The Icebox Cafe ****

Assorted Cakes Offered by The Icebox Cafe

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This morning I did the ridiculous—I packed a bag and headed to Medellin, Colombia with two of my girlfriends, Sam and Ariana…with absolutely no game plan. You see, a few weeks ago Sam had mentioned that her family would be taking a trip there and after I expressed enough interest, she extended the opportunity for me to join her. I’m not really sure if she expected me to actually follow through or not, but since I am always looking for an excuse to get out of the country, I booked my ticket right away. Ariana also felt the itch to get away and decided to book one too!

So there we were at the airport this afternoon, passports and plane tickets in hand, with no idea what kind of trip we were in for. Sam’s uncle, who lives in Medellin, had planned out the entire weekend and we were just along for the ride. We didn’t know how long the flight was, whether or not there was a time difference, or just where exactly we would be staying once we got there. All we knew is that we were going and that the best way to travel there was drunk!

So as we headed to the gate, we kept our eyes out for a nice little bar to get some vino. After passing several dark, crowded, and unappealing bars we came across the Icebox Cafe. It was an all glass-encased restaurant with lots of natural light and a clean modern décor. It stood out from every other place in the airport and was conveniently located directly across from our gate (in the American Airlines terminal). Tons of people were in the little café area and so we figured it must be a good bet. This was then confirmed after we saw the generous pour of Chardonnay that we were receiving. I was tipsy after just ½ a glass and sufficiently drunk upon its completion. I really wanted to order some of the food at the Icebox Cafe, which all looked incredible, featuring: warm meatloaf sandwiches, thai chicken salads, egg breakfast platters, and a wide assortment of freshly baked pastries and cakes (a refreshing change from traditional airport food—sandwiches served on cardboard-like bread and hash browns from McDonalds), but I still was debating whether or not I would come off of my carb-slow diet altogether while on vacation. Sure, I had had some mishaps in the past two weeks (aka my Vietnamese Noodle binge the other night), but for the most part I have remained pretty loyal to the diet over the course of the past 14 days. As I sipped my vino, I pondered my dietary furture. When I finished my vino, I had my answer—no way was I missing out on Colombian food for the sake of an experiment!!!

I didn’t order anything at the Icebox Café (although they do serve Oprah Windfrey’s favorite cake in America, called The Bomb, which is layers of dark chocolate cake filled with creamy cheesecake brownie and imported chocolate mousse, topped with a dark chocolate ganache). My mouth just watered typing that. I think it’s pretty clear why that is Oprah’s favorite cake. I mean, how could anyone not like that?!?! But instead I saved my appetite for the delicious arepas that awaited my arrival in Colombia, and I made sure to eat two within my first 12 hours in the country!

The Icebox Café is not only located in the American Airlines Terminal at Miami International Airport, but they also have a main restaurant on Lincoln Road in South Beach, which I plan to visit for some food and cake this upcoming weekend! Even though I have not tried any of the food, I feel completely comfortable making a recommendation for the place, based on their concept and the satisfaction of others eating around me. They also score some brownie points for the generous pour of wine, which only cost $9!! Cannot beat that!