Mariana Trabanino

2 weeks ago | theinfatuation.com | Ryan Pfeffer |Mariana Trabanino |Virginia Otazo |Carlos C Olaechea

Your dad might say he doesn’t want to make a big deal out of his birthday, but deep down, he does. At Madroño, before he even realizes what’s happening, they’ll blast “Las Mañanitas” and rain paper streamers down upon him. Even if your dad is a stone-faced tax auditor, it’s a joyous display that’ll have him smiling like Mona Lisa. The food has a similar effect. The Nicaraguan restaurant is an incredibly reliable place to take your dad on the days it’s not his birthday, too.

3 weeks ago | theinfatuation.com | Mariana Trabanino |Ryan Pfeffer |Virginia Otazo

Kids love choices as much as the Lilo & Stitch soundtrack. That’s why The Citadel is such an easy and reliable spot to take little opinionated Omar out to eat. They’ll likely gravitate towards United States Burger Service, because you can grab your burger from inside little mailboxes. They also have excellent bowls of carbonara at Borti and ice cream that can be used as a form of bribery to eat the edamame you got from Poke-San.

4 weeks ago | theinfatuation.com | Mariana Trabanino |Ryan Pfeffer |Virginia Otazo |Carlos C Olaechea

Every single ceviche on the menu of this 12-seat counter is citrus gold. Especially the mixto, a gloriously perfect blend of peppers, lime juice, and a variety of rotating sea creatures. Ask for the medium spice level, which we’ve found to be the ideal balance of heat and citrus. When stone crab is in season or there’s Hokkaido uni available, the chef will go off-script and assemble a ceviche so remarkable, you’ll start to wonder about the 80% of the ocean that remains uncharted.

4 weeks ago | theinfatuation.com | Mariana Trabanino

What are you looking for?

1 month ago | theinfatuation.com | Mariana Trabanino

To get your hands on Marcelo’s thick strips of corvina swimming in ají amarillo and lime juice, you have to place an order at least a day in advance and coordinate a meetup via WhatsApp. This place isn’t a restaurant, but a travelling food truck. The combination of texting on an encrypted messaging app and agreeing on a meeting point is exhilarating—like you’re a spy and the ceviche is a sensitive state secret. But thankfully, ceviche isn’t illegal and Marcelo is a joy to communicate with.