Maplewood Restaurant is One

Of a Kind with Dining Divas

   It was a pleasant spring evening. You know the kind. Jacket weather. Not quite warm enough for flip flops but warm enough to question wearing boots. The pollen hadn’t started to attack yet. The bees and flies were still south for the winter.   And the sunset was such a lovely site. That’s what I remember thinking walking into the Dining Diva destination for this past month. What a wonderful night!

Immediately upon entering Boogaloo in Maplewood, I knew already I was going to love the place. With the open air seating at the front of the restaurant, it reminded me of something you’d see in a warmer climate, and that made me happy. The swings at the bar were a bonus.   What kid doesn’t love swinging! What adult wouldn’t love swinging while bellied up to a bar! Fun. That’s the way to describe it. The atmosphere was fun.

You’d think hearing about the Missing Diva who’d gone south to Florida, or the Teacher Diva who still had 11 days left of her spring break, or Mama Diva who just returned from Mexico would have dampened the spirits, but it didn’t.   We enjoyed ourselves, and it’s been a long time for this, but every one of us would go back again.

A common complaint with the Divas is the lack of happy hour specials offered with table service. Usually, you have to sit in the bar. Not here. We were able to take advantage of the specials, and we did!

The only complaint made was the temperature of the room being on the cool side. Seems to us that the outside air was perfect that they didn’t need the A/C blasting on us. Perhaps we all just needed a little of the Red Beans and Rice. It was even too hot for the Spicy Food Lovin’ Diva.

A good empanada is hard to find according to the KC Diva, but she loved the spinach and artichoke ones she ordered, and the crab ones were devoured, too. The Traveling Diva tried the tacos with shrimp, pork, and flank steak, and all were tasty. The Shrimp Po’boy was very good, as was the Jambalaya. The Italian Diva thought it was some of the best she’d ever had…lots of shrimp, chicken, and andouille sausage with the perfect amount of spice. And you can’t go wrong with a classic pressed Cuban sandwich or the Cubaniche, with pork, ham, and Swiss cheese. Skip the Conch Fritters. They were overcooked and bland.

Their menu is Caribbean, Creole, or Cuban. I’m not really sure of the difference, but it doesn’t matter. This neighborhood bar and grill knows good food and a good time. That’s all that matters.

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