Lunch at Guiso Latin Fusion

Finishing the wonderful wine tasting at the Donum Estate, I pressed on with my Easter weekend wine country excursion and headed north to the delightful town of Healdsburgh, California. Located on U.S. Highway 101 just north of Santa Rosa, California, in the heart of the Russian River Valley AVA. Healdsburgh is the perfect wine country town, sporting just enough restaurants and shops to be interesting, yet not nearly as developed as a Napa, California.

Pulling off Highway 101, I made a beeline through the downtown towards lunch at the subject of today's post: Guiso Latin Fusion. The first thing I noticed was that on a Saturday early afternoon, parking was hard to come by in downtown Healdsburgh. I circled the block a couple times, and finally a spot opened up a block from the restaurant.

Guiso Latin Fusion is located in a small space that is part of the Raven Performing Arts Theater. The space is large enough for maybe 6-8 two-top tables, and contains a small show kitchen towards the rear of the dining space where a back prep/storage area connects with the dining area. The chef was busy at work in the kitchen as I entered the establishment, no doubt the producer of the delightful garlic-sofrito aromas emanating outside to the restaurant's surrounds. After indicating to the hostess/server of my reservation, I was led to a two-top next to the front windows. Perusing the menu, I opted to start with the calamari ceviche, then finish with the mojo pork tacos. Later, after being given the desert menu, I would order the quesadillita con helado.

Calamari ceviche
2017 Guiso Latin Fusion. Healdsburgh, CA

First to arrive was the calamari ceviche; a triangular plate of citric acid-cooked calamari served with a pineapple-corn relish, fresh herbs, radish and sprouts. The calamari itself was perfectly tender, with just a slight residual tooth offering a pleasing mouth feel. The subtlety of the calamari also paired nicely with the bold citrus flavors imbued by the ceviche cooking process. To balance out the citrus notes, corn and pineapple offered contrasting sweet elements. Fresh herbs offered another form of freshness, as did the sharp flavor of the radish. Finally, the sprouts added a nice texture differential to round out the dish.

Mojo carnitas tacos
2017 Guiso Latin Fusion. Healdsburgh, CA

Next up was the mojo pork tacos, served with chipotle crema, micro green and curtido (a fermented cabbage relish) with corn & wheat tortillas. With the first bite, I was greeted with the delightful rich pork flavor from the carnitas that offered just the right amount of salty and spicy qualities. The mojo sauce introduced complimentary citrus flavors to balance out the tacos. Curtido in lieu of lettuce was a nice touch, providing a bit more pronounced texture elements to the tacos, along with a whole lot of additional fresh flavor elements. Finally, the chipotle sauce offered some nice smokey undertones to cap off a wonderful pair of tacos.

Quesadillita con Helado
2017 Guiso Latin Fusion. Healdsburgh, CA

For desert, I selected the quesadillita con helado, which is essentially a semi-sweet rice and cheese bread. The bead is topped with toasted sesame seeds, and served a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with coffee foam, and featuring torched coconut shavings. Finally, the desert is garnished with a zinfandel sauce and a dusting of cocoa powder.

The mini cake had a nice buttery flavor, with notes of honey and toasted sesame. Zinfandel sauce provided nice fruit flavors. The best part of this desert, however, was the ice cream. It offered an array of contrasting flavors in a small sphere of goodness. Here we have espresso foam providing earthy coffee flavors, toasted coconut yielding sweet smokey notes, and vanilla ice cream providing a rich, creamy backdrop. Absolutely delightful.

All in all, Guiso Latin Fusion is an excellent stop for fresh, unique Latin flavors while enjoying this part of California wine country. The chef puts his heart and soul into each dish, and the result is an incredible array of flavors. Service was top notch, and the chef even stopped over twice to ask how the meal went. Definitely worth a stop over if one finds themselves hungry in the Russian River Valley, and especially so if one wants a break from the typical California cuisine that is so prevalent in the area

Dining date: April 15, 2017