Ole Ole Fine Food from Spain

Another Bonita store closes
This business specialized in gourmet Spanish food, especially meats, cheeses, and wines. As of November 2009, the store is closed: a FOR RENT sign is prominently displayed on the window. This establishment is another empty shell on Bonita Road and yet another victim of the unceasing recession. I hope that the owners recover from this loss and prosper in a different location.

I tried the paella, I found it to be very enjoyable. My portion was large enough to last me for two meals. It had:
Clams
Shrimp
Chorizo
Scallops
Pork
Chicken
It was so full of ingredients, I never took a bite that was just rice. I will definitely be back for this.

pros… if you want to find some hard to get spanish food stuffs then this is the place to go. they are a small mom and pop store, with just a couple of items… so far that is. but what you can find is a decent selection of hams, cheeses, wines and other basics that spain is known for. they even have paella there on saturdays.
cons… it is small and a bit pricey. selection is still limited, but i was told they would have more stuff in a bit. the paella was a bit bland, and over priced, but filling. can’t wait for them to get more stuff. and i completely agree with Jeremiah, the store is so poorly set up and decorated that if seems they just slapped things together from the day before. but nice people.

i went here to try the paella. i went in under the impression it would be of the valenciana type but was pleasantly surprised when the owner said it was the seafood variety. as i waited for a few minutes, the lovely couple preparing spanish themed christmas baskets provided a nice tour of the store. i must say, the use of the store space is horribly utilized. you don’t realize how important the atmosphere of a store can be until it has none. with gourmet type stores, the mood of the place is especially important, as you are selling the customer on a particular experience they can’t get in an average store. however, this store looked like a cross between a dentist office and a broom closet.
oh ya the paella. fail. after the owner confidently runs down the list of ingredients for me in such detail, he brings me a product with barely any of those ingedients in it. i counted 1 baby clam, some tiny tiny shrimp, 1 chicken leg, some obviously frozen vegetables (althought they said everything was made from scratch,) and honestly i think that was it. i would’ve given them a pass if the rice was good but it was just okay. they went through the trouble of printing out a banner advertising this product. on a busy street like bonita road, i’m sure someone will call them out on this wasted $ 10. i made paela a few times before with an ex, and although we used her mom’s recipe we had no experience cooking it before then. i say that, because our 3 failed paella experiments still came out waaaay better than this.
the couple that owns this place is really pleasant and sincere. however they run a business not a church. lots of potential in this place (the store, not the paella) and i look forward to tasting the extended wine section when it opens and i hope that they grow into something great.
not there yet though.