New Glenwood Springs restaurant offers tastes from the Caribbean and Latin America

Click to Enlarge Browse and Buy Post Independent Photos Hugo Galván, of Argentina; Catalina Parada, of Mexico; and Félix Sánchez of Cuba; are the owners of Mango's, a new restaurant in Glenwood Springs that will serve dishes from Latin America and the Caribbean. The three partners and their families and friends remodeled and decorated the restaurant themselves. Luis Polar/La Tribuna

By Veronica Whitney
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
November 28, 2007

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Open soon

Mango’s will open Nov. 30 for dinner. Mango’s is located at 2430 S. Glen Ave. For reservations, call 945-9331.

GLENWOOD SPRINGS - At Mango's, the new Latin American and Caribbean restaurant in town, everyone is an expert at something.

"Felix dances; Hugo cooks for us and ... I eat," says Catalina Parada, one of the owners of the restaurant referring to her two partners, Hugo Galvan and Felix Sanchez.

Only a week left before opening day - Nov. 30 - Parada, of Aspen, and Galvan and Sanchez of New Castle, were putting the final touches in the restaurant. The building will include a dinning room on its first floor, a lounge and a bar on the second floor - as well as a dance floor to learn Tango and Salsa - and a deck with views of Mt. Sopris that will be open in the summer.

"We want to offer a piece of the tropics in the mountains," says Galvan.

The variety of food that will be served is what will separate Mango's from the other restaurants in Glenwood Springs, Parada says.

The menu will include a fusion of traditional recipes from different countries.

From Argentina, among other things, they'll cook the "milanesa napolitana" (breaded meat covered with melted cheese and tomato sauce), and steak; from Mexico, a crab soup with coconut milk; and from Cuba, the fried cow and the roasted pig.

The desserts? Mango mousse and "dulce de leche" (caramel) pancakes with rum.

The restaurant will also offer dishes from Peru and Chile - many with seafood.

"And the good vibes. To me, this is a dream come true," adds Sanchez, who studied tourism in Cuba and worked in hotels in Europe and Las Vegas before meeting Galvan at Gloria Estefan's restaurant in Miami, where they both worked.

"This restaurant isn't only for the Hispanics," says Parada, who adds she has already received many reservations for December.

"We'd like to offer the people of Colorado the food and the drinks of our homelands," says Galvan, who will bring beer from Argentina, Chile and Colombia, among other places.

"Those who come to Mango's will have the opportunity to dance with the chef and the server," he adds with a smile. "And Catalina will hold the dance cards."



Mango's will open Nov. 30 for dinner. Mango's is located at 2430 S. Glen Ave. For reservations, call 970-947-9331.