It’s impossible not to fall for Amaru’s brawny, brainy food: bacon-wrapped plantains stuffed with chorizo; whole branzino in a brown butter mojo; a chicharrón the size (and shape!) of Chile. Chef-owner Rodolfo Cuadros — formerly of Carnivale, a restaurant roughly as intimate as a theme park — has clearly given himself over fully to his new endeavor. He built the communal table by the front window himself and got the handmade cookware from his ancestral Colombia. Chainsaw-level music aside, the open kitchen’s graceful melding of South American flavors rarely fails to satisfy both palate and soul.

Update:Amaru is open for carryout and delivery with dishes like the bacon-wrapped chorizo-stuffed plantains and a Cuban-style burger, plus family meals like pernil or a chickpea achiote curry, which serve four people.