On Tuesday, I ate a nice lunch at El Sabor Latino just off Summer Avenue on Avon, where I talked a little business, socialized a little and had a good meal with plenty of leftovers.

On Wednesday, Chris Herrington and I met for lunch to check out a new place he spied when driving down Summer. Cevicheria and Grill Chilemon is in the strip center on the south side of the street just west of Perkins that most noticeably is the home to the Farrell-Calhoun paint store.

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Both restaurants, it turns out, are woman-owned. And the women are best friends. Small world, no?

It’s small enough that both made their way here from Colombia, though Chilemon is not a Colombian restaurant, our server Luisa told us. Her mother, Ruby Sanchez, is owner and chef, and mother and daughter both run an efficient operation.

First up was an order of chips and salsa with chips fresh from the fryer and salsa that hit all the Zs: Zingy, zesty, zippy. It was clearly made in-house, full of flavor and just spicy enough. The chips were a giveaway that good food was on the way. This isn’t the only place that fries its own tortilla chips, but the list is short and I’ve never eaten bad food at a place that’s on it.

The menu has a couple of sandwiches and salads, but the bulk of it is seafood and grilled meats, thus the name. We ordered an appetizer without assistance — who wouldn’t want shrimp-stuffed plantains? — but relied on Luisa to help us pick our entrees.

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We could’ve shared either, but most likely wouldn’t have finished the parrilla mar y tierra if we’d only ordered that. This “grill of sea and earth” is a platter of chicken, beef, shrimp and calamari surrounded by grilled cheese and arepas, mighty tasty, lightly creamy coleslaw and a big serving of fries, with rice and black beans on the side.

It was all good, but I was particularly struck by the flavorful and tender beef and chicken, both of which can get tough when tossed around on a flat top. Sanchez clearly knows what she’s doing.

But the star of the meal was our pescado frito, the fried whole fish. I was reluctant to order it when Luisa told us the fish was tilapia, as it’s not a fish I generally eat. But she was convincing, and I had that pre-order pressure weighing on me, so I said to bring it.

What a great choice. The fish was impressively large. First we thought it wasn’t tilapia, but Luisa insisted and said you can buy large tilapia, not just the small ones. But, we wondered, was this a trophy fish, something to be mounted instead of served?

It was big.

Listen to Jennifer and Chris talk about fried chicken (again) and a new restaurant

It was also my favorite part of the meal; Chris’s too. The skin was crisp, the flesh was white, tender and clean. There were bones, but they weren’t hidden because they were big and easily removed. Big fish require big bones, after all. Curious about the size of the tilapia, I googled it when I got home, and Luisa was right. 

Also (the big fish put me ahead of myself), you’ll want to try the plantain-stuffed shrimp for the appetizer or even a light meal, but here’s what to expect: Ceviche served in a plantain shell. OK by me; the ceviche was bright and briny, made with shrimp and finely diced cucumber, onion and tomato.

My internal Magic 8 ball says “signs point to yes” when asked if Chilemon has a bright future in Memphis. Of course, it’s a restaurant and these are not easy times, with high food and supply costs. But once people eat there, they will return. That gets an even better answer: “You may rely on it.”

Cevicheria and Grill Chilemon, 4509 Summer Ave., is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; call 769-230-4140.