sample all the sandwiches, all of which were appealing. We obviously ordered the flan but this time the syrup on top was slightly burned and that was a disappointment.
The punch was great! There were many many options, but we settled on the North Mississippi variety, in a bowl to serve two. It was delicious - not too sweet - and plenty alcoholic, leaving us tipsy but still highly functional. Perfection.
The next destination for our tipsy selves that night was the Lakeside Lounge, where the Ks were playing. The Ks are my new friend Dan's band. I loved that the Lakeside Lounge is a dive, and we enjoyed the band. As a facsimile of a musician myself, I like seeing other reasonably ordinary - even geeky! - people exercising their right to be rock stars. The Ks take it to a higher level than my own band, of course, in the sense that they actually sound good and someone has condoned them playing in a bar, but our kinship is nonetheless there.
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