Page 114 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2023 SPECIAL CRUISE EDTION

There were two desserts: a scrumptious
foamy mélange of cherimoya, tangerine and
toffee – followed by a tasty but mystifying mini-
mound of Galapagos seaweed inexplicably
dressed with caramelized yeast, coconut butter
and garlic sabayon.

Paying Tribute

Chef/owner Luis Maldonado reigns over Trib-
uto Restaurante, a meat-lover’s paradise.
“My passion since childhood has been meat. I
learned everything about it from family friends
who owned a butcher shop,’’ said Maldonado,
who was raised in Venezuela’s ancestral Basque
country.
Five years ago, after studying gastronomy in
Venezuela, Maldonado moved to Quito and be-
came a first generation farmer. He explained
that he invested in well-priced 8-year-old Hol-
steins, former milking cows, that he nurtured
for at least a year, butchered, then aged. In
summer 2021, he opened Tributo so he’d have a
place to serve his prized meats. The restaurant
specializes in dry and wet-aged beef and pork –
and wins raves.
“We are Tributo,” Maldonado said. “We pay
tribute to the whole animal. We are the first
place in Quito to do this.”
Our tasting menu included squid stuffed with
blood pudding, buttery beef bone marrow, beef
steak nigiri sushi, smoked beef tongue br-
uschetta, crisped sweetbreads served with tiny
Andean potatoes the size of blueberries – and

114 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SPRING 2023