by Bob McClain
6-08-07
Los Andes restaurant
www.wordsmithbob.com

Dinner in the Mountains of Minnesota

Sometimes, writing for Twin Cities Dining Guide can feel more like a travelogue than a dining site. Which is one of the cooler parts of this gig. One day I’m exploring Tuscany, another day it’s the Caribbean. And today, I’m experiencing the Andean foods of Ecuador and Colombia.

Los Andes Restaurant sits in a very unassuming part of Lake Street. You don’t go to a place like Los Andes for the hipness, to impress your boss, or to be tantalized by the latest in decorating trends. You come for one reason and one reason only. The food.

Restaurants like Los Andes exist in an almost “underground” of little neighborhood of ethnic restaurants. You only find out about them by word of mouth. Like a lot of foodies, I like to walk into an ethnic restaurant and find myself surrounded by people who grew up with this food and are there to get a taste of home. So it was at Los Andes.

While they have vegetarian dishes on the menu, this place is a meat-lovers dream. Luis Sacta, the owner, highly recommends the skirt steak (highly popular in Columbia). It’s kind of like a rib eye; very tender and lots of flavor. If you’re a fish person, he has a pan-fried fresh trout.

To start off with, I had Empanadas con carne o queso for an appetizer. Luis said his family thinks his home-made dipping sauce is mild. I beg to differ. However, that didn’t stop me from dumping it on half my meal after devouring the empanadas (they were fabulous and so was the sauce).

I had a number 15, the Plato montanero. Luis said it had just about everything he served from Colombian and Ecuadorian cuisine. It was a Top Sirloin with rice and beans, a massive chunk of bacon called a “crackling”, a fried egg, corn cake, avocado and a sweet plantain. The sweet plantain comes with just about everything on the menu.

You have a choice of two desserts: Figs with cheese, a common dessert in Ecuador or Guava paste with cheese, a popular item in Columbia. I chose the figs and cheese since my host was from Ecuador. The sweet figs and salty cheese made a yummy contrast. Luis told me he can’t get Ecuadorian cheese here so he uses mozzarella, the closest thing he can find.

I also learned something else new. Ecuadorians like to mix soda and beer in a 50/50 mix and call it Refajo. Their Equadorian beer is very light and fruity and mixed with the pop, it went down way too easy. That, said Luis, is why everyone in Ecuador drinks it that way.

Los Andes is at 317 W. Lake Street and serves lunch and dinner. Call 612-825-1700 for hours. You can see their menu at www.losandesrestaurantmn.com. If you’re lucky, you’ll get Luis’ charming sister Sylvia for your waitress. Tip her well.

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