Datiles ($5.25) at Orinoco (477 Shawmut Avenue, Boston, 617.369.7075)
Dates may be nature’s candy, but bacon’s practically the galaxy’s acme. Combine the two — by wrapping the latter around the former, say — and you’ve got a suave little starburst of sugar, salt, and fat. Stick an almond in the center, and you’ve got a sweet-savory supernova. At least that’s what I picture when I pop Orinoco’s datiles into my pucker one by one. Still, they hardly seem like haute triumphs; I myself, not exactly the world’s consummate hostess, have been known to assemble their likes for the occasional soirée. Yet mine can’t begin to muster the same oomph. Why, oh, why is that? What makes Orinoco’s version so much more delectable? Chef Carlos Rodriguez kindly spills the frijoles: “The whole thing is deepfried in soybean oil.” Oh, amigos, the handsome devil is forever in the details.
— RUTH TOBIAS
PHOTO BY KELLY DAVIDSON