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My first time here.
When I came in for lunch on a Monday at noon, the place was packed & people were waiting for seats. I didn't know that you were supposed to sign in & put your name down.
Atmosphere was great, the place was buzzing & the decor was simple.
I waited for about 15 minutes before I was seated at the counter.
Understandably, since the place was packed it took awhile for our server to do anything, take our orders, clear our plates, get our bills. We weren't in a hurry, so I didn't mind.
First of all, I was delighted that they served freshly squeezed orange juice with no sugar added. Because we were seated at the counter, I could see the server squeezed the oranges for me.
I started with their daily special, which was a gazpacho (a chilled tomato soup) served with a piece of roll & butter. It's refreshing, especially with the cucumber. The taste overall could have been better, it was a little too sour for my taste & wayyyyy too salty.
For the entree, I also ordere their daily special, which was empanada stuffed with chickpeas, olives, tomatoes, & cheeses, served with tomato jam. Marie had made it earlier that morning. Again, overall the taste of the empanada was good except that I could taste several bites that were way too salty & other bites that tasted just fine. The tomato jam was as refreshing as the gazpacho except that it's sweet.
I ended with a slice of their gluten-free carrot cake. I've never had gluten-free cakes before & expected the texture would be slightly different. To my surprise, I didn't mind the denser texture because it tasted good! It was also served with freshly whipped cream.
For 2 people, total came to $35. Considering the good-sized portions, I think that the prices are reasonable.
Towards the end of our lunch session, there were still people waiting to be seated & Marie herself passed around cold, freshly sliced peaches to the patrons who were waiting in line. I couldn't resist to ask for some as I was seated near the entrance. That was a nice gesture.
I would certainly be coming back, but at a less busier hour.
I'm giving Marie Catrib's 3 stars because of the excessive saltiness of the food, otherwise I would've given this place 4.5 stars.