La Merenda

La Merenda Restaurant Review:

Be prepared to thoroughly peruse the international menu; reading it is a food-loving traveler’s dream. La Merenda, which means “snack” in Italian, offers small-plate lunches and dinners inspired by American, Asian, Caribbean, European, Central American, North African and South American cuisines. Owner Peter Sandroni is a local-foods advocate, never serving anything that's not in-season. Housed in a renovated woodworking shop, the restaurant is bright and inviting with artwork and photographs from around the world, as well as orange-red walls and silhouette lampshades. Glass-block windows, couches tossed with pillows and small tables add to the comfortable-cool feel of the place. When possible, we like to indulge in the Prince Edward Island mussels, steamed with garlic, thyme, lemon juice and white wine; spinach-and-cheese roasted ravioli; jerk-seasoned lamb chops; and Tuscan white bean and tuna salad. Save room for banana-chocolate egg rolls---bananas and chocolate wrapped in a wonton shell that’s lightly fried and served warm with vanilla ice cream.