Jose’s Latin Food: Bringing a taste of Nicaragua to Key West

BY TERRY SCHMIDA

For such a small town, Key West has been gifted with an inordinate number of restaurants featuring culinary treats from around the world.

Filling a niche for food from Nicaragua is Jose’s Latin Food, aka “Papa Rico,” 1101 Truman Ave.

Jose and Clementina Amador opened the eatery a little over two years ago, but the business actually grew out of a Nicaraguan-themed food truck owned by the couple called Papa Rico’s, since 2009.

Both Amadors have lived in town for decades, but neither has forgotten the food they grew up with, in the Central American nation of Nicaragua.

“It’s true that we specialize in Nicaraguan food, but our most popular item is probably our tacos,” Clementina Amador said.

The “Authentic Tacos Mexicanos” come three to the order, and can be filled with chicken, fish, shrimp, steak, or pork, or for the more adventurous, Pork with Pineapple, Fried Pork Skin, or Beef Tongue.

Another top-seller at Jose’s is the Carne Asada, a Grilled Beef Sirloin served, as all main dishes are, with either rice and beans, or gallo pinto, and choice of tortilla, yuca, sweet plantains, or tajadas.

Equally popular is the Whole Fried Fish, and the Oxtail Soup, a Saturday daily special served with a soda, rice and beans or gallo pinto, and choice of tortilla, yuca, sweet plantains, or tajadas.

But its with the Churrasco Asado, or Skirt Steak, where Jose’s Nicaraguan influences really shine through.

“A lot of people think that it’s a Cuban dish, but it’s actually very much Nicaraguan,” Clementina Amador said. “We put the chimichurri sauce on top and it’s really delicious.”

On tap, Jose’s offers a wide selection of homemade, juice-based “Refrescos,” that are among the most popular items at the restaurant.

“The Cacao (Cocoa) Bean with Milk is the most popular,” Clementina Amador said. “We import the beans from Nicaragua ourselves. We also sell a lot of the Pineapple and Watermelon drink.”

Another hit is the Orchata, a rice drink with cinnamon, vanilla, and coconut milk.

For a sweet course, Jose’s features the Tres Leches, a traditional Nicaraguan dessert of vanilla cake soaked in three different types of milk. Other offerings from the dessert menu include homemade Flan, Rice Pudding, Key Lime Pie, and the Pio Quinto, a moist rum cake topped with cinnamon-flavored custard.

“We opened up because there’s nobody doing Nicaraguan flavors in Key West,” Clementina Amador said. “To get that kind of taste, you used to have to go to Miami. We wanted to offer this kind of cooking to Nicaraguans who missed this food, and other people who wanted to try it.”