Not surprisingly, it took me a while to warm up to the idea of eating at this establishment. Anything of a South-of-the-Border origin tends to bring out my defensive eating tendencies. Inflammatory Bowel Disease and over-spiced food are not a blend guaranteed to bring digestive happiness for me or the hubba, who has to deal with me while I deal with spicy-butt. But thanks to the very positive reviews from some friends at work and a handy-dandy Restaurant.com gift certificate, Jay and I took the plunge into the world of Wapango, where they do their best to blend the cuisine and cooking styles of Mexico, Cuba, Central and South America in a way that isn't too weird and scary for Midwesterners bred on cow.
According to their menu, which is varied and quite appealing even to a picky Crohn like me, the name Wapango has its roots in the Huapango, a dance that is very popular in many Latin American countries. I'm cool with that as long as dining here doesn't result in my doing the toilet two-step all evening. The restaurant is located in Chesterfield Mall and I think the decor may actually be somewhat bright and lively but I can't say that with any certainty because they dimmed the lights at 3PM to enhance the "mood" according to our server and it really felt like we were sitting in pre-thunderstorm gloom for the remainder of the meal. I'm all for mood lighting when appropriate, but when the interior is so dim that walking outdoors turns daylight into a solar version of the ugly lights then it's too damn dark to eat.
In short, you may want to take a flashlight with you when you dine at Wapango, or perhaps a kerosene lamp.
Once we were seated and placed a drink order, our server quickly returned with some fresh rolls, butter, re-fried black bean spread, and something green that Jay said was similar to chimichuri sauce. The rolls were wonderful - hot and doughy and glistening with a last minute application of garlic oil. 
Our beverages arrived shortly after the bread: I ordered a Pearl Plum Vodkarita - pearl plum vodka, triple sec, fresh lime juice, and sweet and sour served up in a sugared rim. It could have been too sweet but ended up being the perfect blend of sweet and tart thanks to the lime juice. Jay ordered a Dos Equis Amber - it was beer, what else can I say?
There was an appetizer option among the many choices on the menu that really grabbed our attention - it sounded like a lot of food but would give us a chance to sample a couple of different items and we loved its name ... The Carnivale! For the bargain price of $16 this awesomely presented treat includes an empanada de queso (a handmade turnover stuffed with a blend of three cheeses); Colombian arepa (white corn cakes topped with shredded pork, black beans, and Mexican crema); red corn chicken taquitos (fresh roasted chicken rolled inside a red corn tortilla with chile-orange mojo, Mexican crema, and pico de gallo); and tortilla crisps. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it?
It was. And wait until you see how they presented it ... Check out the pictures!
We had to take two pictures of it just to give everyone a better idea of how they bring it out to the table. It's so unique I really think it deserves its own theme music ... maybe something along the lines of Tequila or The Girl from Ipanema. In the pictures that follow, you will see the cheesy empanada and the chicken quesadilla, the chicken taquito, the tortilla crisps with cheesy salad sprinkled across them, and the arepa both whole and then split in half.
All of these items were very tasty and included with the selection was some pineapple salsa and even more re-fried bean stuff. My favorite was the cheesy empanada which was stuffed with a lovely, mild, gooey cheese blend in a warm, flaky turnover. I could have made a meal out of these, they were that good. The other selections were also good but some of them had a little too much crema or shredded green stuff and I had to be careful about eating too much of it. Still, everything had great flavor and it was a really fun presentation.
For my entree I ordered the Empanadas de Pollo, Queso, y Puerco (chicken, cheese, and pork) which was served with golden rice, deep fried plantains, and a wee little container of even more black beans (mmmm, the musical fruit). I was too full from the appetizer to eat all of this, so I took care of the cheesy turnover and had our server pack up the rest so Jay could eat it for lunch the next day while he was working.
Jay ordered the Crab and Spinach Enchiladas, crab and spinach rolled inside handmade spinach crepes topped with spicy cream sauce and served with golden rice and South American slaw. Jay said this was one of the best items he's eaten in recent memory - he would order it again and would suggest it to someone else if they asked him for a recommendation.
We were way too stuffed to order dessert, but our server brought out the dessert tray just to test our resolve. I must admit there were some tempting items like chocolate fritters with caramel dipping sauce, but we just couldn't eat another bite. Some day we're going to stop in for happy hour and order drinks, ceviche, and dessert ... not necessarily in that order!
All in all this was a very satisfying and surprising meal - lots of inventiveness and flavor without setting our tongues and tastebuds on fire. Yep, we will definitely be paying Wapango another visit and if they're a chain that happens to be located in your town we suggest you pay them a visit, too.
