NJ Dining: Elsa La Reina Del Chicharrón

Elsa La Reina Del Chicharrón
1515 Teaneck Road, Teaneck NJ 07666

Web Site (Spanish): http://lareinadelchicharron.com/

About a week ago, we noticed that the vacated building on 1515 Teaneck Road which had been sitting fallow for two years was showing sign of life. Previously, it was Stickey’s BBQ restaurant, which had taken over and completely renovated the former Wonder Bread outlet before closing suddenly in 2006, about a year after it had opened. Curiously, Rachel and I pulled up to see that new blue awnings had been hung, emblazoned with the magic word — Chicharrón (CHEE-CHARR-ROAN). That could only mean one thing — Latino Cuisine!

This weekend was the restaurant’s opening, and we happened upon it on opening night. While the place hasn’t fully gotten its act together yet, I happen to think that the food itself was very good Dominican/Puerto Rican/Cuban fare, in particular when focusing on the items the restaurant excels at, such as Fried Pork (Chicharron), Roast Chicken and Roast Pork (Pernil) as well as the signature 7-meat Sanchocho soup flavored with Recaito (sofrito without tomatoes).

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.

Estas Listo para some serious Comida Latina? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry link” below por mas!

Who says Latinos only eat carbs?

My Brooklyn homegirl Daisy Martinez prepares some nice Latino salads on the CW11. Click on the photo to view the video.

Steak Boriqua

Nothing, and I mean nothing, satisfies a man’s appetite like a good steak. But one of the problems of trying to lose weight is learning that “a good steak” is also by definition, high in fat content and also high in cholesterol. So what do you do? Well, one option is to go for the cuts of meat that are the lowest in fat content, such as Flank or London Broil. However, both of these cuts really need serious marination and flavor boost. I can think of no better preparation for these versatile economy cuts than to employ a few tricks from the Latino community. Specifically, the Puerto Ricans, or as they like to call themselves, La Comunidad Boriqua.

Adobo Marinated Flank Steak with “Boriqua Slaw” and Arroz con Gandules, yellow rice with pigeon peas.

Want to learn how to make steak the Boriqua Way? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.