El Rinconcito Chapin

I’m back! I haven’t really been gone. I’ve just been too busy to write up posts for the blog. I’ve gone out to eat less in the past few months, but I have a few new posts up my sleeve. I appreciate one fan reaching out asking if I had quit blogging. I apologize. I didn’t quit. I was busy with work and my national conference in New Orleans, and then catching up with work when I returned. After conference is always busy following up with potential new clients and catching up with jobs I missed while I was gone.

I have been sitting on a post for El Rinconcito Chapin for a while now. El Rinconcito Chapin is an authentic Guatemalan restaurant in Old Brooklyn. My dining out group first visited them about a week before they were closing at their old location on Pearl Road. It was not a good location, with very little parking and smack in the middle of road repaving. Nevertheless we managed to meet there and have a lovely meal that was graciously served by the owner. He even gave us free flan and tres leches cake, which were absolutely amazing.

We were so impressed that we swore we would visit again at their new location (we rarely repeat visits to places). They reopened on Broadview Road in the old Coney Company building near the corner of Broadview and Pearl, but it took me a while to schedule a visit. You can also access it from Pearl – just ignore the drive-thru signs, which as far as I know they aren’t using. The sign on the road is not visible – look at the building. In addition to offering a larger dining room, the new site also has its own parking lot, which is always a plus for some of our less mobile members.

On our first visit I ordered a chuchito (similar to a tamale) and chiles rellanos (pictured below). The chiles rellanos is beef stuffed poblanos that are dipped in an egg batter and fried. I was not all that thrilled with either choice (I’m just not a fan of masa – I find it too dry) and prefer the Mexican version of the chile rellanos over the Guatemalan version.

The Chapin sampler was a huge hit, which allows you to try several different dishes like pupusas, tamales, yuca fries, dobladitos and plantains. I’m a big fan of a lot of these things on the plate, so everyone really enjoyed this.

We all fell in love with their Licuado, which is a smoothie-like beverage. I had ordered the Jarito soda on my first visit and only got a taste of the Licuado, so I made sure to order it on the second visit. You can choose between the mango and the strawberry. I ordered the strawberry and almost ordered a second one! It is very refreshing.

On our second visit we ordered chips and guacamole as well as dobladitos as appetizers. Dobladitos are an empanada-like turnover made of corn masa and stuffed with chicken, a spicy cabbage slaw and red salsa. They were really delicious, and I would order them again. The guacamole and chips were good, but nothing to write home about.

The enchilades are nothing like the Mexican version of enchiladas. They are a flat tortilla piled with fresh slaw, meat and egg. They are delicious (if messy) to eat) and are quite beautiful to look at.

On my second visit I intended to order the churrasco skirt steak, but overheard one customer say the Pepian was their favorite dish. The customer had been raving about the Tofu Pepian, but I was in the mood for some meat. The “regular” Pepian consists of chicken cooked in a spiced tomatillo sauce. It came with rice and refried black beans and some green beans atop the chicken. It was extremely flavorful.

Unfortunately they were out of the flan when we visited the second time. We all split the tres leches cake, which was moist and delicious. The food was very authentic, with many Guatemalans eating there that night. The service is friendly, and we enjoyed exploring the menu. The prices are also very affordable.

I was there with a larger group subsequently and really enjoyed the third visit the best. We started out ordering a bunch of appetizers – from ceviche (shrimp in a tomato-based juice) to taquitos (4 rolled corn tortillas stuffed with chicken and topped with cabbage slaw, queso fresco, salsa and fresh onion) and garnachas (6 fried mini handmade corn tortillas topped with seasoned beef, fresh onion, salsa and queso fresco). The ceviche was the bomb and the garnachas and taquitos were tasty.

I got my skirt steak this time. I ordered the Carne Asada, which is served with refried black beans, rice, guacamole and grilled green onion. It was delicious. I love the idea of refried black beans. They seem/taste lighter than the usual refried pinto beans. I loved the guacamole being served with it – as opposed to the churrasco skirt steak, which is served with chorizo and a salad.

One of my friends is a huge fan of Cubanos and is on a quest to try all of them in Cleveland. He enjoyed their version of the Cubano, which is made with braised pork, ham, pickles, cheese, mayonnaise and mustard on a hoagie bun. He also enjoyed the yuca fries that came with it.

Finally, two of our friends split an order of empanadas and the Shucco sandwich, which looked like a hot mess but was quite tasty. It is made with steak, chicken, chorizo, sausage (I spy the end of a hot dog…), guacamole, cabbage slaw, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard and queso fresco.

Contact info:

El Rinconcito Chapin
3330 Broadview Road
Cleveland, OH 44109
(216) 795-5776