New Year's Eats: Limón

For our last meal of 2010, my friends and I came upon a few surprises as we got to Limón Restaurant. First, we were among a very small percentage of patrons without white hair. Not gray, but white! Who knew how many senior citizens loved Peruvian food!?

After being seated, we looked over the menu: cold appetizers (including causa de pollo and ceviche), hot appetizers (coconut shrimp, empanadas, grilled lamb) and entrées (lobster, rib eye, mahi mahi, pollo latino, risotto - of course their names and descriptions were much better than mine here!). So many delicious choices. Then, it was like, "ehhh, where are the prices?" It only made sense for a restaurant to have a fixed New Year's Eve menu, but I must admit, none of us were expecting it! We started guessing: $45? $60? $65? None of us were really sure about the etiquette in these types of situations. Fortunately, one of the guys asked very tactfully how much we should be expecting to pay for our meal. Two appetizers and an entrée on a special holiday were just $45. An extremely fair price for such incredible food and stellar service.

I started with a very tangy ceviche (something the restaurant prides itself in), then had some of the best coconut shrimp ever (served with mashed potatoes sprinkled with sweet potato chips), and ended with the traditional (but oh-so-good) Pollo Latino (served with truffle mac 'n' cheese). All washed down with red sangria, naturally!

The last surprise was that they gave us these fun hats and noise makers to bring in the new year with a little extra fun and flair. Three cheers for Limón!

What was your last meal of 2010?