Top Local Restaurant: Café Carambola
About The Name – “A carambola, or star fruit, is a beautiful, fresh tropical fruit that can be found in traditional mercados all over Latin America. Its flavor is bright, crisp and pure…it represents all of the qualities that we strive for through each of the products that we create and offer.”
The Food – Like nothing else in Coeur d’Alene, Café Carambola features the signature flavors of Latin America. The eclectic menu is influenced by combined talent and cultural background of the great couple that own and operate this unique Coeur d’Alene café. The focus is lunch, with a great selection of hand-crafted, artful dishes with fresh ingredients and a phenomenal balance of flavors. It is affordable, high-quality and memorable. Signature salads, daily home-made soups and the popular “tortas” (sandwiches) provide healthful lunch selections for a variety of palates.
What we like – The owners are great people with a great story and great passion. To see and meet the owners of a small business in person is something we unfortunately do not experience enough of this day and age. As small business owners ourselves, we know deeply the value in this. For this reason alone, we love supporting this great restaurant! The food is not just tasty, but very healthy. There is really nothing that is not worth trying, yet it is hard to not order something that you loved so much the first time you tried it! The daily soups are worth adding to your lunch selection, every day. They offer fresh, wholesome salads that pair nicely with the soup of the day. For those with hearty appetites, the tortas are the mainstay. We love the “La Potena” and the “El Cubanito,” but honestly we have yet to try all sandwiches on the menu as we have been so pleased with these. They offer choice of meat on each torta, or vegetarian. You also have the option of ordering a half or full sandwich, which is a great option! Each sandwich is crafted with the best French bread in Coeur d’Alene! This is a small café with a big heart, conveniently located near downtown and North Idaho College. Highly recommended. You won’t be disappointed!
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