#8: Tajadas con Queso at Fritanga

By Ian Froeb Thu., Mar. 31 2011 at 7:00 AM

Categories: Ian Froeb's 100 Favorite St. Louis Dishes, Restaurant News & Reviews

Ian Froeb

Tajadas con queso at Fritanga

You can order three different kinds of plantains at Fritanga, which has been dishing out terrific Nicaraguan food since 2007: tostones (fried twice), maduros (pan-fried, thick, sweet, very ripe) and tajadas (fried, thin, crisp, unripe). Of these, tajadas are my favorite, and my favorite way to enjoy them is an order of tajadas con queso.

The tajadas themselves are as compulsively edible as potato chips or French fries. They are good with no adornment and great with a dab of Fritanga's brightly flavored chimichurri sauce or its piquant, peppery pico de gallo.

Tajadas con queso tops a generous serving of plantains with a thick square of fried queso blanco and the restaurant's lovely, tart house cole slaw (cabbage, tomato, carrots, green pepper and radishes in apple vinegar).

The dish makes an excellent appetizer for two or three diners. If you don't feel like sharing, it's also available as a lunch entrée with a side of the restaurant's rice and beans.

Fritanga
2208 South Jefferson Avenue
314-664-7777
$7.50

I'm counting down -- in no particular order -- 100 of my favorite dishes in St. Louis. Some are well-known, others obscure. Some are expensive, others dirt cheap. All of them, I guarantee, are delicious. Please do not hesitate to share your own favorites via the comments thread.

Previously:

#9: Kumamoto oysters at DeMun Oyster Bar
#10: Tacos al pastor at La Vallesana

#11: The Heath Bar concrete at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard
#12: Beef tongue at Café Natasha's Kabob International
#13: The root beer braised short rib at Monarch
#14: The egg raviolo at Acero
#15: Pappardelle at the Tavern Kitchen + Bar
#16: Carnitas at La Tejana Taqueria
#17: Benne's Farm half chicken at Five Bistro
#18: Dátiles rellenos at Modesto
#19: Hot-and-sour noodles at Joy Luck Buffet
#20: Lamb vindaloo at India Palace