Cucharamama

Cucharamama Restaurant Review:

Patrons grasp Cucharamama right off. They must, it’s the front door handle --- a huge wooden spoon, the “mother spoon” --- for which the restaurant is named. The cucharamama symbolizes kitchen power, which is in abundant supply here. Scholar-turned-chef Maricel Presilla offers an array of artisanal foods from eight South American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Although the menu is extensive and exotic, at the heart of this convivial restaurant is el horno --- the wood-burning stove. From its fires come dishes such as “chorizo Argentino con pimientos y cebolla,” a scintillating Argentinean sausage, crisped and sweating from the oven served with slivers of bright red roasted peppers, onions and vinegary red chimichurri sauce; and thin-crust, six-inch “pizzas” with distinctive toppings: Serrano ham, manchego, dried cod and Andean aji amarillo, a fiery dried chili. Instead of coffee, try a yerba mate after dinner --- a kind of energizing herbal tea served in its traditional gourd cup with a silver spoon. The bar scene is lively and many emblematic Latin favorites are served, like a lemony Cuban mojito.