First Taste
Ray's Franks replacement Latin Bites blows away any hot dog notions with worldlyfare
Latin Bites offers food that you wouldn't expect.Photo by Sarah Rufca
Its dishes are decidedly un hot dog like.Photo by Sarah Rufca
Latin Bites serves a corner of downtown that's desperate for good food options.Photo by Sarah Rufca
And Latin Bites certainly qualifies as good.Photo by Sarah Rufca
Anyone familiar with Ray's Franks, the monster-themed hamburger and hot dog joint on the far north end of downtown, will be floored at the spot's transformation into Latin Bites Cafe.
The whole place has been scrubbed and fixed up with plenty of help from IKEA. Cool tones of brown and light blue dominate the slight eight-table room, with the former ordering counter spruced up as a cebiche bar.
A new extension of Latin Bites Catering, the cafe serves appetizers, sandwiches and entrees from a decidedly South American point of view. For starters the trio of beef, lamb and pork arepas are a standout, with the texture of a Brazilian cheese bread but with cornmeal. The empanadas were less impressive, weighed down by a thick pastry shell and falling apart in our hands.
Chef Roberto Castre's Peruvian heritage is most profound in the half-dozen cebiche and sashimi tiradito options. Served with crunchy corn kernels, onion and chunks of sweet potato, the highlight is the shooter of traditional leche de tigre, a spunky lime juice and pepper marinade that can be poured onto the fresh fish or seafood or taken on its own.
The laissez faire plating allows ingredients to be mixed and matched to individual preferences, but it's not as pretty a presentation as the other dishes.
The sandwiches might be the best bet — we loved the Cubano with pork, ham, Swiss and provolone cheeses, and pickles on a panini-grilled ciabatta bread with pesto and a creamy green aji dipping sauce. For $8, the sizable sandwiches come with a side. You'll be tempted by the sweet plantains and perhaps the sweet potato fries, but choose the yuca sticks. They had a crispy yet smushy texture that marks only the most perfect of fries, like fried sticks of clouds.
The entrees are surprisingly varied, from Caontonese stir-fry noodles to a flavorful fettucine pasta with saffron aji sauce and pan-seared chicken. We couldn't resist the special, a oven-roasted pork braised in a red wine sauce with mashed sweet potatoes, zucchini and pepper. The rich flavor of the meat was perfect, but the tough texture begged for another hour in the oven.
Frankly, Latin Bites could serve frozen pizzas and people would still show up, so desperate is the neighborhood for dining options. But the rich South American flavors and thoughtful presentations (not to mention the fair prices) would make this restaurant a hit in any 'hood.
