By: Talita Elizeu ‘17
Food Columnist
I know you have been wondering where to take your hot date out for dinner, and I am here to tell you.
On a dinner date with my friend Erika Floyd, we decided to visit Fusion Andina. Fusion Andina is a restaurant located on Cabot St. that serves a combination of Peruvian and Bolivian comfort cuisine. It is a cozy location with tables just far enough that you are not eavesdropping on each other’s conversations. The waitress was incredibly attentive, explaining most of the menu to us. The menu included meat, seafood, and one vegetarian option.
Before we ordered, we were served unpopped corn kernels with a jalapeño mayonnaise. The corn kernels were more softer than American yellow corn, and with the addition of the spicy mayo, it was creamy and crunchy with a little kick.
The appetizer we ordered was the baked beef empanada–and it was perfect. The kitchen had just pulled it out of the oven, and it steamed as I cut it open. Stuffed inside was beef, olives, peas, and some hunks of a sweet potato. The dough was a good consistency, not overbearingly thick, and evidently fresh.
My entrée was the Queso Humacha de Camarones, which consisted of slightly charred shrimp served over boiled potatoes and a cheesy corn sauce. The sauce was seasoned with herbs, but the predominant flavor of the sauce was the cooked creamy corn, which was almost meaty in texture. The shrimp was so fresh, juicy, and minimally seasoned to its own advantage, a light char the silver lining. The creamy sauce did not overpower the shrimp, but added the warmth and creaminess that a cold night begs.
The Pescado a Lo Macho was my favorite of the night: pan seared tilapia, scallops, calamari, and shrimp over rice and fried yucca. The aji-panka (a peruvian red pepper) sauce epitomized what I love in a seafood dish – well-seasoned without too much fat destroying the inherent lightness of seafood. It can be best described as the ideal balance and combination of richness and lightness, but there are no English words that do this sauce justice. Because of the presentation of the dish, it retained heat well, steaming at every forkful. Each bite of this dish was a new revelation – possibly, that I should eat here more often.
Did you go out and eat the food? Liked it? Didn’t like it? Have recommendations? Want to come eat with me? Feel free to reach out – you can guess my email.
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