BEST NICARAGUAN RESTAURANT

BEST NICARAGUAN RESTAURANTEl Chalesito2115 W. Flagler Street

Miami

305-541-8171 You won't find statues or paintings honoring Anastasio Somoza or Augusto Sandino at El Chalesito, but you will encounter Nicaraguan folklore to full effect. Miami's many transplanted Nicaraguans find refuge in this storefront cantina in the heart of Little Havana. Dressed in their best ranchero regalia, beer-guzzling, rum-swigging Nicas fill dining tables fronting a karaoke stage, where a house singer leads patrons through Nicaragua's most popular tunes. Waitresses are a blur as they deliver piping-hot plates of antojitos -- churrasco, green and sweet plantains, tacos, blood sausage, cheese-filled tortillas, frijoles con crema. El Chalecito also offers Miami's freshest pescado a la tipitapa -- whole grouper baked in salsa, cornmeal, and rice.