Category Archives: Central American

Tropical Ice Cream

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For the past few weeks, the temperature hit record highs, including several 100-degree days. In weather like this, a trip to an ice cream shop is an absolute must so I asked my friend Regina to join me at Tropical Ice Cream Café in Silver Spring, MD. The cafe sells homemade ice cream with tropical fruit from around the world, including lychee, guava, papaya, mango, passion fruit, rambutan and Irish moss. Due to its selection, the café has a reputation of attracting individuals from Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean who are looking for flavors that remind them of home.

While the café also offers basic flavors like butter pecan, pistachio and strawberry, I decided to try something new and exotic to my taste buds. Therefore, I asked to sample Soursop (Guanabana), which has the coloring of vanilla. As the server prepared my sample, I asked her where the fruit is grown because I had never heard of Guanabana before that day. I learned that the fruit is found mainly in the Caribbean, Central America and parts of Africa. The flavor tasted citrusy with a hint of banana; I found the combination to be great. I immediately ordered a single scoop on a cone to go. Yes, I was surprised to find out that after all these years there are flavors better than mint chocolate chip, my all time favorite. Regina sampled a pineapple flavor for the first time. She is a huge health nut and was surprised to find the ice cream light and incredibly good.

I am sure there are local ice cream shops around the country that sell one or two of these flavors. On your next hot summer day, go treat yourself to a tropical ice cream cone. You will enjoy every lick!

El Salvadoran Pupusas

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I went to Sabor, a Salvadoran restaurant located in the Maryland suburbs, where many Central American immigrants live. I tried to come here before but failed because there were no spaces available in the small parking lot. Today I was lucky; I got the very last one!

I found Sabor through a review in a local newspaper. It was said to be very popular and have the best pupusas in town. Pupusas are cornmeal pancakes stuffed with cheese, meat and/or beans. When I walked into the establishment, I noticed the majority of Spanish speaking patrons, the large areas for in-house, casual dining and the walls covered in Central American décor. The newspaper writer was correct about its popularity. Families were constantly coming in, and the line was twenty deep. I decided to make my order to go.

I took a look at the $9 or less menu above and did not recognize many of the dishes. However, I saw pupusas de pollo (chicken) so I ordered two in Spanish and checked out the cooks while I waited. I mostly paid attention to the cook who stuffed and flattened the pupusas tightly and cooked twenty on the grill at one time. Eventually I notice that some of the dishes picked up by waiters looked like stews, grilled steak and meat patties with sides of rice and coleslaw.

After I got my order, I went home to sample the dish. My pupusas were stuffed with chicken and cheese and came with a side of vinaigrette coleslaw and some type of tomato sauce. Unfortunately, I did not like it because I expected it to be more flavorful. Nonetheless, I am proud of myself for trying something new and hope you experience it for yourself to make your own judgment.

Fusion Cuisine

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Yesterday, I met Luci, a JHU classmate, for happy hour at Zengo, a popular Latin-Asian restaurant. I was excited that Luci chose this place, as I am always interested in sampling fusion cuisines.

Fusion is typically a combination of foods from different cultures or regions in the world. In the United States, I’ve had this type of cuisine mainly on the west coast and in big cities like Chicago and New York. In reading about chefs that cook fusion, I’ve learned that they use ingredients found through international travel or local immigrants to make their favorite dishes more exotic and unique.

Last night I sampled the Thai chicken empanadas. Its Mexican ingredients were chile poblano, Oaxaca cheese and mango, and its Thai twist was a curry salsa. My taste buds thought they were in two different worlds; the flavor was absolutely amazing.

If you are interested in fusion cuisines, take a look at Zengo’s menu to see examples. When you are ready to try it for yourself, look for restaurants with menus that feature dishes made from two or more cultures. Lastly, if you are interested in cooking fusion dishes, try the cookbook New American Table by Marcus Samuelsson. This chef was born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden and moved to the United States to make a culinary living.

Delighted Taste Buds

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Within the last week my taste buds enjoyed a world wind of flavors at various ethnic restaurants. It started this past Wednesday, when my husband and I went to Oyamel before the Washington Wizards vs. Cleveland Cavaliers game. Oyamel is an authentic Mexican restaurant that serves antojitos (small plates or snacks) and tacos served in hand-made corn tortillas. My meal consisted of familiar antojitos and not so familiar tacos that were made with goat meat marinated in chilies and spices. The flavors were incredibly intense and reminded me of meals I had in Guadalajara and in Monterrey, Mexico. 

For the weekend, I went to New York City to spend time with college girlfriends, Barbara and Stephanie, and Gerold, Barbara’s husband. On Friday, we went to an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn called Saraghina, which served pasta dishes and wood-burning oven pizza. We found the place to be very lively and enjoyed listening to the staff talk in Italian to one another. We decided on a few pizzas and red wine, which was the perfect choice after a three and half hour train ride from Washington, DC. We ended the evening at The Chocolate Room, a chocolate boutique and dessert café also in Brooklyn. The desserts are made with chocolates from all over the world and are perfectly paired with international wines. I ate their delectable signature chocolate cake, which was paired with a Framboise. Let’s just say that I slept very well that night.

On Saturday, during a shopping spree in Soho, we spontaneously went to Boqueria, a Spanish restaurant that serves tapas (small plates). Once again, I ordered familiar dishes but also decided to try lamb meatballs with sheep’s mild cheese for the first time. With a glass of sangria and great conversation with my girlfriends, this turned out to be the perfect afternoon meal. 

In the evening, we went to Sazon, an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant in Tribeca. This place had a great bar and lounge, played pop, hip-hop and salsa music and celebrated several birthdays by having its staff sing Cumpleanos Feliz to patrons. The drinks were named after hot spots in Puerto Rico. I ordered the Loquillo margarita, which is named after my favorite beach outside of San Juan. For appetizers, we decided to share chicken empanadas and yuca crabcakes, and for dinner, I ordered ropa vieja (shredded beef stew with black been rice and sweet plantains). I also could not resist a sample of Gerold’s pargo entero con arroz de coco, which is whole red snapper stuffed with seafood in an enchilado sauce with a side of coconut rice. I left this place with happy taste buds, and once again, I had another good night’s sleep.

What I love about large cities like New York and DC is that they offer an endless variety of ethnic restaurants. However, if you do not have access to a big city, I encourage you to find your local, authentic restaurant to give your taste buds a flavorful, international experience. And don’t forget to be adventurous by trying something new!