Sofritos

400 East 57th Street

New York, NY 10022

The first time I heard of Sofritos was while watching an episode of something on Mun2, and Don Omar deemed it as his favorite restaurant. woopie. I have to admit, I really did want to go to this place but as usual, I thought it was just a celebrity endorsed wastebasket. Finally, NOT A CHAIN RESTAURANT!

My cousin made reservations for Wednesday night around 9 p.m. It was pretty crowded considering it was a Wednesday night, but again, this is NYC. I will never find a quiet and/or empty restaurant.

The waiters are typical Puerto Rican gentlemen--pulling out the seat, putting napkins on our laps, and expecting us to pay the check. lol. KIDDING! I can't hate on my own kind. Any who, they really were courteous and charismatic. I think there was a live DJ because the music was on point! With an all white themed dining decor, light changing bar, and walls drawn on by De la Vega himself, I must say the decor is pretty exceptional.

Ok. So they sell Mojitos by the pitcher. AWESOME! We ordered a pitcher of pineapple Mojito, which was amazing. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of Mojitos because I'm not into minty flavor, but this was great. I think I loved it so much because of the real pineapple chunks in it.

Food wise, the best thing was the appetizer. It was a huge plate that had a bit of everything--Chicharron de Pollo, Tostones Montaditos, Carne Frita, Calamares Frito, Chicharron de Camarones, Empanadas. As you know I don't eat meat but I did have the shrimp, calamari and Tostones, they were muy bueno.

For my entree I ordered the Camarones Frito (crispy fried shrimp) con Yuca Fries. If I ranked yuca fries, these would rank in the top three best Yuca fries of all time. Naomi and Nez ordered the Churraco (skirt steak) con monfongo (they both got sick afterwards so that raises an eyebrow). I tried their monfongo, another food I'm usually not fond of outside of Puerto Rico, but it was pretty good. Jessica had the Filet Mignon, classy, she loved it.

We didn't have dessert, we were all stuffed and the Mojitos were satisfying.

{Reminder. Ratings based on a 1-20 scale, 1 being awful, 20 being the beeeeest.}

Food 15. I enjoyed the appetizer and Mojitos the most. My shrimp were regular, nothing special. Skirt Steak sickness? Overall, we all felt pretty regular about the food, with the exception of the appetizer.

Decor 18. Loved that the walls were done by De La Vega. Can you get anymore Puerto Rican?

Service 19. Great wait staff, friendly hostess, courteous coat check, and they were all dressed neat.

It was kind of expensive, but we did get a lot of food, I think it worked out to somewhere between 50-55 per person including tip.

Overall, I give Sofritos a 17. I think I'm being a bit generous, but it was good.

I would eat at Sofritos again, but I cant see myself becoming a regular. I would definitely go for the Mojitos and appetizers, there isn't much on the menu I can have as a vegetarian (pescetarian for the anal retentive's out there). Its a once in a while kind of restaurant that you feel you have to visit just to see if its changed. It seems like its a cool night spot for drinks.

We didn't get anything special with the checks...some classic Puerto Rican candy would've been nice.