Mango

We've been meaning to go to Mango Peruvian for a while, but since they have no online menu, it took until yesterday to finally go. We went there yesterday mainly because it's close and it's new, but we also wanted to see if the Peruvians can bring it on St. Louis style.

Mango Peruvian is located in a large strip mall off Watson called Mackenzie Point. As far as strip malls go, it's a nice one, made of brick, with covered walkways in front of the stores. I saw that Mango had some tables outside with white table cloths as I ascended the stairs to the restaurant. It was a nice touch, the elevated outside dining, like I said the buildings are actually quite decent looking, but the rest of the view is a really large parking lot with people going to Dierbergs and Shoe Carnival. Not that they can do anything about it, but it's not the most relaxing vista for a nice meal. Still, it's not all that bad, I guess you just make due with what you have.

The inside of the restaurant was a nice surprise. With most strip mall restaurants, you eat in an atmosphere of white painted drywall, a drop ceiling and large glass windows in the front. Mango had all of these things, but they dressed it up nicely. My first impression was one of elegance. White table cloths, dark wood, iron railings, hand painted "windows" on the wall with scenes of Peru, and other little bits of Peruvian culture placed nicely throughout the restaurant. Even the ceiling had some large wooden cross-beams installed which made it seem less like a trip to the dentist's office and more like a hacienda.


The service was excellent and friendly. We were seated right away, and were never left wanting for a drink refill. The first thing they brought out was a free appetizer, which basically consists of thinly sliced plantains and nuts that are deep-fried and served in a basket. It's pretty much like eating potato chips and nuts. I know it's probably traditional, but I felt like I should have been watching the football game with this food. The chips are served with two salsas. One is pretty much the same thing as the corriander masala you are served at Indian restaurants. Green, sweet, good, I couldn't help wanting an order of garlic nan instead of these chips. The other salsa is a simple one, made with diced tomatoes and onions bathed in lime juice. For all it's simplicity, it is actually pretty good.

We did not get any appetizers because of the spinach scare, but they have something called pasquales that is a spinach-stuffed pastery that looked interesting. Instead, we picked at the little pieces of chips and watched the food as it passed by. An interesting array of salads, seafood, and drinks all passed through the restaurant and were deposited at different tables. Finally, it was our lucky turn to eat, and our food came to our table.

I ordered some spaghetti dish with some sauce with an exotic name (huan-something) It was described to me as spicy with queso fresco, but when I got it and tasted it, it was pretty much like pasta alfedo, with a tiny bit of spice to it. I'm not a big fan of pasta alfredo (too dry) so I wasn't that excited about my meal. As far as pasta alfredo goes, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I was looking for. I also got a side of beans. The beans were a sort of creamy white bean with a salty kick. I wondered if it was seasoned with pork, but the waitress assured me that they were vegetarian.

Leslie's dish reminded me of a taqueria platter. Shredded, dark beef in one part of the plate, running up against the same type of creamy beans that I had ordered. Next to these was neat stack of rice (where they put the rice in a cup, turn it upside down, and it's in a neat stack) with some garnish on top. Tbh, the presentation looked a little down-home, and was a contrast to the original elegance I encountered.

Since I didn't get into my meal too much, I decided to save myself for some flan. I don't eat stuff with eggs very often, but flan is one of those things that I get a taste for every now and then. Usually I'm so stuffed with burrito that I don't get a chance to order this dessert, so this night, I thought I'd salvage my meal with a nice dessert. The flan, however, was just mediocre. It was a little bland, and the texture was slightly off. The coffee too was forgetable. Folgers or Sanka made in a big coffee machine. I didn't finish either.

All-in-all, I was disappointed with my meal. I think this has more to do with the vegetarian thing than the actual cooking. It was nice that they had vegetarian options, but none of them seemed exciting. Leslie, on the other hand, liked her meal. She thinks we should give them another chance. We often wonder at places like this, how authentic the food actually is without the availibility of native ingredients, but at least it's nice to have a hint of another country in St. Louis.