La Trattoria El Faro Blanco - Come for the sunset

The Killing Moon, originally uploaded by 4L4N M4K.

Our first restaurant experience in Aruba was at La Trattoria El Faro Blanco next to the California Lighthouse (pictured above). Located on an elevated hill on the northern most tip of Aruba, this Italian restaurant is famous for its wide and expansive views of basically all of Aruba. The main outdoor seating is situated on the western side, offering unobstructed views of the lovely Aruba sunset - This linked image was shot from the outdoor terrace of the restaurant.

While the sunsets are indeed spectacular - with beautiful colors and big lofty clouds that cover the sky, I do have to comment that the overall views and the whole California Lighthouse experience were rather underwhelming. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that Aruba really isn't that beautiful - the overall terrain of Aruba is like Mars (sans the vegetation) - its a bunch of rocks and dirt with a couple of cacti thrown in.

The highlight of my meal was my entrée - a grilled veal chop. I say this for two reasons: 1) because it really was very good and 2) because the starter sucked.

Our starter was a mixed seafood and vegetable dish with an olive oil and lemon juice marinade (Frutti Di Mare Alla Luciana). While it wasn't disgusting, it really was not very good. The octopus and squid were fishy - likely canned - and the sauce overall was pretty bland and lacked the crisp freshness that I expected. The fried zucchini slices that were in this dish were oil soaked and soggy - it was like eating mini sponges of oil that oozed grease when you bit into them - no, I am not trying to be funny...that is how they were. There were also some mushrooms that were clearly taken out of a can. I was expecting something light and fresh tasting - sort of like a ceviche mixed with some lightly marinated fresh vegetables - I was wrong.

All this negative was redeemed though. My veal chop arrived. The chop was well prepared, tender and cooked to just the right temperature - medium rare. Ever since our wedding, I've been on a major veal chop kick - don't ask why; because I have no idea why - perhaps it is because of its mild taste, soft texture and nice amount of fattiness makes for a nice juicy cut of meat that tastes really amazing to me these days. The overall preparation was simple - nicely grilled with a tasty mushroom jus without any excess pizzaz that masked the delicate flavor of the chop.

Liz had the pasta primavera. A unique version of this I must say. Rather than being light like many primaveras, this sauce looked heavy and rich. I can't speak to the taste of it as I didn't try it.

Frommer's gives this restaurant no stars. Either this means that they thought it stunk or they are just indifferent. I'll just give them kudos for a nicely prepared veal chop and the funny cat that came to sit by our table.

Overall, our dinner was a pretty-good experience. Notwithstanding that, I must mention that the experience in total was over-rated as this restaurant is highly lauded by visitors and locals alike. While the sunsets are nice, they tend to color your thought and make you believe that the food at this restaurant is better than it really is.

The other major positive about this restaurant was their normal portion sizes. Unlike the rest of Aruba, La Trattoria El Faro Blanco serves normal human portion sizes and not the Hungry Man, fat American sized meals.

While this review seems negative, I should qualify it by stating that we went out for dinner at three different restaurants and none really stood head and shoulders above any of the others. The reality is that Aruba really is not a haven for foodies. Of the places we visited (La Trattoria El Faro Blanco, Madame Julianne, and El Gaucho), they were all pretty average. Don't expect anything really "fine" here.

Oh, and for those that care, this restaurant was a $10 cab ride from the high rise hotels area.

WHAT WE ATE

Starter:
- Frutti Di Mare Alla Luciana (Marinated Seafood and Vegetables)

Main:
- Me: Lombata Di Vitello Alla Piemontese (Grilled Veal Chop) - cooked medium rare - exactly as ordered (I will start to mention this for meats as too often I have had restaurants make my medium rare into a medium well)
- Liz: Linguine Primavera (Linguini With Mixed Vegetables in a Tomato Sauce)