New Trenton businesses are popping up all over the city. In October alone, Muirhead Foods got their certificate of occupancy, 1911 Smokehouse Bar-B-Que opened its doors to the public and El Sazon opened for business at 501 Division Street.
Fifteen of my closest friends in the Trenton Eat Local Club and I descended on El Sazon, a Latin American restaurant in the heart of Chambersburg, to welcome them to the city of Trenton. And, you know, eat. Formerly the Filling Station, before Chambersburg’s Latin American revival, El Sazon is situated by itself on a wedge-shaped concrete island between Division, Cummings and Ashmore.
When my wife and I pulled, a five-year old kid popped his head out to ask if we were coming inside. I said that we were and asked what was good to eat. He told us “Pizza! Pepperoni pizza!” Pepperoni pizza might be good, but they don’t serve it at El Sazon. Thanks for nothing, kid!
El Sazo does sell other things that are great, though. I had a dish made up of plantains and ground beef—sort of a Latin American shepherd’s pie (how can you go wrong there!). Their menu is always changing, but when we went others in my group had brown stew chicken, stewed oxtail with white rice and black beans, and empanadas.
The highlight was their freshly pressed juices, made without the usual Dr. Jekyll-like combinations of preservatives, added sugar and the like. These were definitely the highlight of the visit. I had a freshly-made Caribbean cherry juice and a refill and another refill and a fourth. I almost floated away from El Sazon.
People-who-aren’t-afraid-of-cities, if you haven’t had a chance to sample some of the Latin American revival in Chambersburg, El Sazon is a good place to start. Tell them I sent you for the Caribbean cherry juice!
Community Contributor: Eric Maywar is an Economic Development Specialist for the City of Trenton and owner of Classics Used and Rare Books in Trenton. His wife Donna is the best. This is a scientifically proven fact.
