South American food! Before we get to the food, let's take a look at the place. I have to think about this because I want to choose my words carefully. Hang on a second.............................ok.....This place is tackier than Polyester jumpsuits at a 1977 drive-thru Las Vegas wedding chapel. In fact, it's tackier than the entire decade of the 1970's including AMC Pacers and that time my parents thought it would a cool idea to have matching Afros. I would go on but remembering my parents matching Afros made me hit a mental wall. I do have to say that somehow different colored walls, different colored floors and mirrors that magnify it all somehow fit together in this room. There's even a full set of overhead stage lights on one wall because....why not?
If you let the overall appearance of Mangostinos scare you off, you would be making a big mistake. It's run by one very nice man who does everything. He takes orders, cooks all the food, serves the food and buses the table when you leave. Since he's the only one person, your order may take a little longer than you're used to but you will be well rewarded for your wait.
If you decide to visit Mangostinos, I strongly recommend starting with the Guacamole appetizer. Not all guacamole is the same and none is superior to what this man makes. It's served with chips and salsa.
To be completely honest...I stopped writing this review at this point a couple of weeks ago. I just got busy and didn't finish it. I just got back to it this evening. I had plenty of jokes about the appearance of the place but, more importantly, accolades about the food. I don't even remember exactly what I ordered but it was beef with a fried egg over it. The beef was so perfectly tender that you could have almost ate it with a spoon. The sides were rice, beans and a salad. The rice is basically just rice but the beans had a spice I couldn't identify. They were delicious. I recently visited a different restaurant and kind of slammed the salad. My wife said "Well...it's a simple dinner salad". The next place we dined at was Mangostinos on this occasion and I said "This is what a small dinner salad should be". It wasn't simple or complicated. It was was tasteful and again....left me wondering exactly how it was made. That's saying a lot for a salad. But I will say this....I've intended to write this review after every visit and have failed to get it done. Every single time...it would have been the same review regardless of what I ordered.
I will be bold enough to say that Mangostinos is the best South American restaurant in the 515 area. It's possibly the best restaurant in Ames and I put it on my "A list" for some of the best food in Central Iowa. It's a completely tacky place with service that isn't fast but it's a rare example of an establishment that can overcome that with their quality of food. I tend to judge based on a balance of quality, service, visual appeal, etc. Most people probably do that. The food quality at Mangostinos is great enough that it breaks your scale of judgement and you forget about the rest of those things. So I did forget some of the (possibly clever) things I originally meant to write but if you don't give Mangostinos a try...I don't even know what to say. Out of all of the places I've been to in our area, this one is the best in terms of authenticity and quality.
I apologize for not writing this sooner and for fast-tracking it later but this place really is the hidden gem of South American food and I'd rather not wait any longer to tell you about it. Obviously, Mangostinos is a 5 pint (out of a possible 5 pints) establishment.
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