Cheap Eats: American Adobo

Where: American Adobo, 633 NE 125th St., Miami

What $15 Gets You: Teriyaki chicken, longaniza, rice, cabbage soup and a Coke

Don’t let the name American Adobo fool you, the only thing American in this restaurant is the ketchup. The restaurant focuses on Filipino cuisine.

As me and my friend walked in to the hole-in-the-wall place, we were greeted by the sounds of Filipino television. I learned that apparently they are really big on Valentine’s Day in the Philippines, all the station was broadcasting was romantic movies and teasers for an all day movie marathon today.

Rather than have a menu, the customer chooses what they want to eat by pointing at the different options simmering aluminum pans. There was only one other guy drinking coffee in the corner of the restaurant so we were able to ask what everything was. It all looked strange in the pans.

The food was nothing out of this world, but the price was descent. The rice was bland, but that maybe good for those who are watching their sodium intake (i.e. no one that would visit the restaurant anyway). I ordered teriyaki chicken and longanizas and some cabbage soup.

The lack of silverware forced me to tear in to the chicken with my hands. It was well worth the effort though because the chicken was actually quite good. The longaniza was seasoned well and it wasn’t salty as the sausage dish sometimes tends to be. I didn’t like the soup too much, not because it was bad but after eating the well seasoned chicken and sausage, the soup seemed tasteless, so I recommend you eat the soup first.

The restaurant feels as if it belongs on a street corner. The staff (and I use the term loosely because there was one guy) was quite patient in explaining all the different choices. The food was “comfort food” as my friend called it. It fills you up and with a slightly bigger portion will more likely than not make you sleepy. It’s good but you know that the food will probably kill you if you make a habit of eating it for every meal of the day.

The place is quite small, so when you drive down NE 125th Street, slow down or you might overshoot the restaurant like I did.

Final Verdict: I recommend the restaurant as a good place to grab a quick bite if you are in the neighborhood. You can sit down and eat but I can’t imagine a lot of people eating comfortably in the cramped space. -- Elvis Ramirez