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Published: March 17th 2013
1.Un anacate
Looks like a golden chanterelle, but with a stronger taste, and much more chewy.Our dear friend, Iliana de la Vega Torrealba, chef of the Austin restaurant El Naranjo, gave us the name of an old friend who runs a restaurant in Guatemala City. It is named Kacao, just a block down the street from our hotel, and we have been there three times. It is one of the best restaurants in town, and its chef, Humberto Domínguez, is a local character, famous for his flamboyant Guatemalan decorated chef outfits. In Guatemala, I googled up a piece about Humberto feeding black beans to Obama, to Hillary, and to Vladimir Putin. The photo of Putin is hilarious; he looks like he thinks he has just been poisoned. I can't seem to reach it from Detroit. But Kacao has a
lengthy facebook page that you can see by clicking on the blue link.
The building is quite remarkable. In the center of it is a very large and high thatched-roof palapa with a raised floor reached by a ramp, surrounded by nice little fountains and pools. The decor is mainly colorful Guatemalan weaving used in various ways as tablecloths, waiter's aprons, etc. There is a nice garden with huge-leaved plants visible
2.Loroco
Green flower buds of a tropical vine from the edge of the palapa, where we preferred to sit. Some reviews make Kacao sound like a tourist restaurant, but we did not see that; we saw mostly Guatemalans eating there. The menu is not long, but it is full of things you never saw before. Of course there are also steaks, both plain and exotically sauced. The prices were maybe a bit less than typical Amnerican restaurant prices, but not by much.
First visit
We arrived in Guatemala City on a Saturday, and that afternoon found Kacao for a mid-afternoon lunch. Humberto was not there; on weekends he goes to his finca (farm) for R&R. Carol ordered the ceviche; it is a pickled seafood dish; full of crab, shrimp, octopus, and raw fish in a good strong limón-y sauce. The last time she had such good ceviche (in Lima, Peru) she was sick for several days, but at Kacao there were no bad after-effects. I had a dish called Gallo in Chicha, which was also excellent. The recipe calls for a rooster (definitely not a hen), to be cooked in a Mayan corn beer (chicha) with various fruits. Chicha is not produced commercially; you either make
3.Pollo en pepián
Looks like a chicken chili, but has a more complex taste. it yourself or get it from remote villages in murky bottles. The waiters admitted that at Kacao it was really gallo in Gallo beer (the national drink of Guatemala, seemingly) cooked up with with chiles, tomatoes, pineaapple, and plantain. It was slightly sweet and nicely picante; very well done. On the side were little tamales in banana leaves that were just plain steamed masa with no filling. I put little pieces of them in the chicha sauce, and were good that way. For dessert we had fried apple rings in a light caramel sauce with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream in the center, simple but excellent. They promised us that the Great Humberto would be personally present on Monday afternoon.
Second visit
We went back on Sunday afternoon for a second Guatemalan meal. For appetizer we ordered we ordered a dish of
anacates al mojo de ajo (special Guatemalan musrooms in garlic sauce; see photo 1) It came with Guatemalan tortillas, fresh off the griddle, and very delicious. You roll the shredded anacates up in the tortilla and eat. The texture is quite chewey and the flavor is strong and distinctive. I can see why Guatemalans
4.Suban-ik
Chicken and pork in a traditional spicy sauce. recall it with great gusto. For my main course I ordered shrimp in loroco sauce, mainly to answer the question What is loroco sauce? It iturned out to be creamy and flavored with a green herb called loroco that we do not have, the flower buds of a certain vine. (See photo 2) You could probably make a similar sauce using capers and cilantro. It was quite good, but like the anacates, not overwhelmingly compelling. Carol ordered the most expensive dish on the menu (about $16), a seafood combination plate that included a small lobster tail.
I hesitate to report this, but the truth must be told. It was a Sunday, and Humberto was not there to surpervise. All of Carol's seafood was fine except the lobster tail, which was spoiled and absolutely disgusting. Not quite believing, I tasted it myself. It was true; I had to spit it out and take a sip of beer. We said nothing about it (maybe we should have) but the rest of the meal was quite good and we did not want to make a fuss. Probably if Humberto had been there this would not have happened. Somebody in the Sunday kitchen
5.Humberto, Carol, Martin
Photo taken by a waiter who did not know quite how to do it. just does not know how to handle seafood. It is also true that the shrimp I had were quite overcooked to the point of toughness, and did not have that wild shrimp taste that is so wonderful in the Yucatan (the Bay of Campeche).
I myself was once guilty of serving a large disgusting lobster who departed this vale of tears on the night before Christmas. The crabmeat stuffing partly saved it, but only partly. So I know it can happen. Still, Humberto's people are professionals and should know better.
Third visit
We went back on Monday afternoon, telling ourselves to stay away from the seafood. There are lots of other Guatemalan dishes on the menu. I ordered one of the classics, Pollo en Pepián (photo 3), which turned out to be like a molé; cooked chicken with a tasty red sauce that derives its richness from finely ground roasted pumpkin seeds. Carol ordered Suban-ik, which looked almost the same as my dish (photo 4), but tasted very different. It contained chicken and pork, and was hot and smoky, a rather chipotle taste; in fact, any Tzutz'il food name that ends in -ik means hot (i.e., picante).
6.Chef Humberto at our table
Jolly and colorful. You get your money's worth. For dessert we split a Quesadilla de Elote, a little square of a firm, sweet corn pudding served warm; quite good and quite light.
The waiters knew we wanted to meet Chef Humberto, and as the drinks were served, he appeared in full costume (photos 5 and 6). He remembered our friend Iliana well, from their student days together in the CIA in San Antonio. Don't get all huffy: CIA stands for the Culinary Institute of America, a perfectly admirable organization where Iliana later got a job as Mexican specialist.
Humberto knows how to talk to people, and he was charming. We gave him a full report on Iliana's restaurant El Naranjo in Austin. Her name was magic; it wasn't long before he declared that our meal and drinks were on the house, and left us with many kind wishes for our trip home.
We agree that this restaurant gets an A for excellent ambiance and interesting menu, and very tasty food, except for the exceptions.
Coda:
We are now home, safe and healthy, but it is hard to take this mid-March cold weather. This morning as I retrieved the New York Times from the front porch, barefoot in two inches of fresh overnight snow, I felt like Henry IV at Canossa. In Guatemala, Carol got a lot of relief from her chronic neck pain, but now that is back too. There is not even a hint of a crocus yet, and a dead tree from the apartment house next door fell into our yard while we were away. So we are right back in our old Detroit groove.
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iliana de la Vegs
non-member comment
Chef Humberto
HI dear Carol and Martin, I am s glad you could have meet Humberto and experience his wonderful food!!! Please give my warmest reagards...keep enjoying Guatemala...