We were only a block away, having just finished our last tasting at the Lioco Tasting Room. We made our way to Guiso which serves Latin American and Caribbean fusion fare. With only a handful of tables and an open kitchen, dining at Guiso is more reminiscent of eating at a friend’s house than at a restaurant. This homliness is reinforced by the chef and owner Carlos who works in the kitchen area behind the bar counter. He is continuously chatting and laughing with his guests as any good party host would be expected to.

Our optimism dropped a few notches as we saw every one of the few tables occupied. The chef came out to greet us and pointed to 4 (the perfect number in this case) stools at the bar. He suggested that we grab one of these first-come seats. We agreed and it turned out to be a good thing that we made such a quick decision. Within, 10 minutes, at least 3 other parties came looking for these coveted bar seats. 

The menu is small – not surprising given that the “kitchen team” consists of Carlos and one assistant. This allows the chef to highlight the most in-season ingredient that are at their prime. Carlos insists on the concept of the best ingredients making the best dishes as a central philosophy in his menu development. This results in a dynamic menu that can change regularly to match produce that is at its absolute best. If you miss an item, you may have to wait till it come back into season next year. The other concept, that food should be simple, allows him to draw inspiration from meals from his childhood.  

We stuck to our plan of ordering a few plates. But thanks to Carlos’ and his lovely fiancé’s (who is hostess/waitress/overall boss) suggestions, we were able to try a few of the home favorites including the elotes (corn), fish tacos, and paella. Carlos did note that helping us choose what to order was like having to pick his favorite children. I get the sense that we could have ordered anything and we would have been quite satisfied at the end of the meal! 

The elotes are inspired by the street fare Chef had as a kid, particularly during soccer games. These thirds of a corn cob were slow roasted to perfection with the right amount of char. I was quite impressed by how evenly the corn was cooked – a challenge for anyone who might be less skilled at roasting over a flame. The cob came with a helpful wooden handle. It was dressed in a Jamaican jerk spice butter sauce and served over a flavorful and mildly spicy Aleppo chili mayonnaise. This was probably one of the best corn-on-the-cob dishes I have had. The absolute sweetness of the signature ingredient in its prime balanced well with the smoky char and the spice butter. I only tried a bit of the chili dip since I’m not a huge fan of mayo in general. I’ll admit that it was very flavorful without the heat of traditional chili – Aleppo chili is medium on the heat scale but the mayo cuts the heat further. However, even without the mayo, this was a masterpiece of a dish. I feel for those who visit Guiso after corn season. To them I will say that this is a perfect excuse to visit again next August/September…

The Tacos de Pescado (fish tacos) were a generous portion of red snapper, oven baked to a moist flakiness. It rested on a freshly made achiote tortilla, prepared before our very eyes. It was served with purple cabbage, mango salsa and dressed with a poblano chili yogurt sauce. A garnish of cilantro added color. I recommend a twist of lemon to add just the right amount of tang. The tortilla was a bit mealier than I am used to, but added to the robustness of this dish. The tortilla didn’t handle moisture particularly well and the taco fell apart while I was eating it. This left me to scramble for the fork and knife which felt wrong for this quintessential hand food. Not generally known for my grace, this may have been more me than the tortilla. Taste wise, the taco was another hit with the crunch of the cabbage, brightness of the mango, pungent poblano and cool yogurt. The right combinations of textures and flavors resulting in a symphony in my mouth. One plate comes with 2 tacos, but even the most restrained individual will want to order a couple of plates – thats how good it was. Perhaps sharing wasn’t that great of an idea after all!

We then had the Paella Caribena. Carlos even taught me how to pronounce the latter as he insisted it be ordered with proper elocution. This was not your traditional Spanish style paella – it’s more of a marriage of paella and cioppino that is soupier and spicier. Chicken, prawns, clams, linuica (spicy Portugese wild boar sausage – think mild chorizo), vegetables and small-grained white rice swim in a smoky, peppery garlic broth with saffron overtones. This dish was hearty and complex, yet utterly satisfying. This was quite substantial and I could not have had the whole dish to myself. This is a dish to share with your table, or if necessary, with the next table – what a way to make friends! The broth was so yummy, we had to oder the homemade dinner roles (Pan Latino) to soak up the remainder. This bread was also incredible, and would have been a wonderful appetizer on it own, but I’d recommend having it the way we did.

For dessert, we indulged in Brigadeiro, Brazilian chocolate ganache truffles. These 3 rich balls of chocolaty goodness were not meant to be shared, but because were were trying to be “good”, two of us split one order. My advice to you, is have your own and spend a couple of additional hours at the gym that week – its well worth it. The 3 balls were flavored with (1) cinnamon sugar (always a great combination with chocolate), (2) strawberry powder (dehydrated for 3 days before being freshly powdered prior to application) and (3) candied walnut. While all were great, if I had to pick one favorite, it’d be strawberry. The most surprisingly intense flavor from that light dusting of powder…