A little background

If you and your crew can’t decide between south of the border fare or Asian cuisine, Chino Latino has got you covered.  Offering a wide range of options from both cuisine styles, you can mix and match your entres.  The cornerstone of what makes Chino Latino so great is their emphasis on using the freshest ingredients and combining them to create something unique.

Here’s one suggestion, ALWAYS go with a group of six or more unless you are going for their happy hour (more on that in a moment).

I advise a larger group because the restaurant serves everything family style and in large portions.  Plus, the options are a little expensive (around $12-18 for an app and 24+ for a larger plate) so the more people you bring, the more you can get and the cheaper it will be.  Knowing this was the case, I took a large group with me to celebrate my friend Sarah’s birthday.

 My thoughts

To begin, we started with appetizers.  Chino Latino serves you as the food is prepared, meaning not all of your selections will arrive at the same time.  We started with their Popocatepe.  What is this??? Well, it’s french fries, loaded with black beans, queso fresco, guacamole, sour cream, chile de arbol, and pico de gallo.  Honestly, I order this every time I go back there so I’m a little biased.

The second appetizer that arrived was the Queso Fundido with Chorizo.  All I can say is that it is the mother of all cheesy dips.  It arrived with warm tortilla chips to boot.  This was a popular one at our table.

Sarah and her boyfriend wanted to try something a little different and ordered the Yoshi Smokin’ Hot Rock for themselves.  This literally comes out with a hot Japanese river rock and a couple pieces of beef to cook yourself.  It was fun watching them do this because we haven’t ever seen this before.  You’ll get a piece of fat that you smear over the rock to prevent the meat from sticking.  Then cook away!  Be extra careful and use the fat generously.  The stone is very hot and your meat will stick.

The Entres

The Chinatown Lo Mein Noodles was the first to arrive.  This is your basic lo mein wok tossed with onions, carrot, bell peppers, and straw mushrooms.  We added chicken to ours.  There was plenty to go around for our group of nine.

Next was the Cuban Pork Crisis.  On top of the brilliant presentation of this dish, my favorite part was the four warm and gooey plantains that come with it.  Here’s what you get: citrus marinated pork slow roasted and placed on top of a bed of jasmine rice and black beans.  It’s served with cabbage slaw, queso fresco, and banana chips.

Yes, we ordered a third entree.  It was our first time there and we absolutely had to try as much as we could!  I insisted we get the Pinoy Paella.  In all its amazing glory, I was the happiest girl on the planet.  This dish comes with jumbo shrimp, abodo chicken, mussels, chorizo sausage, calamari and saffron-annatto rice.  The flavor of the Pinoy Paella was out of this world.  Best part of all was the portions.  Not only did everyone at the table get some, but we were able to take a lot of it home as well!

Overall, this is one of my favorite spots to take a crowd.  You’ll love what Chino Latino has to offer and won’t leave on an empty stomach.  Plus, if you are looking to wow your guests, the interior is well done and is sure to impress.

To see more of their menu, check out the following links:

Dinner Menu
Happy Hour
Drinks
Desserts
Street and Sushi