Earl's Dadeland

Easily accessible from the mall.

The hostesses at the front suggested the "Bigger Better" hamburger as the specialty of the house and this being our first visit we figured to give it a try. Our server, Randa, was very nice. It was her first week on the job so she seemed a little nervous, her cute smile did make up for any other shortcomings.

While we are on the subject of servers, they do choose pretty girls to work here but I'm not sure what they're trying to achieve with their outfits, some of the these ladies look as if they're a tad uncomfortable. Either the shoes are too high, the dress is too tight or both. Now please don't misunderstand, we do appreciate the female form in all its splendor but these girls looked like they were struggling to walk while carrying a tray of food.

The "Bigger Better"...yes...it is kind of big...but it stops there...

But let's talk about the food:
The $15 hamburger was as uneventful and boring as a hamburger can get. Charred on the outside. Somewhat pink on the inside. Walk thirty feet east and you can get Bobby Flay's Burgers with a lot more variety, more taste and at half the price.

Right from the Ore-Ida frozen bag.

The bucket of fries was below average, the fries looked as if they had just been poured from the Ore-Ida freezer bag into the fryer. Do they get their fries at Winn Dixie?

This Magic Hat in draft was the best deal at $3

The best thing was the $3 Magic Hat #9.

Some people seem more interested in their phones...

They have the music way too loud to have a relaxed conversation but I imagine that they do that because they're trying to attract a young crowd who may be more concerned with posting on social media and/or finding a sex partner than eating good food.

It takes this many people to create an uneventful hamburger...

We say: Skip it.
⭐️⭐️

Location:Earl's Dadeland

Wings and Pizza

Test Post

This test post is being used to determine whether this app really works as as intended or not. I will be posting a video as well.

The Latin House Burger and Taco

Before we begin talking about burgers we must establish a way to determine what we are looking for. We all know that a hamburger is a ground beef meat patty, for me that is it, nothing else. This beef patty may be seasoned with whatever ingredients the cook may want to add to it before cooking, I can entertain that...up to a point. Whatever they decide to add after cooking, may make it an awesome experience in the opinion of some, but the more items they add to it, the further it gets from the concept of a hamburger, of course adding cheese to it makes it a cheeseburger . We need to start from the taste of the patty....and that is exactly where I'll start.

The Latin House Grill started as a food truck and now boasts an actual location which is called The Latin Httouse Burger and Taco Bar. That should be a pretty good indication that someone is doing something right.

The Latin House Burger and Taco Bar

I've never been a fan of food trucks. Mainly because the dining conditions are less than ideal. You get to eat either standing up with never enough napkins, slobbering all over your self or at a communal table rubbing elbows with people who you do not want to share the same planet with, let alone a table. You also get all that wonderful Miami dirt flying in the air and into your food, not to mention a variety of insect species that would make Charles Darwin envious.

Now please don't misunderstand me, I am not a snob but if I am going to pay those prices they better give me air conditioning, a bug free environment, a comfortable chair and some privacy.

But enough about food trucks, let us concentrate on the task at hand...

There are a three things here that are "must tries", the first one is the Pig Wings (obviously the name is intriguing enough) the second one is the Original Hamburger which our waiter insisted in calling the Champ because of winning a best hamburger competition for several years in a row and the third one is a dessert called Balls To the Wall with a name like that... it's worth a try.

The Pig Wings. Nice size portions.

The Pig Wings are pork ribs which are glazed in a sweet sauce and cooked until the meat falls of the bone. The sauce can be a little overpowering but the meat is very tender. Give it try.

Next up on the menu was the hamburger. They offer about eleven different combinations of hamburgers, from the Original to Cuban, Mexican, Bulgarian and even Elvis. But you have seen my Hamburger Statement at the beginning if this post; if you pour guava marmalade and slap white cheese over a beef patty...Is it really a hamburger?

So if you are in the mood to taste a formerly great burger that's been f.cked up then go for it. Get the Elvis see what peanut butter, jelly and bananas can do to the taste of a burger.

The American

Now, don't misunderstand me, the burger tastes very good by itself.

They've been able to make a great tasting hamburger. I imagine that after a while people get tired of eating a great hamburger and then they just figure:...hey how can we mess this up?. My recommendation is go for the American hamburger and hold that avocado-lime and crema, better yet have it on the side.

 

 

The Latin House Burger and Taco

Before we begin talking about burgers we must establish a way to determine what we are looking for. We all know that a hamburger is a ground beef meat patty, for me that is it, nothing else. This beef patty may be seasoned with whatever ingredients the cook may want to add to it before cooking, I can entertain that...up to a point. Whatever they decide to add after cooking, may make it an awesome experience in the opinion of some, but the more items they add to it, the further it gets from the concept of a hamburger, of course adding cheese to it makes it a cheeseburger . We need to start from the taste of the patty....and that is exactly where I'll start.

The Latin House Grill started as a food truck and now boasts an actual location which is called The Latin House Burger and Taco Bar. That should be a pretty good indication that someone is doing something right.

The Latin House Burger and Taco Bar

I've never been a fan of food trucks. Mainly because the dining conditions are less than ideal. You get to eat either standing up with never enough napkins, slobbering all over your self or at a communal table rubbing elbows with people who you do not want to share the same planet with, let alone a table. You also get all that wonderful Miami dirt flying in the air and into your food, not to mention a variety of insect species that would make Darwin envious.

Now please don't misunderstand me, I am not a snub but if I am going to pay those prices they better give me air conditioning, a bug free environment, a comfortable chair and some privacy.

But enough about food trucks, let us concentrate on the task at hand...

There are a three things here that are "must tries", the first one is the Pig Wings (obviously the name is intriguing enough) the second one is the Original Hamburger which our waiter insisted in calling the Champ because of winning a best hamburger competition for several years in a row and the third one is a dessert called Balls Agains the Wall with a name like that... it's worth a try.

The Pig Wings. Nice size portions.

The Pig Wings are pork ribs which are glazed in a very sweet sauce and cooked until the meat falls of the bone. The sauce can be a little overpowering but the meat is very tender. Give it try.

Next up on the menu was the hamburger. They offer about eleven different combinations of hamburgers, from the Original to Cuban, Mexican, Bulgarian and even Elvis. But you have seen my Hamburger Statement at the beginning if this post; if you pour guava marmalade and slap white cheese over a beef patty...Is it really a hamburger?

So if you are in the mood to taste a formerly great burger that's been f.cked up then go for it. Get the Elvis see what peanut butter, jelly and bananas can do to the taste of a burger.

The American

Now, don't misunderstand me, the burger tastes very good by itself.

They've been able to make a great tasting hamburger. I imagine that after a while people get tired of eating a great hamburger and then they just figure:...hey how can we mess this up?. My recommendation is go for the American hamburger and hold that avocado-lime and crema, better yet have it on the side.

 

 

The Latin House Burger and Taco Bar

Before we begin talking about burgers we must establish a way to determine what we are looking for. We all know that a hamburger is a ground beef meat patty, for me that is it, nothing else. This beef patty may be seasoned with whatever ingredients the cook may want to add to it before cooking, I can entertain that...up to a point. Whatever they decide to add after cooking, may make it an awesome experience in the opinion of some, but the more items they add to it, the further it gets from the concept of a hamburger, of course adding cheese to it makes it a cheeseburger . We need to start from the taste of the patty....and that is exactly where I'll start.

The Latin House Grill started as a food truck and now boasts an actual location which is called The Latin House Burger and Taco Bar. That should be a pretty good indication that someone is doing something right.

The Latin House Burger and Taco Bar

I've never been a fan of food trucks. Mainly because the dining conditions are less than ideal. You get to eat either standing up with never enough napkins, slobbering all over your self or at a communal table rubbing elbows with people who you do not want to share the same planet with, let alone a table. You also get all that wonderful Miami dirt flying in the air and into your food, not to mention a variety of insect species that would make Darwin envious.
Now please don't misunderstand me, I am not a snub but if I am going to pay those prices they better give me air conditioning, a bug free environment, a comfortable chair and some privacy.
But enough about food trucks, let us concentrate on the task at hand...
There are a couple of things that are "must tries", the first one is the Pig Wings (obviously the name is intriguing enough) and the second one is the Original Hamburger which our waiter insisted in calling the Champ because of winning a best hamburger competition for several years in a row...

The Pig Wings. Nice size portions.

The Pig Wings are pork ribs which are glazed in a very sweet sauce and cooked until the meat falls of the bone

El Rey de las Fritas...meal for two: $25.00

The façade is very unassuming. 

The strip looks somewhat run
down.

A review of El Rey de lasFritas should begin by clarifying what my expectations were before my visit. I wanted to experience what a "Cuban Hamburger" was like. Did I expect to find the"Ultimate Hamburger"?... no. I was looking for a unique combination of flavors which is what the "frita" is all about... 

Just in case you get "confused" 

this sign makes it pretty clear.

The restaurant is kind of small, six booths back to back and about a dozen stools at the counter. The server was very endearing and treated us like old friends, if you happen to speak Spanish you can expect to be called: "My dear", "My love","My child", etc... very enjoyable.

In addition to the usual soft drinks: Coke, Materva etc., they also make shakes and fruit juices. The melon juice was pure and sweet (maybe added sugar) and the banana shake was very thick (made from real bananas).

They make "jugos" and "batidos"

rignt in front of you.

The "fritas" come in a white semi-soft roll about the size of a whopper roll, julienne French fries are piled on top and chopped onions are offered as an option. There is also a cheeseburger version with American cheese.

The "frita" with julienne fries.

Other than the julienne fries, what separates this hamburger from the average fast food burger is the sauce, which is tomato based (some may refer to it as a “sofrito”) added on top while the burger is being cooked. That is all the information they are willing to volunteer about the sauce; our warm friendly server turned ice cold when I prodded her for more information, she simply stated: "...it's a secret". From what I could taste, there was some tomato paste, cumin, garlic and paprika. When the right amount of sauce is applied to the meat patty, the combination of the meat flavor with the sauce makes it quite tasty and satisfying. Unfortunately, the flavor of the sauce was overpowering the taste of the meat, coming close to nullifying it, so basically what was left was a French fry sandwich with a strong tomato based sauce and a faint taste of meat.

The "Frita Especial" here it 
means  they add cheese.

The"Pan con Bistec"(steak sandwich) was actually one of the better steak sandwiches that I've had within the Cuban food genre. The lettuce and tomato were very fresh and the meat was tender, not chewy like in other places. If you are ordering the"Pan con Bistec" and the "frita" (probably the best way to go if you want to sample the best they have to offer), don't have the steak after the "frita" or the aftertaste of the "frita" will nullify the taste of the meat in the steak sandwich.

     "Pan con Bistec", one of the 

     better ones I've had.

There are other offerings in the menu and from the looks of it, the other items looked good for a Cuban joint... but I was not there for that.

The "Flan"(Egg based custard with light syrup) for dessert was totally average and the Cuban coffee was as good as any they make anywhere.

Here is the check:                     
Total: $25.05

The total order was: One “Frita”, one “Frita Especial”, one “Pan con Bistec”, one “Jugo de Melon”, one banana shake, one flan and one coffee.  The total check came to about $25.00 with tax, tip not included.

All in all, the food was ok.A visit here could be considered an "adventure" to see what the "fritas" are all about. I do think that the steak sandwich is a must try but if you are going to call yourself the king of something, you better be ready to knock it out of the ballpark, this was more like a one base hit. 

RATING:	★★
TOTAL CALORIE  COUNT:	Fritas: 470 to 570 each
	Pan con bistec: 900
TASTE:	Slightly above average
NUTRITIONAL VALUE:	You don’t come here for that.
COST:	Meal for two:$25.00

EL REY DE LAS FRITAS MENU