Somewhere... Café & Lounge Restaurant Review - Coral Gardens on Grace Bay, Providenciales (Provo), Turks and Caicos Islands

Somewhere... Café & Lounge Providenciales, Turks & Caicos IslandsRestaurant Reviewed Summer 2014

Start off with Chips and Salsa (and Margaritas) at Somewhere… Cafe and Lounge

By Mandy Rostance-Wolf

This is the heart and soul of beachfront, barefoot, casual sophistication. Chill at the lively beach-level bar where you can dine steps from the sand, or take the stairs to the adults-only roof top deck to take in the action overlooking Grace Bay by day and spectacular sunsets by night. Natural wood decks, nautical ropes, teak furnishings and Tiki torches complete this tropical nirvana where some clothing is all you need to feel completely comfortable…bikinis and shorts are acceptable and expected attire. Tex-Mex fare, a few North of the border mainstays, lots of tequila (pron. to-kill-ya) artisan cocktails, wines, teas, coffees and decadent desserts make up the Somewhere menu. Open very early to very late for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

There is no denying the absolute success of the union of Tex and Mex when it comes to cuisine, and here at Somewhere, there’s no denying the absolute success of the union of owners Luis and Amy Fabara. I first met Amy, (read her Featured Chef story in the Providenciales Dining Guide) just before her marriage to Luis in October 2012. I found it incredibly ironic that although she was working as a chef on Pine Cay and Luis was already Somewhere, they met somewhere else … far from Provo’s shores while attending a food show in Miami. While Provo and Pine Cay are only a few miles apart as the crow flies … they might as well have been worlds apart. Fate soon intervened in their long distance relationship when they ultimately discovered how to create their ideal union in more ways than one.

Your choice to add on Chicken, Shrimp, Steak or Lobster to Somewhere Quesadillas

After briefly observing some staff, there was no doubt in my mind that working at Somewhere has its perks. The informal demeanor and quintessential al fresco ambiance seems to put everyone at ease. It was actually Travis behind the bar who coined the phrase this evening, “This is the comfort zone.” Entertaining and affable, over the course of our evening Travis transitioned from bartender to server and back again with ease.

Happy Hours change daily—from an hour before sunset until an hour after. Margaritas and Mojito’s top the popular libations list and ask about the daily drink special. We dined on ‘Wine Not Wednesday’ where you can enjoy bottles of wine for $22 and wine by the glass for $7. Wine Not!

The guacamole is legendary. Many of my own vacation memories focus on food, and to this day, I can still recall in vivid, mouth-watering detail a guacamole I became addicted to at a beachfront cabana/bar in Zihuatanejo, Mexico two decades ago. I had yet to discover a worthy adversary until I discovered Somewhere’s guacamole five years ago. I return regularly for an habitual and nostalgic fix. Outstanding in its simplicity this guacamole is rich and buttery with a slight ‘chunky’ texture. That gorgeous avocado-green guacamole, surrounded by a rainbow of orange, blue and yellow tortilla chips, makes this dish as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate.

The "Islands Number 1 - Fish Tacos" are found at Somewhere

SomeNachos are ‘dressed to thrill’ with add-ons like Jalapeño peppers served on the side so you can turn up the heat! The chips stayed remarkably crunchy with one diner declaring, ‘best nachos on Provo’. The Burritos are a bastion of south-of-the-border cuisine and at Somewhere they’re almost bursting at the seams.

Travis boasted their Fish Tacos are #1 and people come in and request them saying, “I heard this place has the best fish tacos in the world!” My trio of soft tacos was stuffed with delicious morsels of local red snapper with plenty of fixin’s served with pico de gallo and salsa rioja on the side. Not to be outdone, the Pulled Pork Tacos are without a doubt a very admirable and worthy contender. You can also savour that melt-in-your-mouth, incredibly marvelous and smokey pulled pork BBQ’d flavour oozing from the confines of a quesadilla or piled high on a pulled pork sandwich. Enjoy the epitome of island freshness with a ceviche, made with your choice of local fish or conch, or not-so-local shrimp.

Our first ‘Wine Not’ selection for the evening was an easy drinking, medium-bodied 2010 Veramonte Reserve Pinot Noir from Chile. We kicked it up more than a notch for the serious steak dishes to come with a robust, ‘meaty’ and full-bodied 2011 Crios Malbec from Argentina.

Somewhere sizzling Steak Fajitas with all the accompaniments

First you hear it … the instantly recognizable sound of sizzling. Then you see it … clouds of smoke emanating from the cast iron platter en route to your table …then you smell it … smoky aromas engulf the air, causing everyone in your immediate vicinity to salivate. You know I’m talking Fajitas, and this was a man-size platter of sizzling Steak Fajitas. Served with the conventional accompaniments of warmed flour tortillas, cheddar and jack cheeses, grilled onions and red and green peppers – there were also a few unconventional accompaniments; fried jalapeños and tomatoes. Frying not only intensifies the taste, but the fried jalapeños added a “nice heat”. This was a sense-ational dish.

The Grilled Black Angus Rib-eye gets its incredibly unique and concentrated flavours from the combination of the espresso rub and a mouth-watering, finger-licking-good chipotle molasses BBQ sauce that Somewhere should seriously consider bottling and selling. The steak had a great ‘char crust’ and my husband raved over the “I’d order an entire bowl of that” side of Mexican rice.

Pescado Veracruzano Style Snapper, fresh local special at Somewhere

My favourite dining companion loved how the Pescado Veracruzano Style “seriously came together”. A perfectly pan seared snapper fillet (ask your server what local fish is available) was firm yet incredibly moist. The ‘Veracruzano’ is all about the sauce made with tomatoes, olives and capers. Together with sautéed onions, peppers and tomatoes this was a fabulous and flavoursome complement to the understated fish.

The Carne Asada had my name on it; marinated in tequila and smothered with sautéed onions, peppers, tomatoes and herb compound butter, this flank steak had serious substance and fantastic flavour. While I concede that French fries are hardly Tex-Mex, I can’t resist the classic steak and fries combo.

If salads don’t particularly excite you, I guarantee that Some-salad will send you into a state of delirium. The flour tortilla bowl is crunchy and edible, filled with chopped romaine, tomatoes, onions, peppers, cheddar and jack cheeses, and a generous and welcome dollop of that to-die-for guacamole. The cumin-lime vinaigrette has a delectable ‘kick’ and pulls it all together. As it soaks into the tortilla bowl you can’t help but break off chunks and savour the incredibly refreshing throng of tastes and multitude of textures.

Somewhere's jesty version of Key Lime Pie, a perfect ending

You know desserts are going to be great – Amy has a serious background as a pastry chef and loves to prepare “old school” desserts. Sweet Somethings include a Cupcake of the Day, zesty Key Lime Pie, decadent Double-Chocolate Cake, rich and creamy Cheesecake and sinful Tiramisu. Irish Coffee is made with Jameson – the best Irish Whiskey, so says Travis, and Baileys Irish Cream in place of cream and a “little bit of love.”

When I asked Luis what’s on the horizon at Somewhere, he simply said, “There is always something brewing … that’s the beauty of Somewhere.”

Care was taken to ensure correctness of information at press time. Information is subject to change without notice. Ad Vantage Ltd. accepts no responsibility for such alterations or for typographical errors or omissions. Entire contents of this page may not be reproduced in any manner without written permission of Ad Vantage Ltd. © Summer 2014 Where When How - Turks & Caicos Islands.

Somewhere... Café & Lounge Providenciales, Turks & Caicos IslandsRestaurant Reviewed Summer 2014

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