Lexington Restaurant Guide

We all must patronize Fritanga, a family-owned and operated Nicaraguan restaurant on Versailles Road. Granted, its business model is casual - I have been there when they have run out of Dos Equis and shrimp, and service can run from stellar to lackluster - but its virtues outweigh these inconveniences, plus it is the only Nicaraguan restaurant in the state ... and Nicaraguan food can be delicious.

To start with, you will taste the best salsas in town. There is a standard quartet consisting of chilero, a sweet-hot carrot, tomato and onion vinaigrette; a pea-green jalapeno-cilantro paste; a fiery hot red chili dip; and chimichurri, Latin America's famed parsley and garlic condiment.

With an atmosphere as bright as a sunny Central American country and an authentically Nicaraguan menu, this is, as I say, a place everyone should try at least once. Then you'll be hooked.