The plantain, in just about any form, is among my favorite foods and it seems I’m not alone. El Pata is a restaurant in San José and Santa Ana that is impressing its guests with a menu entirely inspired by the plantain.
All of the typical menu items are recreated with plantain inspired flavors. Plantain patties take the place of bread for sandwiches and burgers. Dishes come with what looks like french fries but are actually plantain fries. And the desserts include plantain churros and plantain crêpes.
There are a total of over 50 dishes with this ingredient. Some favorites are the patapizza, patatacos, platalupas, and pataviche. The patacon that is made there costs only 250 colones and is thinner and less fatty than the traditional patacon we know.
The owners started with the fryer they got as a wedding gift and the business took off from there. They have dreams of streamlining the production and opening up more stores even in other countries.
