Esperanto – 10 Years and Still Kitschy
Imagine going to a dinner party at Carmen Miranda’s house: a chotzke collection that rivals the most astute junk collecting granny, a trippy tropical kaleidoscopic color scheme, kitschy décor, terracotta tiled floors, hand-painted signs, and good food served by an extremely attentive staff topped off with bananas flambé. Welcome to Esperanto!
This lower east side haunt evoking the best Brazilian botiquins, beachside watering holes that serve as essential meeting spots in Brazilian culture, is truly a hidden gem. I started with the passion caipirinha (passion fruit, lime, sugar and cachaca) which was mad yummy! I wanted to grab the maracas from the wall and start a conga line, but I contained myself (although I think I was the only contained one in the room – it is an insanely busy place with tables of thunderously garrulous patrons). I started with the chayote salad made from spaghetti thin strands of chayote, chunks of avocado, hearts of palm, and supreme orange segments topped in homemade lime dressing, which was surprisingly not very flavorful given the list of punchy ingredients. Whatever the chayote lacked in flavor the yucca frittas more than made up for. They were garlic-chipotle nibs of nirvana. Quiet your carb-conscience and bad-breathometer and dig-in. They are quite possibly the best incarnation of a yucca yet!
The plantain crusted goat cheese with cilantro-cashew (interesting pairing, eh) pesto served with a creamy salad of leek and a side of roasted corn dipped in coriander, fennel, and black pepper olive oil (BTW – it is sold by the bottle if you happen to fall in love with it like I) was a total taste overload. The corn was tasty and had an adorable braided husk, but alas I’m not a corn on the cob eater. They quite frankly induce in me horrific images of overalls, tree stumps, and people sucking on BBQ ribs – the horror! I politely attempted to cut it off the cob and quell my terrors, but I didn’t fare well in this task especially since I only had a butter knife. So the corn was discreetly sacrificed to the bus-bin gods. The plantain crusted goat cheese was tasteful and texturally appealing. Paired with the leek salad it was a colorfully well-balanced plate.
The mistura de vegetales was a simmering pot of vegetables cooked in tomato and coconut milk sauce served with that little devil known as white rice. It was an icky rainy night and this stew-like concoction hit the spot. It tastes akin to veggie panang without the curry kick.
The evening ended with coconut flan and flambéed bananas. I’m not a fan of flan at all – ever. But holy moly – I’m a convert! This lovely milky custard melted right in your mouth and was topped with toasted fresh coconut and a smooth caramel topping. Coming in a close second were the cognac laced bananas and vanilla bean ice cream.
I visited Esperanto, the Brazilian-inspired restaurant, on a Friday and was so enamored with the delicious food, friendly staff, rockin’ music and insane decor that I was inspired to take a Latin Grove class at NYSC the next day – let’s just leave it at this – what happens on the dance floor (or didn’t happen) stays on the dance floor!
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