WIAW: Suso Latino Basket – Manchester, CT
Happy What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW), hosted by Jenn of Peas and Crayons! I try to refrain from sharing what I ate during a day because no day is typical and I also don’t want anyone to compare my daily eats to his or her own. So as usual, I’m doing something different with WIAW. Today I’m sharing my experience at a hidden gem of a restaurant in Manchester, CT: Suso Latino Basket.
Suso does not serve alcohol so they are BYOB with NO corkage fee! We brought a couple of reds from Charles Fine Wine in Glastonbury.
We started with fried corn kernels and they were out of this world, like popcorn on crack. I could go to town on a huge bowl of those for sure. The menu had so many excellent options that it was difficult to choose one or even two so I was happy to hear my friends wanted to share a bunch of appetizers. They ended up getting entrees too which they couldn’t finish, hence my picking at more food, hence getting very full. I didn’t get a picture of every single dish because I didn’t want to be TOO annoying to my friends but I did get some photos!
Croquetas de Bacalao: codfish croquettes with a creamy bechamel sauce.
The croquettes were absolutely incredible and I had 1.5 of them. They weren’t greasy at all and quite soft so pairing them with the lettuce added a nice crunch. That bechamel sauce though, so incredible, like tartar sauce but fifty times more delicious.
Camaron con Chorizo: Shrimp and chorizo over white beans.
Holy crap this dish was RIGHT up my alley. I actually found myself focusing more on the chorizo because shrimp is something I have fairly often. My favorite part though was the bed of white beans. I think I ended up hogging them from the table.
Ceviche: fresh fish, lime juice, corn, lettuce, onions.
Though the onions were a little bit much with the fish, this ceviche was still stellar thanks to the crunchy corn – what a pleasant surprise and a fantastic addition to the dish. It reminded me of the corn nuts in the scallop ceviche I had at Baro with Kaitlin recently. The fish tasted so fresh and that lime juice was just incredible. I could have just drank it…or mixed it with some tequila?! 😛
Mofongo de Camaron: classic Puerto Rican mashed fried plantains with shrimp sauce.
I wasn’t expecting that shrimp sauce meant ACTUAL shrimp, and that made this dish all the more satisfying, along with those veggies! The mashed plantains were more like a plantain cake and the interior was a bit dry, but that was solved quickly by soaking each bite in the sauce. I adore plantains and this was another fried dish that wasn’t at all greasy.
I don’t have any other photos but I hope these are enough to convince anyone in the Manchester area that Suso is worth a shot. Tuesday and Wednesday they have tapas nights, and Tuesday through Saturday they offer $10 lunch specials. I bet this place would be amazing for takeout as well, and I can’t wait to bring my parents in sometime. I love showing them restaurants that get my stamp of approval once I “test-drive” them! The service was good too, and the place is small so if you go on a weekend night you may want to make a reservation. It was clear to me that Suso has a loyal following among locals…and I saw no better evidence of that than the very co-worker who’d mentioned the place to me, Kevin, walking into the restaurant with friends for his Saturday night dinner!
Which dish looks best to you?
Are you a fan of BYOB restaurants?
What’s the last hidden gem restaurant you discovered?
