The El Batey Feast ($60) is a sampler fit for a king.
A mountain of arroz mamposteao (stir-fried rice and beans) sits at its center surrounded by a playful collection of fried foods such as thick yucca fries, maduros (fried sweet plantains) and tostones.
With a name that loosely translates to “the playground” in Taino, a now-extinct Arawakan language of the indigenous Caribbean people for which restaurant Twisted Taino is named, the feast shows off the best chefs Jose and Cristina Melendez have to offer from their Caribbean and Latin American menu.
“It’s literally like a home-cooked meal for the family,” says Jose, who opened the restaurant in the Sauce the City Food Hall in August.
Serving four to six people, guests can choose to include up to three meats from a list of Argentinian-style churrasco steak, chicken or pork chicharron, guajillo pork roast, Creole chicken, mahi-mahi or succulent shrimp and a variety of sauces to finish out the experience.
“You get transported to the Caribbean when you taste every bite,” says Jose, who plans to open a stand-alone restaurant in Parma this fall. 1400 W. 25th St., Cleveland, 216-310-5880, twistedtaino.com
Read More:
Discover Cleveland's East Side and West Side favorites in food, service, entertainment, shopping and more.
