La Estrella Del Caribe
875 Paterson Plank Rd
Secaucus, NJ 07094
(201) 863-3223
As I mentioned in an earlier post about El Malecon in Washington Heights, I am somewhat of a newbie when it comes to Dominican food. So I jumped at the chance to go to La Estrella Del Caribe with a group of friends a few weeks ago, which is a Dominican seafood restaurant.
While the address is on Patterson Plank Road, its actually on the access road to Route 3.
Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for some serious Mofongo porn.
Restaurant Interior.
The specialty of this restaurant is Mofongo, which is a dish common to the Dominican Republic as well as Puerto Rico. Mofongo is fried green plantains which are then pulverized into like a Thanksgiving turkey stuffing consistency, and then topped with various kinds of meat and seafood. The restaurant has several types of Mofongos which you can order. This is a shrimp Mofongo which is in like a garlic scampi sauce.
Crab Mofongo
Roast Pork (Pernil) Mofongo
Another Pernil dish.
Scallops in a garlic sauce.
This is a whole fish with coconut sauce.
Whole Red Snapper in a garlic sauce.
Chimichurri Sauce for Steak.
Maduros, fried very ripe sweet plantains. My favorite.
Bistec a la Parilla. Heavily garlic marinaded flank steak served on a sizzling hot plate.
The restaurant also makes a great cortadito coffee with milk (essentially the latino take on Cafe Au Lait like they serve in New Orleans and in Paris) and if you’re going to get cocktails, I highly recommend getting a Coca Cola con Brugal. It’s a Cuba Libre, but instead of being made with the industrial and common Bacardi, its made with Dark Dominican Brugal rum.
Off The Broiler 
i am SO gonna take my parents here when they come here this month!! thanks for the heads up!
also…sweet plantains are called maduros…tostones refer only to green, savory , plantains.fyi
Doh! It’s early and I was up late. I’m not prepared to think in Spanish at 9AM. Fixed.
The crab mofongo looks mighty enticing. Did you get to taste all the kinds pictured?
Which mofongo did you like best. The crab looks mighty enticing.
I’m sort of torn between the crab and the shrimp. The pork one is good but I think Mofongo needs a lot of gravy to go with all the fried plantain mush.
What is the price range of the restaurant?
Esteban: Mid-Range.
[…] The New Jersey branch of Elsa is the chain’s 5th store, which has locations in Manhattan and the Bronx. For those of you not familiar with Dominican cuisine, you might want to look at my posts on El Malecon and La Estrella del Caribe. […]
The mofongo with garlic was OUT OF THIS WORLD!! Everytime I go, that’s all I get!
I have been eating at this establishment for almost 20 years and have yet to ever have a bad mean or service. Was just there last night and really enjoyed it although they are remodelling and thought the colors they painted the walls (pumpkin orange) and the trim (neon blue) were most unpleasant; the food is always delicious. Plan to go there next month with a bunch of friends and it’s all their first time there! I have had large parties too, great service. Weekends are busy but weeknights are never a problem with getting a table. It truly is what it’s named “The Star of the Carribean”
Also, correction: it is NOT just Dominican food. They have Puerto Rican, Cuban, Mexican and MORE! Same menu as before but different layout and user friendly no matter what language you speak!
I was watching the Puerto Rican parade and they show a clipping of Tito Puente’s daughter eating in this restaurant Mofongo with Shrimp. I usually have this dish a little different at the Parguera (Lajas), Puerto Rico.You will see me there next week eating this meal.
oooo i saw it watching the parade too…goin there on fathers day to get my portion!! i will come back with my “full” review lol
yeah, la Estrella del Caribe, has great food pernil mofongo excellent, for the summer at special price. also entertainment there on tuesday, poker club(no money-norisk) thurs Karaoke, weekend band and dance activities, this place is solid, friendly staff too. highly recommend it!
My post from March is supposed to say “…never a bad meal…”
I forgot to mention that my husband and I can eat for less than $40 with each having one beer (El Presidente). LOVE this place!!