Cheap Eats - L5P Lite
Miro’s Garden brings tapas and salads to the ‘hood
Little Five Points was once a neighborhood whose restaurants aimed to satisfy an alcoholic’s appetite: Greasy burgers, fries and tater tots tended to be the order of the day. However, with its surrounding neighborhoods becoming increasingly well-to-do, L5P has seen a new breed of lighter-fare eateries peacefully co-existing next to long-standing dives.
La Fonda refashioned: Miro’s Garden, in the same fashionable vein as Teaspace and Bang, is the new inhabitant of the previous La Fonda location. Though the walls are as bright as ever, a healthy dose of greenery has been added, lending an air of lushness to the setting. Whimsical forms inspired by the free, jazzy shapes of painter Joan Miro — the restaurant’s namesake — have also been added.
Preparing the palate: Miro’s serves tapas, featuring tangy flavors on small plates perfect for sharing as appetizers. With prices ranging from $3 to $8, however, it could become an expensive substitution for a full meal.
Gazpacho is difficult to prepare well. Many restaurants offer little more than watery salsa as their version of the robust Spanish favorite. Fortunately, this is not the case at Miro’s, where roasted red peppers have been thrown in, adding both subtle sweetness and creaminess to a silky smooth blend of vegetables ($4). Camarones al ajillo ($7) — shrimp for non-Spanish speakers — stand out with a simple garlic-herb marinade that, once grilled, produces such juicy morsels that they are best experienced without the spicy tomato sauce that accompanies them.
Familiar finger food: Paninis are the only items on the restaurant’s regular menu that remotely resemble something you might find at your neighborhood bar. Similar to the Cuban sandwiches previously offered at La Fonda, these toasty little pressed sandwiches come with a side salad instead of beans and rice and fillings like lamb, roasted vegetables and chicken breast. Die-hard meat eaters will enjoy the lamb panini ($8), which includes paper-thin slices of lamb meat with tangy feta and an equally piquant dijon-horseradish aioli along with complementary vegetables like caramelized onions and tomatoes, whose sweetness helps balance the pungency of the other toppings.
Still life on a plate: A substantial portion of Miro’s menu is devoted to brightly colored salad chock-full of dark-leaf lettuces and chilled vegetables. Offerings start with the basic Miro’s salad ($7) of romaine lettuce, kalamata olives and feta cheese in an oregano vinaigrette, and graduate to the more extravagant grilled shrimp and scallop salad ($10) with tasty tidbits like capers and roasted peppers in a cilantro lime vinaigrette.
For a salad that eats like a meal, try the chili-dusted salmon salad ($8). This bed of mixed greens, cucumbers and tomatoes is topped with a filet of salmon so tender it falls apart at the slightest touch. Though in most cases, a nice slice of fish is best left alone, the chili rub at Miro’s highlights the salmon’s natural flavor and texture. And the best part of enjoying this new-fangled salad (for L5P, anyway) on a summery afternoon? No Heinz required.