Author Archives: Karina

A few days in Miami fill me with delight. I look out the window and what do I see? Everything alive with color, the sky and the sea two jewels of blue, refreshing and soothing. The palms, with green and yellow fingers waving in the breeze, and hot pink bougainvillea bursting with their fruity shade. So many memories this city holds. Today, it hosts yet another afternoon to treasure far into the future.

At the Eden Roc Hotel and Spa in Miami Beach, I sit on their boardwalk cafe and see the people breezing by, heads bobbing arms swinging, and on the sand in the distance, enormous umbrellas mingle with tanned happy bodies. It’s a brilliant Sunday afternoon and everyone is at the beach, including Mom and us kids. I order a burger and frozen mojito to kick start the celebration. It’s icy and minty and rushes to my head after the first few sips, making me giggly and my shoulders lose. I dig into the burger; it’s juicy and hot off the grill, and sits on a bun that’s soft and chewy, the ideal ratio of bread to beef. In the meantime, the fries are thin and delicate, and beautifully golden.

These are the moments that are worth remembering. When life, in its simplicity, opens itself up and we must take it all in, every taste, every sight, every fragment of the conversation which is full of light, like the day, even the man in a hawaiian shirt who sings Bob Marley out of tune. 

Dunia and Espartaco Borga have one mission: to bring a “mestizo” experience to the table. Mestizo, a Spanish word which describes a mixture of European, African and American Indian races comprise much of the population of Latin America.  For the past 8 years, Colombian-Yugoslavian Dunia Borga and Mexican-Venezuelan Espartaco Borga have joined forces in life and in the kitchen to make dishes that exemplify their mixed heritage. From their Cuban-styled chicken with sour orange mojo prepared with champagne to their own version of Mexican chilaquiles with gruyere cheese, this husband and wife team invaded Dallas with delicious traditional Latin American fare that preserves the integrity of classical dishes, yet is continuously refreshed with European elements.

Tapas, shrunken Spanish dishes traditionally served as appetizers or as a light meal, have sprouted up all over the press. Two new tapas-styled restaurants in NYC, La Fonda del Sol and Txiquito were reviewed in the New York Times this week, with the former getting a two-starred “very good” rating from Bruni. 

They then reappeared in Saveur magazine, as Los Perretes’ dainty tins packed with octopus and baby sardines from Galicia, meant to be served simply with wine or crackers.  Latin America has also jumped on the tapas bandwagon. Macondo in the Lower East Side of Manhattan serves what it calls comida de la calle (Latin street food)  which include piping hot bacalaitos or stuffed codfish fritters decorated with a sweet and spicy guindilla sauce. There are also the creamy yucca fries topped with garlicky chimichurri. How the chef is able to get these so velvety inside and perfectly crisp outside is beyond me–they are a perfect foil, hot in every bite, to one of its clever cocktails concocted with guava and whisky, tamarind and tequila or peach and pisco.

In Dallas, Texas at Aló, another small Latin American restaurant specializing on contemporary street foods of Mexico and Peru,  draws an emphasis on ceviche and tiraditos. Its food menu includes BITES (SIPS and DULCE), and offers thinly sliced yellowtail and tuna which you can dip in Peruvian sauces as well as cold potato causas layered with smoked salmon, grilled shrimp or arepa crusted calamari. 

Are Latin American tapas the next evolution of latin food? Is downsizing stretching into the culinary world in the way of small dishes? I wouldn’t be surprised if in the coming months, we see more Latin American tapas, a fresh addition to traditional latin cuisine.