Your lunch routine has become rather drab. You're tired of eating junk food and your body is crying out for veggies and fruit. Where do you go? Carambas is one possible candidate.
Tucked away in Pico Rivera's Crossroads Plaza, Carambas' storefront can easily be overlooked thanks to its low visibility space that cannot be seen from either Rosemead or Whittier Blvd.
One thing to note is that Carambas doesn't exactly accommodate many patrons, having only a few tables and chairs. And during the hot summer months, you really don't want to be loitering around indoors as it gets fairly toasting here.
Carambas features a fairly robust menu of juices, smoothies, shaved iced (raspados), Mexican fruit desserts (escamocha, chamango, fresas con creme, bionicos, etc.), funnel cakes, and tamales that are competitively priced. If some of these delicious treats seem all too foreign to you, their helpful bilingual staff are patient and can offer clarity in helping you decide.
Build Your Own Juice ($3.25 - 16oz / $4.25 - 24oz): 5/5
With so many juice options for this part of town, I'd like to believe Carambas offers one of the better values. You can't go wrong with one of their juice combos but I tend to stick with a simple carrot & beet mix. If you want more of a certain vegetable, they have no issue granting your request. I prefer a higher ratio of beets and my juice always comes out a very deep red.
Bionico ($4.75 - Regular / $8.50 - Large): 4.5/5
Other shops offer a wider selection of fruits to add into your bionico but that doesn't discredit what Carambas brings to the table. Carambas' use of perfectly ripe fresh fruit gives them a slight advantage. What's more, your bionico at Carambas has two layers of cream. They place an initial layer of fruit, followed by a layer of cream and toppings of your choice and do the whole process all over again. As great as that sounds, this can turn your treat into something that's super sweet.
Rajas Con Queso Tamal ($1.50): 2.25/5
As much as I love tamales, I can't really tolerate dry or rubbery masa. Could it be that I had been served a bad batch? I guess I'll have to try again some other time. Even though this tamal was loaded with chiles, it would have been better actually carrying some sort of heat. Additionally, there was little sign of cheese in this one.
Rojos de Puerco Tamal ($1.50): 1.5/5
A disastrous, unappealing tamal featuring dry masa which encased sparingly placed dry pork.
In spite of dried out tamales, I think you discover that Carambas has much to offer. Come check them out whenever you're in the mood for something healthy or in the mood for something slightly unhealthy. read more