Latino Restaurant

A few weeks ago Shane and I went to Latino Restaurant for dinner. We had read reviews about this Salvadorian and Colombian restaurant and were intrigued enough to try it for ourselves. The restaurant is small, and shares its space with a bakery that looked absolutely delicious but closed before we were finished eating dinner. When the server asked us if we knew what we would like, I bombarded him with my usual questions of "what is your favorite, what are customers favorites, and what is the most authentic thing on the menu". The server reassured me that everything on the menu is authentic, and told me that the Chicken Crema was both his favorite and the most popular dish. 

The meals come with complimentary chips, beans, and salsa. The beans are some of the most flavorful and delicious beans I have ever tasted, and Shane (who hates beans) loved them as well. The salsa was rich in flavor and not overly spicy, and was absolutely amazing when mixed with the beans. The chips were thick and homemade, similar to pita chips.

We looked over the menu for a few more minutes, and noticed that they served pupusas with pork, beans, and cheese for under $2 each. We decided to order one pupusa to share, I ordered the Chicken Crema, and Shane ordered the Mofongo (a fried and mashed plantain dish) served with pork. 

The pupusa came out first, with fresh slaw and a red runny sauce. We were so hungry, and it looked so delicious that we dove right in and forgot to take a picture. It basically looked like a pancake but the center was full of meat, beans, and cheese. It was absolutely amazing, and the "shell" tasted like homemade corn tortillas, except it was thick like a pancake.

When our meals came out, the smell was deliciously intoxicating. My Chicken Crema was nothing like I had pictured, with its red sauce, but it was so rich and full of flavor, and actually surprisingly creamy for being a red sauce. The salad portion of my meal was a basic iceberg lettuce with cucumbers, tomato, and a sauce that tasted like Italian dressing, and the rice was a simple white rice. That being said, the chicken was so moist and the flavor was so intensely different from anything I had ever tasted, that I was very happy.

Shane really enjoyed his Mofongo, saying that the plantains were the perfect combination of crispy and creamy. The pork served with his meal was incredibly seasoned, tender, and full of flavor. Shane's meal also came with a slaw that was light in flavor, but was delicious when mixed with the peppery slaw that had been served with the pupusa.

Overall, we were incredibly happy with our decision to visit the Latino Restaurant, and will definitely be back. And maybe next time, we will be able to try the bakery as well!