Vida, Lake Mary - Closed

I went to this Latin restaurant run by Dominicans (Republic - it's an island!) this Monday. It is in the strip mall next to Too Jays and Firehouse Subs (less sub for more money!). I had a roast chicken appetizer for $2.50 and a shrimp sandwich on fried plantain mash with a side salad for $8. The chicken was superb. It was big enough to be a meal. It was simple enough. Roasted chicken cut up into pieces and covered with pickled onions and boiled yuca strips. The sandwich was correspondingly over sized. I could only force myself to eat half of it in house. The plaintains serve as the bread (artery alert!). It came with about 12 medium to smallish sized shrimp cooked in garlic and olive oil. It was dressed with a french dressing/remoulade type spread, tomatoes and lettuce. I liked the taste and the creativity. The salad was a basic lettuce, tomato and shredded carrot mix with and apple cider vinaigrette. It was very fresh, though. The place seats about 50. It's in the old Firehouse location. They put the kitchen where they used to prep the sandwiches. The tables are on the same side as before. They gave it a bright, modern, glossy look. The glass topped tables have hand beaded blue stones beneath them. The chairs have been given brown, cotton slip covers. It's a nice bright contrast. They have some large, expressionistic canvases on the wall. They are serving a menu that is health (gluten, organic, fresh) conscious. They have a wide variety of dishes. They have peasant dishes like mofungos and stews and high dollar items like lobster and whole fish. I've seen places that serve one or the other, but, not both in the same restaurant. I'm looking forward to my next visit. The people were very nice. It may be a little understaffed. There were 8 others there on Monday and I was already starting to be forgotten about.

I suggest you give it a try and just forget that you probably have never had/wanted Latin food. It's all the same except they use some different root vegetables in place of potatoes and rice and beans instead of fries and cole slaw. But, you can get by without having to acknowledge that those things exist (just like spell check). You can get a meal consisting of things you are already comfortable with. The portions are huge. They cater part of their menu to you socially conscious and/or genetically unfortunate eaters. They hit all price points. They integrate alot of flavors and textures. And they have that raw, bad for you Latin street food if you disdain the attempts to modernize the cuisine. It can be a place for a quick, cheap snack or a fine dining experience. Give it a try.