The two-room Portage Park storefront that houses Ecuadoran restaurant LA PENA, cheerfully decorated in tones of green and burgundy, is family owned and operated: Jaime Fidel Castillo mans the front of the house, while his wife and mother cook the coastal Latin fare, some of the first upscale food of this type in town. A complimentary plate of impossibly thin homemade fried plantain chips starts off the meal, served with a tomato-based hot sauce flavored with carrots, onions, and cilantro. The extensive appetizers could make a great meal: there are five seviches (shrimp, oyster, whitefish, octopus, and calamari); humita, a rich Ecuadoran tamale; maduro lampreado, fried sweet plantain croquettes; and muchin de yuca, a deep-fried starchy oval oozing with cheese. Ensalada de rabano looks as good as it tastes; it’s a refreshing mound of sliced radishes, jicama, and thin yellow and red pepper strips tossed in a lime vinaigrette. Entrees, mostly meat or fish based, include churrasco (fried beef and eggs), a pork chop, and three rice dishes that come with a choice of shrimp, steak, or a seafood combination. There’s also llapingachos–a fried whipped potato cake topped with a thick peanut sauce, accompanied by a refreshing avocado and tomato salad, a fried egg, white rice, and beef sausage. Homemade desserts include coconut flan and oven-roasted sweet plantains. Until the Castillos get their liquor license, sodas, fruit juices, and batidos (fruit shakes) are available, along with hot chocolate made the traditional way from Mexican chocolate. On weekends the live Andean music draws a crowd; the two-person group Tribus Futuras plays up to 40 instruments in the course of an evening. La Pena is at 4212 N. Milwaukee, 773-545-7022.
