Cafe Latino encanta en Massachusets con comida peruana

Cafe Latino adds spice to Mass MoCA

By Necee Regis
Globe Correspondent / July 16, 2008

NORTH ADAMS - The bucolic rolling hills of the Berkshires are the last place you might expect to find innovative Latin food. Quesadillas? Surely. Burritos? Possibly. But slow-roasted Peruvian chicken with black mint sauce and red onion escabeche? Hardly. Yet this and other "nuevo Latino" dishes hailing from Central, South, and Latin America, and the Caribbean, are all prepared with a contemporary twist in the Cafe Latino here.
Located on the grounds of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, known as Mass MoCA, Cafe Latino is a good place to take a break from the rigors of art appreciation. The spacious interior has a high ceiling, warm wood beams, teal walls hung with colorful art, and a backlit bar with snazzy white chalice stools. One wall is all glass, with floor-to-ceiling windows and doors that open to the museum courtyard. Peruvian-born executive chef Omar Montoya, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America, has crafted a menu to introduce a range of foods from his own background, but he wants people to feel comfortable. "I take familiar ingredients and make them Latin and fun," says Montoya. The result is educational rather than intimidating.
Customers already know many of the dishes he makes. "I use ingredients people can recognize as an invitation to come taste what I do," says Montoya, who was head chef at Mezze Bistro in nearby Williamstown. "We show people other cuisines besides Mexican. We're not a Mexican restaurant. We take cuisines from different countries and make it our own."
On first glance, the menu does indeed offer familiar dishes, such as a watercress or grilled chicken salad. Closer inspection, however, reveals that the watercress is tossed with jicama, orange, avocado, and jalapeno; chicken salad, served on herb flatbread, includes sweet potato, corn, and pickled red onion. Crispy calamari comes with a tangy chipotle and lime mayonnaise.
One section of the menu, "para la familia," is designed for sharing. Serving two to four, these hearty dishes include the Peruvian chicken; a beef stew simmered with parsnips, potatoes, and yellow chili sauce; and grilled steak with rice, beans, and Montoya's chimichurri sauce.
Other items are offered in ample portions and easy to share. Substantial fish tacos consist of three soft corn tortillas brimming with fish, shredded cabbage, avocado, and lime crema. The quesadilla is equally sharable. Usually a Mexican dish, this quesadilla reflects the Peruvian chef's heritage and is filled with roasted eggplant, tomato, and goat cheese. His influence also shows in the red pepper escabeche, a warm, piquant red onion relish that accompanies small empanadas filled with flavorful house-made chorizo.
The menu changes with the seasons, so various entrees or fillings for the quesadillas and empanadas may change, though the overall theme remains the same. Wines are from Spain and Argentina, and featured cocktails include a Cuban mojito, Mexican margarita, Brazilian caipirinha, and the mongrel guava martini.
On the cafe's popular Sunday jazz brunch menu, you'll find eggs Benedict prepared with corn cakes, topped with hollandaise laced with chipotle peppers. Scrambled eggs come with tortillas, a soft and creamy queso blanco, salsa, and guacamole. A smoked bacon and chorizo omelet is accompanied by black bean hummus and herb french fries.
Montoya says that his yellow chili sauce is a variation of recipes from his mother and grandmother. "I'm always very nervous when my mom comes to visit me," he says. He has to keep up her culinary standards.
The chef needn't worry. His food would make any mother proud - even the ones who aren't his own.

Cafe Latino, 1111 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, 413-662-2004, mezzeinc.com/elevenrestaurant. Summer hours: lunch Monday through Saturday, dinner Tuesday through Saturday, and Sunday brunch.