Wonder of the Lees, part 1

Hi, guys! Long time no speak. I haven't done any reviews in a while but you want to know what I have been doing? TRAVELING! This isn't a new hobby to me (or the mister), but it's new to share with you all. We recently took a flight down to Florida to head out on Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas for Memorial Day weekend. As I am sure a lot of you are aware, traveling can bring its own set of hiccups so we always stick to flying to location a day before boarding. We flew on Jet Blue and were able to secure a straight through flight that went smoothly. They have free wifi, live tv, and good snacks which are all wins in my book! The mister has also started this thing that every city we end up in, we have to see if one of North America's or the world's top bars is open for us to check out.

The Thursday that we got in to Miami, we made sure to check out the awesome Cafe La Trova. We had a 9:15pm reservation and were surprised to see our name on the welcome sign posted by the bar. How fun! They sat us at a table directly in front of the small stage where a quartet performed live for the evening. The bar is Cuban and had the menu to go along with it. We tried a few dishes: their delicious mushroom croquetas, empanadas de pollo, spinach empanadas, and the vaca frita sliders. The croquetas were our favorite, hands down! They were so creamy and extremely flavorful. We easily could have eaten an order each. The chicken empanadas were nice, but the spinach ones stood out more. The mix remained soft and cheesy although fried. The accompanying sauce really sealed the flavor aspect with them. Lastly, the sliders were good, if not a little dry, but missed a bit of pizzazz in my opinion.

The drinks were nice and presented well. I enjoyed the Canchanchara, which was rum accompanied with honey syrup and lime juice. Both add-ins did well to cut the potency while the mister seemed to think it tasted too strongly of the alcohol. He had a La Trova Old Fashioned, as his personal mission is to try all of the ones he comes across. The one here had cafecito syrup and chocolate bitters, which combined well and boosted the flavor considering he is not a coffee fan. He also ordered their award- winning Buenavista; this was remniscent of a margarita/mojito combo maybe, made with gin and accents of cucumber, mint, elderflower, and lime. They all were enjoyable.

Overall, we had a great time and I'm glad we were able to have a succesful night since this was our second time trying to get here. Prices were not bad at all, compared to other major cities we have dined in, and the atmosphere was lively. The space was full of an array of people of varying ages enjoying themselves and the live music. Even other staff members got in on the musical action. I can see how they made the top 50 list multiple times and would suggest trying them out if given the opportunity. Stay tuned as the next post or two will cover our cruise and a visit to another top bar!