Amazing drinks accompany good food in a fair, though fitting, setting.
There's this new restaurant in town called the Guava Tree. It's a pan Latin American restaurant, primarily serving Cuban and Colombian food, but with a flair of Peruvian/Ecuadorian influence as well.
The restaurant itself is small and not particularly well designed or self explanatory. When we arrived two doors were open on different sides of the building, one leading down a very narrow, dark hallway, the other having an open view of the kitchen-- which at first we thought might have been an entrance only for employees directly into the preparation area. We were not seated, and there was no sign behind the counter with the menu, and not a large enough space for larger groups to fit in front of the counter, with only three menus to share, sitting at the cash register.
After looking over the menu, we ordered Colombian lemonade (lemonade with cinnamon and other spices), a mango-passion-fruit smoothie, an arepa (Colombian version of pocket bread or gorditas), and a Caribbean sandwich. It took a while for the food to come out, but when it did, it was excellent. The lemonade was great; the smoothie was incredible. The Colombian food was on point, with amazing fried plantains, and a perfectly crunchy fried arepa, without being greasy. The black beans, meat, and sweet plantains worked together to make quite the meal, with a corn/ yucca wedge deep fried like a tater tot on the side, topped with sweet and savory tomato sauce.
I'm not familiar enough with Cuban food to gauge the authenticity of the sandwich, but it was quite good. It seemed fairly European, but had a good blend of sweet sauteed onions and marinated chicken. The yucca fries were quite great.
The Mexican dessert was quite good. It would have been improved with a little fruit, but was quality 3 leches.
So while the setting wasn't particularly enticing, I think it fit relatively well with the authenticity, and friendly staff.
So overall? 4/5 stars
Will I go back?
Probably.
Do I recommend it?
Yes, especially to people interested in Latin food from somewhere outside Mexico.
I've only had yucca fries once, from a hospital cafeteria, but they were full of stringy fibers and quite gross. Is that typical? What makes a good yucca fry?
ReplyDeleteThey are a little more fibrous than potatoes, but honestly I think they have a better consistency. I think it has to do with the way they're prepared, whether the texture works or not. The best way to eat them, I think, is with a little bit of lemon or lime. They should be dry and crispy on the outside like french fries, but less airy, with more substance on this inside.
Delete