Sabor secret menu (part II) — here’s what you should have been ordering all along.

Melissa Oyler
·2 min read

A long time ago in a world that had no idea COVID-19 was on its way, CharlotteFive published a story about Sabor Latin Street Grill’s secret menu.

Known for its authentic and savory fast-casual street fare, Sabor’s influences come from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and El Salvador. “This is the stuff that our employees make that we have all the ingredients for, so you can order it as well,” CEO and owner Dalton Espaillat told CharlotteFive’s Alex Cason in the fall of 2019. “We’re going to teach you how to order some of these cool dishes.”

The story was a hit. It opened up a whole new world for us Sabor fans, knowing that we could try even more menu items at one of our favorite fast-casual Charlotte-based restaurants. We decided to write more secret menu stories featuring more local restaurants.

And then, well, a global pandemic happened. We pivoted from fun food news to serious food news, such as how to help your favorite local businesses ensure their survival.

Nobody had time for secret menus last year — restaurants were all busy just trying to stay afloat.

Dalton Espaillat, CEO and owner of Sabor, said some of his employees make secret menu items for their regulars — and for themselves.
Dalton Espaillat, CEO and owner of Sabor, said some of his employees make secret menu items for their regulars — and for themselves.

A year and some vaccines later, the C5 team decided it might be time to revisit that old plan of discovering restaurant secret menus and telling you all about them. We decided to start with Sabor, where we left off, to find out what has changed.

It turns out, a lot.

Past secret menu items — including the Cuban Bowl, Barepa and Barbacoa empanada — are now on the full menu, Espaillat told us. This means there is a whole new set of secret menu items to order instead:

Black Bean Arepa

Sabor’s homemade arepa, stuffed with shredded cheese and seasoned black beans.

How to order: Arepa with black beans and cheese

Price: $4.95

Arepa with black beans and cheese, from Sabor’s secret menu.
Arepa with black beans and cheese, from Sabor’s secret menu.

California Burrito

Burrito stuffed with grilled carne asada, queso, guacamole, cotijo cheese, sour cream and — get this — French fries.

How to order: California Burrito

Price: $9.95

Platanos con Carne

Plantains topped with ground beef and queso.

How to order: Plantains, add ground beef and queso

Price: $8.20

Plantains, add ground beef and queso, from Sabor’s secret menu.
Plantains, add ground beef and queso, from Sabor’s secret menu.

Queso con Chorizo

(Note: This was on the original secret menu, as well): Creamy queso topped with spicy chorizo served with house-made chips.

How to order: Large Queso with chorizo

Price: $3.95

Creamy queso topped with spicy chorizo served with house-made chips, from Sabor Latin Grill’s secret menu.
Creamy queso topped with spicy chorizo served with house-made chips, from Sabor Latin Grill’s secret menu.

Pro tip: Per Espaillat: “You have to be patient. Don’t order them when the line is out the door. You’ve got to be strategic how you are going to do this.”

Now that we know what to order at Sabor, where should we visit next? Send us an email to charlottefive@charlottefive.com if you have a favorite off-menu item that you think our readers would like to know.

Sabor Latin Street Grill

Multiple locations

Instagram: @saborlatingrill

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