Ready To Rumba

About eight months ago a new place opened in Metairie that upended the entire dining scene there. To say that Rumba made a splash in Metairie is an understatement. It had the longest honeymoon period I have seen in all the years I've been watching these things.

Metairie needed Rumba. It is fun. Almost wild, with a Disneyesque jungle vibe. It has great service and food that is very, very good.

I was highly suspicious of the place when it opened. I braved the crowds to see what all the fuss was about. Cars were lining the streets in the neighborhood, people were walking blocks to get in, and waiting two hours to sit. Restaurants often open to fanfare, but this was mayhem.

My first visit was just me, thankfully, because I was able to grab a single seat at the outside bar. I don’t even remember what I had, but I liked it well enough. I left feeling that it was fine and just what Metairie needed. Last week was a big family party and the expat sisters were here. Friday afternoon we went over to Rumba for Happy Hour. It is mere minutes from my oldest sister’s house, and we sandwiched a little snack in at Rumba before a Christmas performance at her church.

A few of us got Rum Punches and I had a Rum Punch Mocktail. Rumba is billed as a Rum Bar with “island-inspired cuisine,” and that about sums it up. One of us got the jerk chicken taco and we had a duo of dips called Double Dip that included jalapeño pimento cheese dip and guacamole. This came with tortilla chips.

The Dominican Ribs have created a bit of a buzz. We got one order of those. They came as a stack of four. These were sensational. They were meaty and also fatty (never a problem for me,) and were crusty on the outside. The glaze on these ribs was sticky and very flavorful. They were a steal for $10 at Happy Hour.

We also had the two dips and chips. The pimento cheese dip was quite spicy, just as it said. Jalapeño ranges from spicy to inedible. This was just pleasantly spicy. The guac was creamy and chunky but not especially smooth. There were bits of onion and jalapeño throughout. It was a tasty little snack.

The jerk chicken was island-inspired with its mango salad topping tender bits of jerk chicken.

We returned to Rumba a few days later for more of those Dominican Ribs. This time we got two orders of the ribs, the salad and coconut shrimp. And more Rum Punch.

I was concerned that we might have to find a few barstools at the inside bar, but we were told that we could also sit in the bar area for Happy Hour. These were like sofa swings. They didn’t actually swing, but they looked like it. They were comfortable sofas though.

This was a cozy and comfortable place to sit. Overhead, fake monkeys were entwined in the ropes. It was fun.

We could have done with only one order of the delicious Dominican Ribs. They were a lot. Pretty filling all by themselves. Since the Zea Thai Ribs have been around, these sweet and meaty ribs ruled. But I like the Rumba Dominican Ribs better.

There was also a salad on the table that was like a Caesar salad, with creamy garlic dressing. It had croutons and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese aplenty. This was quite a large salad that we split three ways.

I also ordered the coconut shrimp, which were enormous, coming three to an order, and three bites to a shrimp. These were much too large for me, requiring a knife. But the flavor of these was fantastic. They were crispy from frying, and completely covered in a sweet chili glaze that had a tinge of horseradish in it. Grated coconut topped each of them, as well as a sprinkling of microgreens.

In both these visits, I was really impressed with the friendliness of the servers. They couldn’t do enough for us. In a place as cool, delicious,  and fun as this, they didn’t need to be nearly as good.

The parking lot is still completely full, but we didn’t have to walk blocks. The honeymoon has subsided a bit. I’ll be a regular here. Ready to Rumba.