Cocina Latina

Tonight Pete, Carys and I went to Cocina Latina, a new South American Restaurant on 38th and Nicollet. They say they are:

Cocina Latina, or Latin Kitchen is a mix of Latin and North American cuisine. Good food, good portions, and great service are what you will find here at the latest and greatest family owned restaurant in Uptown Minneapolis. Come on over and check us out. We can't wait to make you a part of our family.

First to the table was my drink. I ordered Lulo Juice. Having never heard of lulos before, I quickly googled to find that it is a small citrus fruit, also called Naranjilla. They mixed the juice with crushed ice, or maybe they blended it, and it was frothy and cold and tasty.
(Excuse all the pics. They are from my iPhone which doesn't have the greatest quality.)

I ordered for my entree the Lamito Saltado. This was one of my favorite dishes at a now closed restaurant, so I was excited to try it again. Basically, it is a Latin version of a beef stir fry in which one of the stir fried ingredients is french fries. It was very good and served with a huge amount of rice.
The picture doesn't do justice to how much food is on this plate. It is huge.

Pete got the Goat Stew and I was pretty jealous. It looked fabulous, also served with a lot of rice. I tasted a bit of the sauce and it was well seasoned with deep spices. I didn't taste much, but there was a warmth to the spice that was immediately present and I want to try this dish the next time I'm there. Carys got beef tacos that were standard beef tacos.

We tried dessert too. I got the Figs and Cheese.

Basically, because that picture sucks, it was three big figs in a super sweet syrup topped with some queso. The figs themselves are very sweet, so if you don't like that, stay away. The cheese does a nice job of balancing the sweetness. The cheese is dry and salty and overall a very good dish.

I really liked this place and hope to go back. It is nice to see something new in the neighborhood.