fried plantain – Around the World in 196 Plates

Country 097 – Guatemala (Maya)

Published on December 2, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 918 Wilson Avenue, North York
Website: http://www.themayarestaurant.com/

The Latin breakfast I just had at Maya, a Guatemalan restaurant in North York, is one of the simpler meals I’ve had in a while. It features two eggs, ground pork, refried beans, fried plantain, sour cream, and four corn tortillas.

It’s a pretty basic breakfast, but man, it’s so good. Everything on the plate was impeccably prepared, and it all worked so well together.

The eggs? Perfectly cooked, with a really satisfying gooey yolk. The pork? Also great; it kinda reminded me of the meat you might find inside an empanada.

The plantains were fairly standard for this type of cuisine, but they were so well cooked that it felt like they were something special — perfectly creamy, with a mildly sweet flavour that has a remarkable depth. They’re so good.

The refried beans are nice and creamy, and the warm, fresh corn tortillas are the perfect complement to everything on the plate.

It’s also a scant eight bucks (which includes a coffee), so it’s delicious and it’s a great deal.

Country 086 – Togo (Naija Jollof)

Published on June 16, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 7215 Goreway Drive, Mississauga (in the Westwood Square Mall food court)
Website: https://www.instagram.com/naijajolloftoronto/

The food court at the newly-renovated Westwood Square Mall has clearly not been a particularly big hit; huge swathes of the restaurant space has yet to be filled, and when I showed up at around noon on a weekday, the place was mostly empty.

Naija Jollof, a restaurant specializing in African eats, was the only place that seemed to be doing okay. Which suited me just fine, since that’s what I came for. Bonus: no issues finding a seat.

I tried to order the daily special, Togo, which is described as “plantain pottage with spinach & broken pieces of fish.” I was told that they didn’t actually have this, but that they could substitute it with something similar. When I asked what the substitute dish was called, the surly woman behind the counter gave a one word answer of “spinach” in a tone that implied follow-up questions wouldn’t be appreciated.

So I have no idea what the dish I ordered was called, or if it’s actually from Togo. Based on some Googling I think it might be a dish called gboma dessi, but that looks considerably saucier than what I had, so I’m not sure.

Whatever it was, it kind of reminded me of collard greens, but with big chunks of beef instead of bacon.

It was pretty good — it’s salty, tangy, and a little bit spicy, with a texture that’s well cooked but still has a bit of bite to it, and a deep spinach flavour. It contrasts quite nicely with the sweet, creamy plantain. It’s a tasty combo.

The chunks of beef, on the other hand, weren’t great (they might have been goat, but the very mild flavour makes me think beef). There was a huge chunk on top that I believe was tripe; it was inedible. And when I say it was inedible, I mean that in the most fundamental sense of the word. I couldn’t put a fork through it or bite into it. It was like rubber.

There was, however, another piece that was much better. It was still fairly tough, but I was able to eat it, so it had that going for it (there was also a third piece that appeared to be entirely sinew and veins. It was just as bite-resistant and rubbery as the tripe. The less said about that one, the better).

Thankfully, the spinach was tasty enough on its own that the shoddy beef didn’t feel like a huge issue.

Country 083 – Nicaragua (La Bella Managua)

Published on December 3, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 872 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: http://www.labellamanagua.com/

It’s always a good sign when you go to a restaurant and hear almost no English from the proprietor or the surrounding tables. There are so many reasons why living in a city as multicultural as Toronto is a great thing, but food is certainly at the top of that list. I honestly don’t think there are too many other cities in the world where I could do a blog like this.

So I was fairly confident that I was in good hands at La Bella Managua. Eating the food confirmed it.

I tried a couple of things. First up was the Pollo a la Parrilla. This featured a perfectly grilled piece of chicken, rice and beans (gallo pinto, which is Nicaragua’s national dish), salad, and fried plantains.

Everything was great. The chicken was nicely grilled and seasoned, with some welcome crispiness on its exterior and a perfectly cooked interior. White meat is very easy to overcook, turning it dry and unappealing, so kudos to them for preparing this so well. And the sweetness of the fried plantains balanced nicely with the savoury chicken.

The gallo pinto was simple enough, but very satisfying, as was the salad (which consisted mostly of avocado, tomato, peppers, and red onion). I’m normally not a big fan of raw onions in salad, but these were mild enough to be acceptable.

The other dish I tried was the Nacatamal, which is described as “typical Nicaraguan tamales stuffed with seasoned pork loin & vegetables.”

This might be the least photogenic thing I’ve ever eaten. I mean, it looks horrifying. But it’s the ultimate “don’t judge a book by its cover” dish, because it was absolutely delicious.

Unlike the tamales I recently had at Tacos El Asador, these were absolutely crammed with flavour, and the tender pork loin gave it a satisfying meatiness. In case it wasn’t obvious enough from the chicken, this is a top-shelf restaurant doing top-shelf stuff.

Country 002 — Colombia (Las Delicias)

Published on March 2, 2015March 15, 2015 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 59 Dundas Street West, Mississauga
Website: None

Hidden away in a sketchy little plaza in Mississauga, Las Delicias is pretty much the very definition of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant.

The friendly proprietor quickly sussed out that it was my first time in the restaurant — and my first time eating Colombian food, period. She recommended the Bandeja Paisa, a decadent smorgasbord that pretty much dares you to finish it (I did).

Clockwise on the picture above, starting at 12:00 – a fried egg, Colombian sausage, fried plantain, crispy pork belly, corn biscuit, and steak, all served atop white rice and beans, with an addictively spicy bowl of hot sauce served on the side.

Nothing here was particularly great — in fact, I suspect that almost all of it is probably better served elsewhere. The pork belly was tough, and bordering on leathery. The corn biscuit was almost rock hard. The steak was overcooked and chewy. The plantain was soggy.

And yet I enjoyed it more than you’d think. Everything taken together, and topped with that great hot sauce, added up to something surprisingly satisfying.

The sausage — which had an odd, yellow colour on the inside and a unique texture — was a highlight. And it’s hard to mess up a fried egg. The beans, too, were quite good — kind of like a less dense refried beans.

I was disappointed at first, but the dish slowly won me over. It was a huge amount of food and I cleaned the plate. Of course, that probably speaks to my gluttony just as much as it does to the quality of the food, but still. I enjoyed it.