A local couple are opening a Nicaraguan street-food restaurant in Bushwick today.
Chicha Cafetín and Cocktails, which is in an old warehouse garage at 198 Randolph St., brings an extensive menu of Nicaraguan street eats and a rum-focused bar to the neighborhood dining scene.
Some of the interesting things are the Surfer On Acid cocktail, which has three different rums in it, and Salpicon Rilletes, short rib with smoked coconut and pickled baby vegetables. The menu is meaty, but Chicha’s extensive fish selection — including the Quesillo with lobster on a squid-ink tortilla — should at least satisfy the pescatarians among us.
Vanessa Palazio and her husband Adam Schneider, the couple behind the grilled cheese shop Little Muenster, visited Nicaragua while dating and eventually married there. They wanted to explore the local food for their next restaurant, and they spent years doing research and recipe development in their home before finalizing the menu and concept for Chicha.
Chicha opens at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and serves its full-food menu until 11 p.m., when it switches over to a late night menu until 2:00 a.m. The bar stays open until 4:00 a.m.
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Cover image courtesy of Chicha Cafetín and Cocktails