Bodega On Main

Easter Weekend Part 2 - Happy Hour at Bodega On Main. We passed by Bodega on our way to and from Torafuku the day before and thought - we should try that next. Conveniently enough, we had a movie to catch at 7pm, so Happy Hour until 6pm was perfect for us. The price was also appealing.

We both ordered the Bodega Lager, which was a huge disappointment. B believes that, in this city and neighbourhood, no one should be serving bad beer anymore. Plus, we would've been happy with a good brew at $2 off. But paying $5 for garbage was a turn off.

First there was the Patatas Bravas (fried potatoes). Although the sauce was pretty good, by completely submerging the potatoes in sauce, the twice fried potatoes lost their crispiness. What's the point of frying the potatoes twice if there's no crunch to the finished dish?

The Jamón Serrano (cured ham) was also completely soaked, but in olive oil. There's not much I can say about the ham itself - it kind of reminded me of the prosciutto you get at Costco. I liked how the olive oil really balances the saltiness of the ham, but it was A LOT of oil. I think a simple drizzle would have sufficed.

We were quite disappointed with the Calamares Fritos (deep fried squid). Though the squid itself was great - good texture, you can eat it in bites - the batter was bland and boring.

The Pollo Frito (fried chicken wings) was as expected. You really can't ruin chicken wings. The fried skin had great texture to it and the meat was moist and cooked well.

Lastly, there's the Albóndigas (meatballs). The sauce was rich and the meat fell apart, but it tasted good. I was glad it came with the potatoes because the fried crispy texture of the potatoes helped balance out the softness of the meatballs.

Overall, we weren't impressed with the Happy Hour at Bodega; however, since our friends think so highly of it, we will give their regular menu a try one day. We would not recommend Happy Hour though: food and service was mediocre, but the atmosphere was great.