WCCO Viewers' Choice For Minnesota's Best Date Night Deal
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- One of the ways some couples keep the love alive is to make sure they have regular date nights, but that can get expensive. That's why we asked you to help us find the best date night deal in Minnesota, and your votes sent WCCO's Angela Davis to Chimborazo in northeast Minneapolis.
There's nothing quite like a home-cooked meal, especially if you don't have to cook it.
For the last seven years, Marcos Pinguil has been serving up traditional dishes from Ecuador at his restaurant at the corner of Central Avenue and 29th Avenue Northeast.
Marcos says in the beginning business was slow, but now he has lots of customers who are regulars.
"There's not many restaurants from Ecuador here, you know. So many cuisines are here, but Ecuador is a small country. Noboby knows what is Ecuador, you know," Penguil said.
Marcos learned how to cook when he was a child, working on farms throughout Ecuador. He learned how to make dishes like churrasco de pollo and churrasco de carne.
Empanadas, filled with beef or with cheese, are a popular menu item, as well as cheese-filled potato pancakes served with a peanut sauce called llapingachos.
Many of the entrees are served with rice -- like saltado, which has marinated chicken or beef and pepper, onions and tomato.
"We've had empanadas at a couple of other places. This is our favorite place to come for them. We get a bunch of side dishes and share and it's kind of fun," customer April Edstrom said.
Wednesday night is the restaurant's cheap date night. You can get two entrees and a bottle of wine for $35. All the wines they serve are from South America.
Penguil said it's important for him to offer a date night special once a week because "that way they can try the different specials that I make. Every night I make a different special."
Music and colorful décor add to the dining experience at Chimborazo. The walls are covered with textiles from Ecuador and photos of Penguil's many family members and friends back home.
"Everything is like from my home," he said.
The restaurant, which is named after the Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador, is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch and 5 to 10 p.m. during weekdays. On Saturdays and Sundays, it's open at 8 a.m. for brunch as well.
