Pura Vida

Pura vida, translated, means "pure life." Apparently this is a commonly used phrase in Costa Rica, meaning "life is good." Well, life is good if you're eating at this restaurant, located in Northern Liberties within walking distance from 2nd and Girard. While I vetoed this restaurant initially (because we've reviewed WAY too many restaurants with a Latin theme), I found it to be on par with some other impressive Mexican restaurants such as Cafe con Chocolat, but a step or two below Cantina dos Segundos and of course, Las Bugumbilias.

Unfortunately, the restaurant did not make a good first impression. We actually had to pay for our chips and salsa, which were of poor quality anyway. Now, you might think I'm a cheapskate, but let's get one thing straight: you should be able to eat as many chips as you want at a Mexican restaurant without being charged. I don't do all this work to get charged for fried mesa patties and spicy tomato broth! My God, you think the Native Americans charged the Pilgrims for theirs mesa? This is just un-American behavior.

Chips and Salsa a la Benedict Arnold

So our friend, who accompanied us to Northern Liberties to check out a "food festival," (about 10 booths and very little food), ordered the steak fajitas. I think the word fajitas is funny, especially if you pronounce the "j." Anyway, he said he liked them, and it looked like it was good. Okay, okay, you caught me. Clearly I don't recall anything about this dish, which may be a good or bad thing. In any case, here's the picture:

Steak Fajitas

Napoleon ordered one of the appetizers, the restaurant's namesake, as her main dish. A classic money-saving move by this notorious cheapskate, said the hypocrite. It turned out to be very creative and also quite tasty. I think I'll let her comment on her own dish, as I couldn't do it justice, as I only had a bite or two and was enraptured by my own dish (details to come; keep your pants and diaper on).

Pura Vida

Finally, I ordered a dish whose name I cannot find on menupages.com right now. But let me describe this succulent creation for you. They start with lobster ravioli and then top them with sauteed shrimp. Finally, the whole mess is doused in a tangy, savory, and altogether amazing white wine butter sauce accented with herbs. This dish would have been a perfect ten if not for some oversights, which downgraded the dish to just excellent. First, the shrimp were clearly overcooked. On top of that, the lobster ravioli were just sub par. I can't tell whether they were missing a certain flavor, or if they just didn't go well with the butter sauce, but there was just something off about it, kind of like Napoleon's face! Pwned! Ahem. Finally, and I know I'm being very picky here, but there was just too much sauce. It was nearly a soup! Trust me, I like my butter as much as the next guy, but it overpowered every flavor on the plate.

Shrimp in Butter Sauce

It's hard to judge this restaurant overall. As I said before, it's definitely on par with some other above average restaurants, but there are just little things here and there that keep it from being great. The dishes are creative, but, as was the case with my dish, they just overdid some aspects. You have to pay for terrible chips and salsa. The dishes were just missing that special something. And finally, the service was inattentive at best. Still, the flavor of the dishes won us over, and I would be happy to eat here again.

Rating: 3.5 pure lifes