But it was really those tacos that blew us away: piled high with shredded pork marinated in the habanero sauce, garnished with generous helpings of cilantro (another ETW fav we can never get enough of), lettuce, tomatoes, and more habanero sauce in a corn tortilla. L was enamored with the empanada, soft and cheesy and flaky, doing good on her cheese/carbs combo love. M could have eaten three plates of them and called it dinner. The plantains were soft, sweet, and delightful, and the habanero sauce added a good flavorful kick. Main course: we split an order of pork tacos (under the assumption that one order ($11.95) would be enough for both of us. For appetizers, a plate of fried plantains (an ETW favorite) with the aforementioned habanero sauce ($5.95) and a cheese empanada ($3.95).

We decided to mix it up as much as we could given our budget. Second good sign: The table has two bottles of salsa, but homemade, one based on said habaneros (“Mango Man Sauce”) – meaning the peppers are not for decor, they actually use them in cooking. People familiar with M’s culinary escapades can imagine how excited he was at this. In little plants right on the main counter. Check out the view from our table – yes this is the entire place!įirst good sign: they grow their own habaneros. Luckily a nice couple, who were just paying their bill, got up and gave us their seats, so we nestled ourselves into a cozy corner and began to scope the place out. We were concerned when we walked into the seating area downstairs, mostly because CCR turned out to be one of the tiniest restaurant’s we’ve been in (about the same size as Bien Trucha) and all the seats were taken. CCR inhabits a former house in downtown Madison, decked out in party chairs and fake plastic palm trees outside that must make for a kitschy but amusing summer evening, yet were no good on this chilly and rainy night. But finally we made it to see for ourselves – and every complaint we heard turned out to be wrong. We hard it all: potentially spotty food, horrendously slow service, and very overpriced. The short answer is a bit of indecision: country-specific it may be, but we were concerned with Costa Rica Cafe’s reviews. Specifically Costa Rican restaurants are tough to come by, so loyal readers are probably wondering why it took us so long to meander over to the one in our own backyard.

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