Cafe Ena

Chris:
Hello world! Wow, I feel honored to have started the first post on Fourks! Eric and Elizabeth came to us with the great idea that we should pool our love for good food and start a blog that chronicles our eating adventures in the Twin Cities and beyond. So here we are, four different perspectives on great (and not so great) food!

It seems fitting that our initial outing was to a place that recently opened in our neck of the woods -- Cafe Ena in South Minneapolis. Cafe Ena describes its cuisine as "Latin Fusion" -- which is probably an accurate description given the dishes we tried.

We started with the Ceviche Duo with fried plantains. I'm no ceviche expert, but I really enjoyed this dish. The fish was freshly tossed with just the right amount of acid balance. I could see myself sitting on the outdoor terrace enjoying a summer evening, the ceviche, and a drink, as a prelude to a night out.

We also shared the Tamal appetizer -- chicken, mole, cotija cheese, banana leaf. I think Eric commented that anything wrapped in a banana leaf must be good. I agree that this is pretty much a universal truth. The tamale was also a fun way to begin, and offered a nice contrast to the ceviche; the chicken fell apart appropriately, the masa not too thick, and the cheese added some additional flavor. The mole was a little darker and smokier than I usually like it, though, which made me only like -- not love -- the dish. Banana leaf, you let me down!

For an entree, I was still in seafood mode after tasting the ceviche, so I went with the scallops with the house risotto. Honestly, the dish was only somewhat memorable for me. The risotto had good flavor, but seemed a little gooey. The scallops were fine, but again, not distinctive.

Overall I was hoping for a little more "pow" from Cafe Ena. More contrasts of flavors, more spice, more to differentiate the dining experience on the palate. The ceviche really stood out for me as an indicator that good things might be in store if I order a little differently next time, but the tamale and scallops left me wanting just a little more. I appreciate having a local venue covering the cuisine of Mexico and South America, but I think my entree leaned a little too far toward the "Fusion" side for me to really experience this.

Rating: 2.5 tines