After dropping her off, it was time to do a revisit to Tropical Star!
It's been about two years and I was happy to see that they took over the spot next door. It's a lounge that serves coffee and drinks (there's a bar in the back). You can also order your food on the market side and eat on the lounge/cafe side like we did last night.
The market still looks the same as before...densely packed with all kinds of Latin American foodstuffs and goodies.
Next door, there are more seating options alongside a painted wall. There were even some fake trees to add to the ambience. On the mural were small folk art replicas of homes with tiny people. Very cute!
The doorway to the market place...
More fake trees...
The older lady serving us was the owner; her husband was working the bar (I recognized him from past visits). Everyone there was super nice, as we've experience in past visits as well, including the daughter. I got to use my elementary Spanish with the lady. She spoke in Spanish to me the entire time and while I couldn't get get everything that she told me, I got the jist of it and she somehow understood me despite my apologies for my Spanish speaking skills. When I asked her what types of beers they had, she led us over to the bar so we could see the choices ourselves. Bert chose Famosa (a Guatemalan beer), a brand he hasn't had before. I ended up getting a Postobon soda, which I first tasted in Tierras Colombianas in Astoria with L during my NY trip in '08. This market sells this soda by the way.
His beer was a lager, which had a clean and crisp taste; it went well with our dinner. My apple soda was pink and super sweet like I remembered it.
Here were Tostones v. 2 - compared to the tostones we had the other night at Havana Grill, these were much much much better. The tostones were about the same size but were not as dense, thick, and stiff feeling. The taste was also better along with being lighter and crisper. The sauce was not as oily as HG's; instead this was more water but packed with freshly chopped garlic. I could have eaten just this alone and call it a night.
Our dinner:
The #3 - Chuletas de cerdo ($10.40/center cut pork chops with white rice and red beans):
My #7 - Filete de Pescado Paulista ($9.95/this was the free entree) - Brazilian style fish fillet seasoned with lemon and garlic and served with white rice and black beans. Bert and I later traded the beans which he mixed with his rice. "Paulista" comes from a city in Brazil in case you're wondering.
The fish portion was so meaty. Not sure what type of fish it was but it had a clean flavor and no muddiness at all. There was no breading on the fish but there was a lovely crispness around the edges. The fish was seasoned just right, with nothing overpowering it.
Here is an older post by Mary (featuring the older signage):
"Tropical Star Restaurant Specialty Market" May 10, 2013
and a more recent post by Faye (her post has the newer signage): April 2016
Articles:
"For immigrants craving home, there's no place like Tropical Star" SD Union Tribune, May 27, 2014
"Latin America revisited - Tropical Star" March 19, 2012
My last visit:
June 2015 (the newer signage was in this post too. I didn't realize 'til I reread my post to link for this post)
Coupon or not, I will be coming here again. I must have their pastelillo (it's gone up to the $3.00+ range now; no more $2.25 like in years past) and come to think of it, a milanesa while I'm at it! I ended up buying $27 worth of snacks and sweets for ourselves and as gifts. A revisits is absolutely necessary!
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