Jacinto (Montevideo, Uruguay)
A seasonal summer dessert at Jacinto| Credit: Courtesy of Jacinto
Should you ever be so lucky as to find yourself in Uruguay in the late summer, you’ll find a culture in full celebration of its tomato bounty. At Jacinto, that means deep red tomatoes paired with juicy wedges of peach, creamy mozzarella, avocado, pesto, and a smattering of crispy black rice. The impossibly charismatic restaurant, café, and bakery sits on a cobblestone street just off Zabala Square in the Old City of Montevideo. Chef Lucia Soria apprenticed with Argentine chef Francis Mallmann, and credits Alice Waters as a huge inspiration. Both influences—as well as the Italian inflections common in Uruguay thanks to an influx of Italian immigration in the 19th century—can be seen in the approachable seasonal menu, which is served with aplomb by Jacinto’s friendly team in a room with high ceilings, fresh flowers and checkered floors. This is casual food as it should be: pork Milanese with an invigorating carrot salad, crushed sweet potatoes, and pickled onion; sweetbreads with burnt lemon; a kids’ menu that treats little ones like grown-ups , with rib eye or a fish of the day and a dessert of fresh fruit and tomato. The combination of Jacinto’s many charms makes it remarkable; I’d happily eat there for three or four meals a day and never get bored. jacinto.co.uy
