Venture farther south of the border for family-friendly Latin American food

The next time your family is in the mood for Mexican cuisine, consider taking a culinary detour farther south instead. Most Seattle parents are familiar with the kid-friendly favorites of burritos, tacos, and rice and beans, but they're less acquainted with other Latin American dishes, which offer a different twist on some of the same ingredients.

Seattle and surrounding areas offer numerous Latin American restaurants, including Buenos Aires Grill downtown, Copacabana in Pike Place Market and Mixtura in Kirkland. But two that I have found to be highly kid-friendly are La Casa del Mojito in the Maple Leaf neighborhood and Salvadorean Bakery in White Center.

La Casa del Mojito draws most heavily from the flavors of Cuban cuisine, but owner Michael Posner says that his inspiration comes from all over Latin America. The colorful eatery, with bright walls and lively folk art, is fun for children to look at; even the two high chairs are painted bright red, green and yellow.

Pork here is slow-cooked until it becomes a soft mass of tasty bits, delicious on the Cuban sandwiches ($6.95) at lunch or as the dinner entrée lechon asado ($13.95), which comes with rice and black beans. Not overly spicy, this is an easy choice for little ones with sensitive palates. The beef in the pabellón ($12.95) is similar in spicing and texture, but without quite the same fatty richness, and is also served with rice and beans.

Tostones, an appetizer of crunchy fried plantain slices with aioli-like mojito sauce ($3.95), are a fine alternative to French fries, while the softer fried yucca ($3.95), also served with mojito sauce, was popular with a toddler whose teeth weren't quite up to the tostones.

Fish figures heavily on the menu here, with fried, grilled and poached options, all well flavored and not very spicy. Vegetarian options, such as berenjena en coco ($11.95), an eggplant dish in a coconut sauce, are limited, but Posner says that will soon change when menu revisions are unveiled in the coming months.

If you end up at La Casa del Mojito on an evening when your child is being especially choosy, the staff will be happy to accommodate simpler tastes with no-frills grilled or breaded chicken strips, or rice and beans. There is no kids' menu, but don't be shy about asking; the staff is happy to work with families.

For dessert, don't miss the tres leches cake ($4.95) with its milky caramel filling, which is made by a local Mexican baker.

Should you have a hankering for Latin American food while on the south end of town, head to White Center's Salvadorean Bakery, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in addition to a wide array of colorful baked goods.

The atmosphere here is quite casual, and it's popular with families, especially on the weekends. Two high chairs and one booster seat are available, and the restroom is equipped with a changing table. Children enjoy looking at the pretty cookies in the glass cases while their parents order food at the counter, and the piñatas that hang from the ceiling add an extra element of visual interest.

The menu here is wide-ranging and varies from mild to fairly spicy. Soups and stews, mostly chicken and beef, dominate the entrée menu, but the house specialty is pupusas ($2 each). These delicious cornmeal pockets are stuffed with fillings such as egg, pork or zucchini -- then fried. The revuelta pupusa, which combines pork, cheese and beans, is especially tasty and isn't too spicy for children.

For those who do want to kick it up a notch, the pupusas are served with two bottles of hot sauce to use at your own discretion. All pupusas come with a tasty side of curtido, a crunchy, slightly spicy cabbage salad.

For those with a weakness for sweeter meals, the platanos fritos ($7.50), or fried plantains, are an amazing indulgence. The bananalike plantains, fried until just crisp on the outside, are served flanked by generous servings of smooth black beans and crema, a sort of light sour cream. Although they are found on the breakfast menu, one can order them any time of day.

Choose your dessert before your dinner while waiting to order; the spectacle of dozens of cookies, cakes and sweet rolls might make you want to skip supper.

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