El MILENIO

  

                                                Fresh at its best:
               COMIDA ECUATORIANA 

                                           

If you are a lover of seafood, grilled meats, homemade beans and fresh avocado salads, than Ecuadorian cuisine should be high on your "to-try" list.

El Milenio is humble restaurant and bar located to the side of C-Town in the heart of Danbury, just a jump and a skip away from both the Hospital and the Western Connecticut State University Mid Town campus. And although it is both affordable and convenient, I don't think many people know of all this little traditional restaurant has to offer.

You know you have come to the right place when you sit down at the table and you already have three types of hot sauce to choose from. There is nothing like the anticipation of smoky/spicy flavors and  a little Spanish soap-opera drama, appropriately playing on the corner TV, to get you in the mood for good, authentically prepared Latin American cuisine, in this case Ecuadorian.

  

Definitely come to this restaurant with an open mind and a good amount of time. For an outsider, the menu although mostly in English, both intriguing and mouthwatering, will take a while to run through. And the service, which was friendly and accomodating, runs by a much more relaxed standard, still entirely enjoyable and deserved of a great tip.

Though I do consider myself an adventurer of sorts, I decided to skip over the Lengua a la plancha, beef tongue sautéed with onions, peppers and tomatoes and served with a potato cake,$12.75, and head straight for the next best item, the Ceviche Jambeli,$14.75.

Ceviche is a dish extremely representative of South America, which is considered to have been originated in Peru. Typically Ceviche can consist of a variety of raw fish including shrimp, calamari, crab, or any other white fish, which is then cured in a citrus marinade along with several other fresh and vibrant ingredients such as onion, cilantro, coriander and avocado.

                                                       

PHOTO BY:http://www.goodiesfirst.com/ecuadorian/index.html

Other authentic dishes served at El Milenio are their large seafood sopas (soups,) and under their Especialidades Del Ecuador menu section(specialties of Ecuador,) the Encebollados, or fish stews decorated with cassava and pickled onions.

Though, in my opinion, no one should live in Danbury without trying the Ceviche prepared by El Milenio.

The dish was strikingly brothy at first, served in an actual soup bowl with a side of white rice, though by the end I could not get enough of that perfectly cool, silky juice. The shrimp and crab portions were generous and were so fresh they could not have been even a day old. I enjoyed every spoon full thoroughly.

BUT, if lite, fishy, soup-like dishes are not exactly up your alley, then there is much, much more to choose from. Throughout the night, I noticed the waitress carrying out skillets piled mile-high with fried rice, meat and vegetables, a traditional Ecuadorian dish called, Chaulafan. The regulars then would hungrily drizzle the mound with crema fresca or house-prepared salsa picante and eat up until all that was left on their plate were their surrendered napkins.

Other meat dishes include Bendeja Latina, a large platter of pan fried pork, a spare rib, fried eggs and beans and a green plantain all served over a heaping serving of white rice, a little fresh salad in the corner to mix in for that nice oniony crunch. The meat offerings do not stop there, the menu boasts a range of steak cuts, pork, chicken and seafood the most expensive being a combination platter of lobster, shrimp, mussels, clams and calamari for $22.75.

Wash it all down with an ice cold Corona and a shot of Jose for dessert, and one can call it the perfect culinary journey through the shores of Ecuador.

 

                         21 North Street Danbury, CT 06810
                                       #(203) 207-0156

If you are working on a budget (both financial and time wise) try Espinal Deli, directly across the street. They offer platters,(you WONT be able to eat the whole thing,) for a mere $6 dollars, of some of the most delicious, authentic Spanish cuisine, catering to carnivores and vegetarians alike, so GO HUNGRY!