I’m ashamed to say that La Bodeguita participated in two Croqueta Palooza events before I dropped by for lunch. Their croquetas had such an excellent reputation around town that I invited them to compete.
Marcela also raved to me about how great the owner, Mike, and his dad were. Great food and great people are always the restaurants I love to highlight.
I’ve driven by La Bodeguita dozens of times and wondered what it was. Well, one step in, and I love the wine cellar vibe inside. I’m not much of a wine guy, but sangria, now that’s a different story.
La Bodeguita Tapas
What’s exciting about the menu for me is the mix of comfort food dishes from Spain and Cuba. I promised Marcela that I would behave, but all of the tapas (appetizers/snacks) sounded like a great idea.
While she heads to the restroom to freshen up, I take the opportunity to order patatas bravas, housemade chorizo, tortilla Española, and an order of housemade croquetas.
As great as the patatas bravas (cubed and fried potatoes drizzled with their aioli sauce), housemade chorizo, and tortilla Española (Spanish potato omelet) were…they were no match for the serrano ham and manchego cheese croquetas.
It’s not a shocker to say that if you start with great ingredients, you end up with a great dish. Serrano ham and manchego cheese are match-made in comfort food heaven, hence these tasty cylindrical delights.
MUY IMPORTANTE: Las Peores Croquetas de Serrano y Manchego (as they’re known on the menu) from La Bodeguita are easily one of the top three in the city, aka a must-try if you’re a croqueta-holic.
And Now What?
As much as I wanted to eat the Vaca Frita Burger, a person who lives with and is married to me shot down that idea. After standing in the corner for five minutes (just kidding), I was allowed to order only one main dish.
This was a no-brainer, so I had to order their milanesa. My two side dishes were platanitos (sweet plantains) and moros. Both were excellent, but after a bite or two from each, I was hyper-focused on the milanesa.
The milanesa is chicken breast pounded thin, then breaded and pan-fried. Here’s where it gets good: some serrano ham topped with melted manchego covers the creation.
It’s a little dryer than most Cuban milanesas, but this beauty hits all the right flavor notes for me. Might I suggest a sandwich with maybe some of the patatas bravas sauce?
Now that Marcela‘s guard was down, I could sneak a flan for dessert and a boozed-up cortadito. The latter was more for her than me since I’m mister meat and potatoes.
The flan was a solid end to my meal while Marcela sipped her cortadito, which meant she enjoyed it. There’s nothing like savoring every last bit of a delicious meal.
La Bodeguita Restaurant
2005 W 4th Avenue
Hialeah, FL
(786) 542-8149
Website – https://www.lbrmiami.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/labodeguita_hia
Monday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
Tuesday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
Wednesday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
Thursday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
Friday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Saturday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Sunday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm