Unidos Offers a Tasty Tour of Latin America

If your preconception of Latin food centers around Mexico and Cuba, you may wish to stretch your appetite at Unidos in Naples. With the sizzle of the grill, the sleek bar, and the brightness of ambience and cuisine, right away you know you’ve entered an alternative Latin food universe—one that expands to South America. There’s even a little borrowed from Italy, which is actually a Peruvian tradition.

I jumped right in with a hibiscus margarita made smoky with mezcal and spicy from a Tajín-spice rim. For my friend, a classic Peruvian pisco sour was in order. Our luscious beverages came from the “Roots” section of the craft cocktail menu, as opposed to the “New Charm” inventions.

Likewise, the food menu goes from traditional to charmingly unexpected. Based on informed suggestions from our savvy server, we started with passion fruit ceviche and crab taquitos. Admittedly obsessed with ceviche and all things Peruvian, I came close to drinking the tiger milk passion fruit juice that marinated the mix of raw octopus, fish, shrimp, and requisite Peruvian corn. The crab taquitos, also a cold dish, married Mexican and Peruvian, rendering bites of delightful flavors.

For my entrée, I turned to Argentina and the seductive wood-grill aromas. Though entirely flavorful, the flanken-style beef short rib’s chewiness disappointed. The house insisted on replacing it, but by then we had already turned thoughts to other menu items. The enchiladas de pollo came to the rescue. The Latin comfort dish arrived blanketed in Chihuahua and cotija cheeses, with crema, salsa verde, and avocado to enrich the familiar flavors of shredded chicken, rice, and beans.

Since we had not yet visited Colombia, we treated our taste buds to an incredibly novel treat involving a saucer-sized wafer filled with the harmonious flavors of strawberry and caramel. How do you say “divine” in Spanish? 

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