Monday, November 16, 2015

Mi Patria – Des Moines, IA



D.Rough and I were taking our time driving back from Omaha and decided to have dinner with Rita and TheGuardian. They suggested Ecuadorian food and we were totally on board. There’s a place in a strip mall called Mi Patria that they have gone to and it was really close to where D.Rough and I were. 

I will warn you, everything on this menu looks delicious, so it isn’t going to be easy to choose. There were a couple of things I recognized from Minneapolis’ Chimborazo, so I decided to get something I hadn’t had before. We started with some Beef Empanadas (despite the server telling us the cheese ones were his favorite) and an order of Llapingachos. We did our super-secret-ninja-move where we eat as much of an appetizer as possible before our dinner guests get there. Hahahaha. 

So, we had most of the llapingachos gone before Rita even showed up. We saved the last one for TheGuardian, since he was running late. They were crazy good. They’re like a pan-fried potato patty with cheese inside covered in a delicious peanut sauce. Seriously, these were killer. 

The empanadas were huge and good, but nothing to rave about. We really liked them, but we’ve had empanadas before. Go for the llapingachos first.

When Rita and TheGuardian arrived, they already knew what they wanted. Basically, they ordered a meal for two (which is actually meal for four quantity-wise). D.Rough ordered the Lomo Saltado – kind of an Ecuadorian stir fry with beef, peppers, tomatoes with rice, avocado, and plantains. I ordered the Hornado con Mote – pulled pork with hominy, with rice and a potato patty. 

The food arrived quickly, since it was RIGHT after work and there were only four other tables filled. D.Rough was really extremely happy with her dish. The meat was very flavorful and not stringy at all. The sauce that it was cooked in had some kick, but nothing tear-worthy. Just really delicious food. 

The Hornado con Mote was also really delicious. The shredded pork was amazing and the hominy and rice filled me up quickly. I was actually worried about driving home another 3.5 hours from Des Moines afterwards, but I made it.

This place is top-notch and I look forward to going here again sometime. Sometime soon… very soon…

Top 5 things about Mi Patria
1. Llapingachos
2. Hornado con Mote
3. Lomo Saltado
4. Fantastic menu items
5. We seriously love hanging out with Rita and TheGuardian

Bottom 5 things
1. It isn’t anywhere near our house
2. I can’t stop eating everything
3. There’s nothing on the menu that I don’t want to order
4. Why can’t I stop eating?
5. (As you can see, there really isn’t anything bad about this place)


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