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Yelp Detroit Elite Chef’s Tasting Dinner At Lena



Earlier this month, 20 lucky Yelp Detroit elites were
invited to partake in a 4 course dinner at newly opened Lena in Ann Arbor. Inspired
by the foods and traditions of Latin America
, Lena has a variety of dishes
designed to please any palate.  Collage1

Chef Gabriel Vera kicked things off with an amouse
bouche of fingerling potatoes with warm bacon dressing and our choice of
cocktails, wine or beer off of what Elizabeth
K
describes as their “creative” drink menu. Options included everything
from their signature mojitos and margaritas to specially “Lena brewed” craft
beers and craft cocktails
like the Mango Flower (made with fresh lime, vodka,
St Germain, mashed mango and simple syrup)
.Collage2

Then came the dinner! First course consisted of a trio of
bites from the appetizer menu
: Plantain Tostones (smashed and fried plantains
with fresh tomato salsa, chimichurri and melted chihuahua cheese), Ecuadorian
Humitas (fresh corn cakes with lemongrass-tomato stew and melted chihuahua
cheese), and Yapin Gacho (grilled potato cakes with queso blanco, avocado,
peanut sauce and chorizo). Second course was a Compressed Watermelon salad with
heirloom tomatoes, arugula, raspberry vinaigrette, pistachio powder, whipped
goat cheese and crisp rice crackers
. The main course gave yelpers their choice
between Columbian imported Pan Roasted Corvina (with white rice, plantain
chips, infused peanut sauce and escabeche salsa) or Beef Churrasco (with white
rice, tomato sofrito, matchstick plantains and fried egg). For dessert we were
presented with Flan d'Caramel with fresh berries.  At the end of the night our group left full, a little tipsy,
and very happy with Lena’s hospitality.

Collage3

Many thanks to: the fantastic staff at Lena for hosting us
that evening
and being so very attentive to our group, Chef Gabriel Vera for
putting together the fantastic menu and taking the time out of his evening to
come talk to us
and tell us about each dish, photographer Doug Coombe for
capturing the evening in photographs (which you can see here), and all our
awesome elites
for making it out and spending the evening with us. Want to know
more? Check the reviews (or write your own!) here.

Coming up in Detroit? A fantastic holiday party and cookie exchange in
December plus a lot of Yelp Shops Local gatherings and lovin’.

So, until next time….SYOY!

Annette J

Community Manager Yelp Detroit

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