A Taste of Latin America
In spirit of Cinco de Mayo the celebration got an early
start on the first of May with degustar A TASTE OF
LATIN AMERICA.
This year Atlanta’s Atlantic Station hosted the event sponsored by BB&T and Gas South. Over 15 restaurants were featured.
Traditional dishes from your favorite places lined the tent filled streets.
Novamex provided free water and juices, which served useful seeing that their tent location was adjacent to the Lime Taqueria and Tequila bar. Sausage World savored flavors from Argentina; BRAZIL was represented by Minas Emporium & The Brazilian Bakery, Coco Loco/Cuba. Los Andes Bakery had many delicious treats my favorite was the traditional Latin American guava pastry complete with coupons. The Iberian Pig provided samples of classic Spanish dishes; also Eclipse di Luna had an awesome chilled seafood salad mix. Restaurants also featured El Azteca, El Toro Mexican Grill (Grant Park), Frontera Catering, Mezcalitos and Taquerias Los Rayos, Costa Verde Peruvian Restaurant & Machu Picchu Peruvian Restaurant.
Although the weather threatened to dampen the day, it did not dampen any spirits. This outdoor event was like a backyard BBQ. The energy was very warm I felt at home. Raul’s Catering Service stole the show with Chef Raul’s (Puerto Rico) live cooking demo. Chef Raul had 100% crowd participation. As Chef Raul prepared Mofongo a traditional plantain based dish he made it a point to use volunteers to convey food texture and tastes. Rotating selected volunteers Chef Raul explained each ingredient and how to shop for them. He also discussed the difference between gassed and ungassed plantains. Chambers gas the plantain to speed up the ripening process. Ungassed plantains will ripen naturally on their own. Chef Raul also offers cooking classes, catering and restaurant consulting. Go to Raulthomas.com for more info.
Degustar was a very entertaining and kid friendly event. Tucked in the heart of Atlanta the location of this event was easily accessible, not to mention the two hours free parking. I the spirit of Cinco de Mayo I encourage you to explore new cultures not to mention the many Tastes of Latin America!
~EmRoyal~
