Restaurant Review: Cafe Carambola

I have a friend who cracked me up one time when we went to lunch at Café Chulo in Cd'A and after we got our food he sat down said, with all seriousness: "This isn't a real Mexican place - there aren't any tater tots on the menu!" Poor kid needs to get out more often, I think.

With that in mind, I wouldn't suggest that he should bother with Café Carambola either, where nothing is murdered in hot oil, and everything is served fresh, fresh, fresh in an intriguing variety of Latin dishes. In fact, they claim that the majority of veggies are plucked daily from owner Colomba Aguilan's garden. The location is a bit odd, tucked away there in Harbor Center next to the Lewis-Clark State Student Lounge (they offer discounts to us LCSC students, by the way.) I've driven by the place a zillion times, but it never really registered to actually there until a few days ago. Lou and I were hungry but couldn't decide where to eat - we were sick of all the usual spots and were craving something new. Bing! I remembered Café Carambola and we headed out the door.