March 2, 2021

A taste of Puerto Rico opens Wednesday in north Sioux Falls.

The new restaurant La India Taina at Benson Road and Cliff Avenue is owned by Puerto Rican natives Johanna De Jesus and her daughter Harianys De Jesus.

The menu is filled with traditional dishes from appetizers such as alcapurria and relleno de papa to entrees such as mofongo with roasted meat and arroz con gandules.

Sandwiches include the tripleta, jibarito and cubano.

“We’re definitely looking forward for other people to try it, especially those who are like, ‘Well, I wish I could go to Puerto Rico.’ Well, now you have a little taste of it here,” said Harianys De Jesus.

That includes beverages. Large dispensers will be filled with tamarindo, passion fruit and guava pineapple juices. The restaurant has a malt beverage license, and Johanna De Jesus searched for a distributor that could provide Puerto Rican beer but couldn’t find one. There will be other varieties of beer and a malt beverage version of a pina colada.

There are soups, side dishes of fried plantains and more, and desserts such as flan and arroz con leche.

The menu could change as the De Jesuses discover what people in Sioux Falls like, they said. Eventually, they plan to offer special days with “platos,” or main dishes, that usually aren’t on the menu.

“There’s just so much food that we really…” Harianys De Jesus started to say as her mother finished the sentence, “we wish we could have it all.”

La India Taina, which is in a retail center that also includes the new Tarquin Argentinian Restaurant, is filled with decorations from Puerto Rico, and the focal point is a large painting they commissioned that incorporates iconic images of the island.

It seats about 50 people and will offer table service. When the weather is nice, they’ll add patio seating out front.

Customers also can order online at laindiataina.com, and they can use a drive-up window to pick up their food.

It will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.