Hot tamales and
convenient curries

Supermarché Andes is revamped and still
delicious as Sabor Latino; Chef Guru serves
up Indian take-out

by MARK SLUTSKY

For years, anyone in the Plateau with a taste for pupusas and tamales has known that some of the best cheap South American food in town could be found at the lunch counter of Supermarché Andes, a supermarket on St-Laurent just above Marie-Anne. The owners must have realized that as many people were coming in for lunch as they were for the market’s well-stocked selection of hot sauces, beans, adobo flavour powders and corn meal, and about a year ago, the place underwent a complete renovation that emphasized the hot food, and changed the name to Sabor Latino.

The good news is that the food is as tasty, and the selection as varied, as ever—if not more so. Into tamales? Well take your pick from Peruvian (chicken), Colombian (chicken and pork), Salvadorean (chicken) or vegetarian versions, each with their own special type of salsa ($5 each). On a recent trip, I went for the Colombian, and seriously loved it: tender chunks of meat suspended in soft, starchy corn meal, all cooked in a leaf wrapper and served with a marinated onion salsa.

There’s a similar pan-cultural rainbow of empanadas from the baked Chilean beef variety to fried Colombian chicken pastries to the more pinched-looking Argentine versions ($2.50–$2.75). Also in the tasty snack range are yuquitas rellenas, fried potato or yucca balls stuffed with ground beef and hard-boiled egg wedges; they were delicious ($2.50).

Of course, you can’t really go wrong with the pupusas, those magnificent pancake-like circles of dough stuffed with cheese, beans or meat and topped with a coleslaw-like salad and hot sauce ($5.99 for a plate of two). I also had a heck of a time recently with an arepa con carne ($7.99). Arepa is a flatbread much like an unfilled pupusa, and it was topped with a generous slathering of guacamole and a whole mess of stewed, shredded (almost “pulled”) beef. Serious yums.

INDIAN ON THE MAIN

Just down the street from Sabor Latino, Chef Guru is a new Indian kitchen in more or less the same price range. When I’m hungry for Indian, I generally hit up Malhi Sweets in Park-Ex. But a take-out place close to home was tempting.

I was especially intrigued by Chef Guru’s Indian-themed fish and chips. Strangely enough, I wasn’t so nuts about the fish, which really could have been crispier and fresher, but the fries were very tasty, and I really liked the ketchup-y sauce, which reminded me of the curry sauce you get with French fries in Germany.

The butter chicken ($7.99) was tender enough, but it lacked that all-encompassing richness and awesomeness of my favourite (which is usually Malhi’s). I liked the tandoori chicken masala ($8.99) fine, but again, I just wanted it to be a little more full, a little more flavourful. Fiery-er! A vegeterian thali ($6.99) offered up some spinach and paneer and a chana (chick pea) curry that, again, just needed a lot more seasoning. I was tempted to try the “Indian poutine,” which I’m guessing is made with curry gravy and… paneer? But that’ll have to wait for next time.

I like the idea of Chef Guru a lot, but it’s hard to recommend it except as a weeknight takeout option if you’re too tired to cook for yourself (they apparently have delivery in the works as well). It’s all totally fine, but next time I’m in the mood for curry, I’ll once again be heading up to Jarry and Malhi’s sweet embrace.