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Check out this article from Andrew Galarneau! Niagara County gets taste of Central America The tale of how Andrew Smiedala turned up in Sanborn selling Central American-inspired sandwiches is a love story. He grew up in the Buffalo area, graduating from Tonawanda High School in 1993. For five years, Smiedala worked on a food truck in Fairfax County, Va., outside of Washington, D.C. He fell in love with a Bolivian woman named Carla. When they decided to buy a house, they moved back to Western New York, where such a thing would be possible. First, though, she took him home, with a trip to Central America. Smiedala was impressed by the flavors and freshness of his Bolivian in-laws’ cuisine, from Peruvian and Argentinian family traditions. “I went to South America and was really just fascinated with the food,” Smiedala said. Plus, as a Buffalo market niche, “it's not overdone,” he said. “How many Mexican restaurants are there?” Besides Colombian and Venezuelan dishes offered at Sabores de mi Tierra, 247 Niagara St., the Buffalo market is starved for the flavors of Central America. Good news, noshers: Peru, Argentina, and Bolivia have gotten as close as Sanborn, a half-hour’s drive from Buffalo’s City Hall. At 5835 Buffalo St., Sanborn, formerly Tina’s Place, Smiedala opened Tortuga Sandwich Shop with six sandwiches ($8 to $14), three styles of fried potatoes ($4 to $5), and churros ($5) for dessert. After I told Smiedala that I missed lomo soltado, the signature Peruvian stir-fry of beef, tomatoes, and french fries, he told me that Chino ($14) was his handheld homage to that dish. Marinated strip steak, sautéed peppers, blistered tomatoes, crispy potato sticks – yessir, that would do it. Plus a spicy chile-cheese sauce Peruvians call huancaina. Argentina’s flag flew in the Lanza ($12), of split and grilled Argentine sausage, chimichurri, and a bronzed slab of seared provolone, with fresh tomato salsa. (That’s the handsome rascal pictured up top.) Souped-up spuds ($5) include a Spanish style patatas bravas with smoky tomato sauce and garlic aioli, or “Andes” style, with that spicy chile-cheese and Peruvian herb mayonnaise. Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Phone: 216-6003.