This post is out of the ordinary because Tiradito isn’t in Rochester – it’s about 5 hours away in Montreal. Four Rouletters took a food-focused roadtrip and the result for you is two special edition reviews! We start out with a place that’s so good the first time a couple of our Rouletters ate there they canceled their reservations for another place the next night to go back. In a roulette whiplash, we are moving from our most polarizing review ever (Roux) to our least – aside from the usual fluctuation of a rouletter liking something a little more or less than the rest, we were wildly consistent on our scores here. In a housekeeping note, we offer a reminder that we list the dishes and descriptions exactly as they appear on the menu.
We started with the lowest rated dish of the night, the CEVICHE CLASSIQUE: catch of the day, leche de tigre, cancha, lime juice, salt, coriander. This was great: fresh, balanced, texturally satisfying, and pretty perfect…Rouletters just wished there was more fish in it. Of particular note in this ceviche was the hominy-licious corn nuts and excellent spicing. ⭐ 3.6⭐
Three out of four Rouletters tried the SALMON TARTAR: Brick’s chips, torched avocado, capers huevo frito, quinoa and all three rated it identically for our most unanimously scored dish ever! Sure, that’s easier with only three people, but I’ll take it. This dish is not for the faint of salmon-hearted, but for salmon lovers it’s excellent. The salmon had a more earthy depth than we might expect from salmon and it was excellently prepared, but you know what? We wish it had been tuna.
⭐ 4.0⭐
The second highest rated dish of the night was the CRISPY SMRIMPS: gari, chicha morada sirup. This perfectly cooked dish had a crispy exterior, well-flavored shrimp, and a surprisingly lovely fruit-infused sauce. Even Rouletters who aren’t big fans of shrimp loved this creatively crunchy crevette. ⭐ 4.6⭐
Because two of the Rouletters once played with an octopus and swore to never eat one again, the OCTOPUS ANTICUCMO: yellow potatoes, guacamole, aji panka sauce maple emulsion was tasted and rated by the other two Rouletters. For the octopus-minded among us, these were very well composed and perfectly cooked. Ideal tenderness in the octo, and the choice of a soft base – that pairing of potato, octopus’s old friend, done in a puree style instead of boiled – was unusual and great. Ultimately, the coolness of the potatoes lifted up by the emulsion provided the reverence and depth we hope would accompany such a beautiful creature. ⭐ 4.3⭐
Next up was the VEGETARIAN DUMPLINGS: 3 herbs chimichurri (coriander, parsley, garlic). marinated red onion. These had a symphonic vegetable flavor, supple delicacy in the pastry, and were nicely seasoned. The chimichurri on top really rounded out these little purses of veggie bliss.⭐ 3.9⭐
With the top rating and a place on every Rouletter’s list for top dish of the night is the astonishing in its simplicity CHEESE EMPANADAS: rocoto chili emulsion. Oh. My. Word. This is the thing, every time we have a new cheese experience we sit newly in awe of cheese and its ability to constantly be so damn good any way that it’s used. These were outrageously good. There is literally nothing not to love about them. They could have used any old cheese, but it was not your run of the mill cream cheese here: it was a real, complex soft cheese that offered depth and character. Like if we lived near a Chinese delivery place that made crab rangoons with cheese like this we would literally have to move outside their delivery radius for our own safety. With that, it should come as no surprise that these cheesy charmers were a shoe in for the ultra-rare Golden Shrimp Toast Award.⭐ 4.9⭐
The YUCCA FRIES: traditional huancaina emulsion was an absolute knockout, much to our surprise. The presentation was so Taco Bell and they were so damn under-salted but you know what? We couldn’t stop eating them. They were texturally perfect with the crisp-on-the-edge-of-crunchy exterior and the soft, creamy yuca inside…they almost felt like otherworldly polenta fries. Add to the fact that we felt like that little tin never seemed to empty, we were very happy. Folks were a bit split on the emulsion – some liked it and others were dipping them into the magical sauce that came with the cheese empanadas, but overall – what a dish. No one expects yucca fries to be this good. ⭐ 4.3⭐
Next we had the PAPA RELLENA: potatoes, beef & porc, sweet chili sauce. It’s as if someone decided to make arancini but then realized how much better they would be – and, conclusively, are – when you make them with potatoes and meat instead. This was such a blast. A couple of us could make a meal of these. Like our entire meal, they were perfectly prepared and balanced while that sweet chili sauce took these papas to the next level of tasty tater triumph. ⭐ 4.3⭐
The final dish served in round one of ordering was the POLLO FRITO: fried chicken, salsa criolla, huacatay sauce. Ok first of all it’s a thigh and if you’re going to fry chicken and want it to be great it should probably be thighs. This was done so well: a terrific umami taste and enough chicken for four people to share comfortably. We loved the crust: it wasn’t over-breaded or heavy while the sauce, and especially the pickled onions, picked it right up and refreshed…and we don’t usually think of fried chicken as “refreshing.” ⭐ 4.0⭐
At this point two Rouletters tapped out and the two trash pandas said “we should definitely try a couple more items because we don’t want this culinary carnival to end.” Enter the SANDWICH BUTIFARRA: BBQ duck, salsa criolla, maple emulsion, hoisin sauce. We had some drinks by this point and forgot to snap a pic (this seems to be a theme for second round orders at RRR, but look at that drink! Isn’t it lovely?). One of us doesn’t typically love duck, but this was super tasty with some nicely complex flavors, and like everything else, was perfectly prepared. The steam bun was the perfect texture choice for this elevated BBQ sandwich that had nicely crispy vegetables and a hefty pour of mouth-watering sauces. ⭐ 4.0⭐
We finished the meal with the PICARONES, which is doughnuts made primarily out of sweet potatoes and squash then fried and covered in syrup. This one got the second-lowest rating of the night, and is technically the Parisian Paradox for this review (though with two of us eating these, you shouldn’t put too much stock in that). One Rouletter found it a bit flavorless. The other one was delighted to have a new taste sensation in the sweet/savory dessert category. The texture was really nice and the sweetness of the syrup pairs up with the savory veggy doughnut perfectly.
⭐ 3.8⭐
Turning to drinks, the star of the night was the MARACUYA SOUR: Peruvian pisco, fresh lime juice, egg while, simple syrup/passion fruit. We love love love passion fruit and this drink didn’t skimp on it. While we aren’t partial to fruity drinks, this one carried the day and saw us through to the finish line with this sweet and sour perfection. It was delightful, piquant, LARGE, and demonically drinkable. Turning to the beer, the Boreale Pilsner Des Mers on draft was an easy drinking local beer that paired well with all of the dishes. They had a pilsner, a fruity wheat, and an IPA on tap. This makes for a refreshingly simple and balanced draft beer menu: what else do you need? If you think of something, they also have a nice variety of bottles and cans on the menu. ⭐ 5.0⭐
Let’s talk about the service. Just the right amount of equal opportunity flirt, everyone that we interacted with was pleasant, affable, well-informed, and (despite the bustling scene) always had patience for questions or comments or batting eyelashes. The only reason this isn’t a perfect five is that they didn’t tell us about the length of the reservation beforehand, so we felt a bit rushed in the back nine. Is that the golf thing? Back nine? Anyway, it was otherwise perfect, right down to the shared shot of terrible tequila at the end (which may have been a bit of an apology for rushing us out there at the end because the place was SLAMMED). ⭐ 4.9⭐
Tiradito did everything right. All the food was perfectly cooked, amazingly consistent, and well-seasoned. The drinks were thoughtfully curated and delicious. The service was top-notch. This place answers the not-so-age-old question of “Do we need Peruvian-Japanese fusion?” with a resounding YES! It holds the essence of everything we love about food: Unpretentious menus, fair prices, and EQUITABLE FLIRTING. Goddamn brilliant, man. We love Tiradito so much. ⭐ 5.0⭐