Quetzal

The bold flavors of Guatemalan cuisine, replete with lime juice and fresh herbs, are bountifully served in Trenton’s Chambersburg neighborhood.

By: Antoinette Buckley

Quetzal

1122 Anderson St.

Trenton

(609) 392-2040

Food: Very good

Service: Very good

Prices:Appetizers $5.50-$11, entrées $6.25-$18.99, des´
serts $1.50-$5


Cuisine: Central American, with an emphasis on Guatemalan

Vegetarian Options: Scattered and few options

Ambience: Comfortably conservative

Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m.-mid´
night, Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.


Essentials: Cash only; liquor license; not wheelchair accessible; reservations

Directions

   Quetzalserves authentic Central American food, concentrating mostly on Guatemala. After nine years in business, Quetzal is still widely undiscovered by restaurant goers outside the Trenton area.
   Its ordinary exterior would blend into the twists and turns of Chambersburg’s narrow streets if it weren’t for the beautiful flowerpots placed at the entrance in warm weather. Even with attempts to visually perk things up, the interior is more basic than you’d like it to be. It’s not until the first bite that Quetzal really comes to life. Named after the resplendent bird that lives in the rainforests of Central America, Quetzal mimics the vibrancy of its namesake in the metaphorical colors of its food.
   The surprisingly large space fills up on a weekend and the odd weekday evening. There is a large dining room and a bar area that stocks Famosa, a weightless Guatemalan beer that allows the varied flavors of the food to come through. The decorative backdrop of the restaurant is utilitarian with images of a banquet hall coming to mind. A few paintings and prints on the wall, boldly colored tablecloths and handmade Guatemalan textiles (mantel típico) intermittently placed under the glass-topped tables, flirt with festivity. But you don’t come here for the atmosphere.
   Guatemalan cuisine resembles Mexican, but with Spanish, Indian and French influences coming out in different ways. Quetzal draws a large Latino crowd, yet the menu is manageable for those who do not speak Spanish and are unfamiliar with Latino fare, as helpful descriptions are printed in English. The tri-fold paper take-out menu, however, demands more of its reader. Names of dishes are written in Spanish with no descriptions. As long as you are eating in, Cindy, a staff member who speaks English well, will cheerfully guide you along. She has a good understanding of the food and makes favorable recommendations.
   Quetzal does an excellent mixed ceviche ($9), Guatemalan style. It combines pieces of shrimp and clams, unrecognizable as such, with chopped tomato, onion, cilantro and lots of lime juice. Served with the familiar scoop tortilla chips from a bag, this salsa-like appetizer has a characteristically chunky texture, but a taste that’s smooth as silk. Such perfect harmony is this dish.
   While ceviche delicately danced down the tongue, our other appetizer, garnachas ($10), required a sloppy, wide bite to grasp it. Handmade corn tortillas, which are the approximate diameter of an English muffin, are fried and topped with vigorously seasoned ground beef that has been fried in olive oil, tomato sauce, diced tomato, onion and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. I like the sturdiness and crunch of the corn tortillas here. Their build is well-suited to the soul food that tops them.
   Portions are beyond generous, which means that Quetzal is quite a bargain, especially if you enjoy sharing. The highly reputed chicken soup ($10.99) is a meal in itself, coming in two separate parts (the rich broth part and the roasted chicken part).
   Grilled and fried meats and fish are big here. The mojara frita ($17) brings you face to face with a pan-fried trout. Here, in its most authentic form, the trout comes with eye, mouth and tail all intact. The skin is crisp and tasty, babying the sweet, delicate flesh within. It rests on an oversized plate accompanied by yellow rice with vegetables (similar to Spanish rice) and a delicious cabbage salad. Finely shredded cabbage, tomato wedges and cucumber slices are dressed in simplicity: lemon juice, salt and pepper. Amazingly, there is no oil in the salad. It is contrastingly cool to the fish and well-seasoned rice. This dish typifies the Central American knack for drawing full flavor out of simple ingredients.
   A mixed grill platter (parrillada Quetzal, $18.99) consisting of hearty slabs of steak, pork and chicken is outstanding. The meat can stand up happily on its own thanks to its chimichurri rub, a mixture of olive oil, oregano, lemon juice, vinegar and garlic salt. Still, this meat is taken a step further when wrapped in a blank canvas of handmade corn tortilla and topped with the fried bean puree, yellow rice and sour cream that come with it. And if sparks don’t fly after that, a fried, caramel-colored plantain served alongside should do the trick.
   Little emphasis is placed on dessert. There are only two desserts that seem worth ordering and those are the ethnic ones. Mole de platano ($3) is fried plantain dipped in melted chocolate, topped with sesame seeds and served warm. The choco/banano ($1.50) is a frozen banana covered in melted chocolate. To me, the first one has a lovely appeal. But both were unavailable on the evening of our visit. The other offerings are fresh fruit cocktail, cheesecake, banana split and a sundae, none of which have the same draw after a filling meal.
   For those already familiar with Quetzal, it’s the kind of place that pulls you back from time to time to savor your favorites. For those who are not acquainted with the restaurant or Guatemalan food in general, it is a discovery worth making, as Quetzal captures the bold, sassy flavors of the region.