Running with the Bulls (and possibly the devil too) at Por Fin

Friday night I met up with some new friends who had gathered at Por Fin in Coral Gables. They had the whole "running with the bulls" happy hour thingy going on with 2 for 1 on some drinks and lower priced tapas from what I gathered. I never looked at a menu though since I was with a group that fluctuated from 6 to 9 people throughout the night and a few of them knew the menu. Sometimes its nice not to have to make decisions, ya know? The upstairs was packed when I got there around 630pm and stayed that way pretty much until midnight. I did check out downstairs at one point around 9pm and it too was full.

The food...was really good! I thought the croquetas were incredibly tasty and I liked how they were plated with the choice of a garlic aioli or fig jam on opposite corners of the plate for dipping. There was some sort of bruschetta that appeared early in the night that I thought was just OK and seemed to be overly "olive-y" in flavor. Both a meat and a cheese plate made their way around too and everything seemed typical, none too exciting, with the exception of a blue cheese (cambozola?) that I really liked but cant remember its name. A bowl of potato chips with blue cheese all over them was also very tasty. Someone ordered some dish that looked like a potato skin with cheese and prosciutto on it but I didnt really get a good look at it nor a chance to take a bite. The one non-tapas-menu dish that I did get to try that I really, really enjoyed was the Huevos Por Fin. A bowl of potato chips, a fried egg, some melted cheese, some cured pork (serrano?), and some truffle oil really tasted like pure awesomeness once it was mixed together a little. I didnt notice any potato foam though which someone had mentioned was once on the dish.

Beer, sangria, and a crapload of wine flowed throughout the night. Apparently the Pinot Noir was good, let's just leave it at that. People also enjoyed the sangria but only when they asked that the simple syrup be removed as it was much too sweet. I had a sip of the white sangria sans syrup and still found it to be sweet but also refreshing. Beer selection was Bud Light, Grolsch, or a new organic beer from Michelob called Stone Mill. I went with the Stone Mill on a friend's recommendation and was surprised when it tasted really good! Unfortunately, they ran out before I could get another one so I switched to Grolsch and then later to Maker's Mark. The weak beer selection needs to be improved and running out kinda blew. With all the alcohol I've listed here, you can probably understand how we ended up at some whacky karaoke bar until 2am...yeah.

The food was great and everyone in the room seemed to have a great time. However, the biggest buzzkill was dealing with the check. Apparently their computers werent set up properly for the 2 for 1 or the cheap tapas because the bill was an absolute trainwreck. Luckily we had one guy on a mission to make sure that they got it right and he managed to do so in a completely calm and understanding manner which I think really helped the situation. I think this back n forth went on for about 45 minutes which was a tad absurd. Granted, we were a large party but I still think the bill at the end of the night was effed up. We did tip well though since the service was VERY good. I actually give the servers a lot of credit and the kitchen and bar as well because they really did a great job and were really polite and accommodating even though the place was packed and it was tough to move between the tables. Id definitely recommend Por Fin to friends and I'll have to make it back sometime myself. It was a fun place with a great vibe and the food was delicious.