{"id":12980,"date":"2018-12-16T10:32:06","date_gmt":"2018-12-16T15:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=12980"},"modified":"2022-08-22T07:08:40","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T11:08:40","slug":"rincon-melania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=12980","title":{"rendered":"Rincon Melania"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I write about restaurants on Instagram, they’re usually brief takes accompanied by a photo or two. (You can see my feed right here on ethnojunkie.com by selecting the \u201cInstagram\u201d category from my home page \u2013 no signup required.) But because of Instagram\u2019s character count limitations, it’s often necessary to break up a review into several parts. This one originally appeared as three posts, published on October 29 and December 14 and 16, 2018.
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A celebration for a friend brought us to Rinc\u00f3n Melania, 35-19 Queens Blvd in Sunnyside. This is one of those restaurants where everything I tasted was so good, without exception, that it\u2019s essential that I return before long. Three starters we enjoyed:<\/p>\n

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)<\/em>
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\nFrom the Appetizers section of the menu, Bol\u00f3n Mixto de Queso y Chicharr\u00f3n. Classic Ecuadorian cuisine crafted from green plantains, cheese and chicharrones. One picture is worth a thousand words.<\/p>\n

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\nPulpo a la Parilla \u2013 I\u2019m a sucker for grilled octopus and they prepare it perfectly here.<\/p>\n

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\nAnd from the Ceviches division, Mariscos Mixto \u2013 mixed seafood cocktail with shrimp and fish, tostones encompassing the catch. Some Ecuadorians may tell you that they have they market cornered on ceviche; if this is any example, no puedo discutir con eso.<\/p>\n

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\nSeco de Chivo, Ecuadorian goat stew, definitely made me happy: served with Arroz Amarillo (yellow rice) and an avocado wink \ud83d\ude09 plus a Maduro half (sweet plantain) smiling \ud83d\ude42 at me. Nice when your food likes you back. (For what it’s worth, pareidolia strikes deep.) <\/p>\n

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\nTender, succulent, Pernil accompanied by yapingachos (or llapingachos), pan fried potato pancakes, and two members of the corn family in contrasting preparations: boiled mote and crispy maiz tostado made from cancha or chulpe, sometimes referred to as corn nuts.<\/p>\n

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\nFritada (not to be confused with frittata \u2013 no eggs here) con Mote, a homestyle Ecuadorian staple that starts with pork that\u2019s boiled with seasonings then fried in pork fat. (Mmmm. Pork fat.) Shown here with classical accompaniments, maduro (sweet plantain), yapingachos (or llapingachos \u2013 pan fried potato pancakes) and two corn cronies: boiled mote and crispy maiz tostado (corn nuts). Delicious.<\/p>\n

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\nGuatitas, literally \u201clittle bellies\u201d since it\u2019s bits of tripe, is another traditional Ecuadorian dish: tripe stewed with potatoes in a light, delicately flavored peanut sauce, maduro and arroz amarillo with avocado on the side.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t decide which one of all Melania’s dishes I tasted that day would Be Best!
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\nRinc\u00f3n Melania is located at 35-19 Queens Blvd in Sunnyside, Queens.<\/em>
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Great Ecuadorian food in Sunnyside, Queens. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3336,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,115,6],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-12980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-instagram","category-restaurant-reviews-extended","category-restaurants-food-courts","tag-ecuadorian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3336"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12980"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18007,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12980\/revisions\/18007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}