Latin American cuisine in Falls Church, Virginia

Causa Rellena

In my experience, the most reliable predictor of the authenticity and quality of a restaurant's ethnic food is the presence of a community of the relevant ethnic population in the surrounding area. Two local establishments offering Latin American cuisine which meet this criteria are Kampo and La Caraqueña Latin American Cuisine. 

Reina Pepeada

Kampo
5884 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041

While the overall quality of the dining experience at the  two restaurants I reviewed were similar, I thought Kampo scored higher with respect to authenticity. Kampo offers traditional Peruvian cuisine as well as Peruvian Chinese. We tried the Causa Rellena, a dish comprised of mashed potato and mayonnaise stuffed with tuna served with a sauce on the side. While I was unfamiliar with this simple, cold appetizer before visiting Kampo, its simple but strong flavors has made it a candidate for the title of my favorite comfort food. They also offered ceviche, which I thought was very close to what I tried in Peru. 

Seafood ceviche

La Caraqueña

300 W. Broad Street, Falls Church, VA 22046

La Caraqueña, was a slightly more upscale establishment than Kampo. The ambience was also, in my opinion, less authentic but offered Latin comfort good of similar quality. Along similar lines of Causa Rellena, we ordered the Reina pepeada, a chicken salad blended with avocado and mayonnaise and filled in a grilled cornbread. I had this dish with some habanero sauce on the side. For our entrees, we tried their tilapia with a lemon caper sauce served with steamed veggies and mashed potatoes, El Sabraso, a chicken breast sandwich with cheese and slices of avocado, and Pollo la caraquena, baked chicken with baked beans and white rice. Overall, we were quite satisfied with all the dishes, the flavors and textures of which are more likely to appeal to American palates than the more authentic fare at Kampo.

Dining options in Yorkville, Toronto

Penne via Frattina

During my recent trip to Toronto, I had the opportunity to visit a few restaurants in Yorkville, a neighborhood in close proximity to the University of Toronto.  The neighborhood offered a great diversity of ethnic dining options.

My first stop was Sotto Sotto Ristorante, a cozy Italian restaurant where the dining area overlooked the kitchen. Every item on the menu allowed the patron to choose between lunch and dinner portions. I tried the appetizer-sized penne via frattina, penne pasta cooked with wood smoked salmon & asparagus. I never imagined a strongly-flavored fish such as salmon would go well with cheese and pasta, but I was pleasantly surprised by this dish.

My next stop was Pangaea, a Canadian restaurant where I attended a hosted dinner with a catered menu. My three course meal was comprised of wild mushroom soup, rainbow trout with veggies, and a lemon meringue for dessert. The ambience and flavorful food made for a pleasant dining experience.

Goat Korma with Garlic Naan

Finally, I visited The Host, a fine dining Indian chain restaurant located in several locations in Toronto. I tried the goat korma with garlic naan at the Yorkville site. While the goat korma was nothing out of the ordinary, the garlic naan was great example of how to make a seemingly mundane dish memorable through solid execution. This restaurant also had prawn balchao on its menu, a spicy Goan specialty I have not seen on the menu of most Indian restaurants.

Given the reasonable prices and the quality of the dishes, I would gladly return to each of these establishments during my next trip to Toronto.