Pura Vida brings a new way of dining to McMinnville. The restaurant serves Latin American style food that leaves customers in complete satisfaction and the urge to become a regular.
The Tacos del Dia, were specially made vegan with a range of vegetables from radishes to mushrooms, carrots and avocados served with a side of black beans.
The Platano Madura, fried plantains, was the perfect add to the meal, providing a warm, lightly fried, sweet and overall outstanding flavor combination.
As customers enjoy delicious Costa Rican food, with art on display and for sale can also be appreciated. One of the most fascinating aspects of the restaurant is that all the art for sale is either work done by Carmen Borrasé, a co-owner of the restaurant, or direct purchases by Borrasé from artists of Costa Rica.
Within the late lunch, early dinner hour, the restaurant was fairly dead but that allowed interpersonal communication with the friendly, intriguing server and other staff members of the restaurant.
The Pura Vida staff all seemingly showed love and gratitude for their job, making the environment sentimental even from an outside perspective.
“I’m able to practice my Spanish while making jokes with the cooks,” said Fern Unfolding, a Linfield alumna and a recent employee of the restaurant. “I’m so glad I found it, because I love it.”
The generosity of the servers cannot be undermined.
Every staff member working showed attentiveness in personal dietary restrictions, whether it is veganism or gluten-intolerance, they want to work together to make sure each customer’s needs are met.
Unfolding showed innovation when speaking with the co-owner Ricardo Antunez, on how to establish an eye-catching way for consumers with dietary restrictions to choose confidently from their menu.
More people need to discover the restaurant because it’s not exclusively about the food, but also the passion and purpose that have been recognized by the employees and owners of Pura Vida.
Special Lovincey / Columnist
Special Lovincey can be reached at [email protected].
