Groupon For The Win: A Happy Return To Mallorca

Well, since we learned earlier this summer that we’re not afraid to use the same place for two Achievements, we went last night to one of our newly-favorite fancy dinner spots in the city: Mallorca.

You may recall, we used Mallorca as our first ethnic dinner of the year on Valentine’s Day. And we loved it ever so much, that when Groupon offered a deal there, we snatched it up immediately. (And then forgot about it until the final week it was valid, and so we had to scramble for a reservation on a Saturday night.)

Well, let me just say this: even though we only seem to visit Mallorca on its busiest nights of the year, we have yet to be disappointed.

We were seated shortly after arriving for our 8:30 reservation. Last time, we were in the green dining room (there is the front room with the bar and hostess stand and a few tables, and then two large dining rooms in the back), and this time, we were seated in the other room, connected to the kitchen.

Our table was actually pretty close to the kitchen, which I suppose some people would complain about, but not us. If I was going to a different spot for a fancy dinner, say, a quiet, romantic place with low-lighting and candles, then yeah, I might want to be away from the kitchen. But not at Mallorca. Part of the experience of this place is the feeling like you are directly in the center of a bustling Spanish marketplace. There are waiters running everywhere, and plate after plate after plate breezing past you en route to the tables. There is something about that hecticness, the flawlessly-executed chaos, that I truly appreciate. It makes Mallorca an experience unlike anywhere else in the city.

Almost immediately after we were seated, our bread arrived. They are generous with the bread, and it’s always fresh. I never caught the name of our *official* waiter as he seamlessly swept in and out, but I do want to give a big thanks to Tim, who was our everything-else-er of the evening. He fixed our wobbly table with only a piece of aluminum foil for tools (seriously, I was impressed), and he kept the refills coming.

Just a few moments after placing our orders, our salads arrived. They use a house dressing which is ever-so-slightly tangy and spicy, and they have all sorts of yummy greens that you don’t always find on a typical salad.

And THEN!

It was almost as if Mallorca had known I was going to be there last night. (I mean, well, we had reservations so technically, they knew, but you know what I’m getting at here.)

It was on special again – the prosciutto-stuffed calamari in garlic sauce. Oh be still my heart, it is the most delicious appetizer of all time!! Please, if it is like, always the appetizer special of the night, no one tell me, because I like to believe that they roll it out specifically for my trips to the restaurant. You know those online quiz thingies that ask you, “What would your last meal on earth be?” Well, this is on the menu for me!

Here is Michael with one of his calamari pieces. Yum yum yum!

And here I am, sitting next to those gigantic wine bottles! And yes, they were sealed and full. The one right next to me was a 1998 Zin. Ohhh what dreams I will have about that wine.

I didn’t have to dream about this one. We got this bottle of Argentinian cabernet to accompany our meals, and it did so with flair. Good pick, husband! Mallorca has an extensive list of wines from Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Spain, so we always like to get something off of those lists to try something new.

And then it was time for the entree! I was having a hard time deciding, as they truly do have amazing seafood, but I felt like I wanted to stick to something that would match the wine. In the end, I went with the Chuletas De Cerdo En Salsa De Ajo, or garlic pork chops. Please note the insane amount of pork chop that is on my plate!!

But if I thought I was getting an insane amount of pork chop, nothing could prepare us for the massive amount of steak Michael got. He ordered the daily special of Del Monico steak with gorgonzola cheese. I know it looks large in this but…

I wanted to give some perspective of how big it REALLY was, so I lined up the little butter packet next to it. Oh yeah. Michael estimated this to be around 24 ounces of pure juicy steak! And it was cooked exactly to his order. I may have indulged in a few bites 🙂

Then, it was on to dessert. Tim brought the dessert tray around, and after seeing one of my favorite desserts of all time, we decided to order two separate plates.

Michael got this heavenly cheesecake. And I, I ordered… the flan.

Enter Tim, two minutes later, who informs me that they are out. of. flan.

So, I don’t really know what’s going on here, but I feel like every time I go somewhere that is supposed to serve flan, they run out. I know flan is good, but come on! Save some for me, people!!

I was very heartbroken.

And this is why Tim deserves a raise: while I was pouting about the lack of flan, he assured me that this almost never happens, and that the next time I come to the restaurant, there will surely be flan. And then he said, “You should try that chocolate cake.” And I was a little skeptical, but I thought, “I watched this man fix a wobbly table with aluminum foil and expertly back up his fellow waiter Geno with the huge parties seated next to us, I should trust his judgment on the chocolate cake.”

And I am ever so glad I did! It was light, fluffy, and sweet, the kind of cake that you only dream about after watching Betty Crocker commercials. And this piece was so huge that I couldn’t even finish it.

So despite the lack of flan, I was super thrilled with dessert. Our second trip to Mallorca was just as wonderful as the first. Excellent food from the kitchen, fantastic service from Tim, Geno, and our other waiter (sorry that we did not get his name!), and the perfect, bustling atmosphere to make me feel like I was on an exotic Spanish holiday.

If you’re looking for a fancy Saturday night out, Mallorca will not disappoint. We will certainly return!