Las Delicias Colombianans 2 - @@@

I wanted to check out more Latin American food last night and remembered this place looked interesting when going to the Dominican restaurant. Evidently this is a new place and I thought was quite clean so that was a positive right off the bat.

Ordered the bandeja paisa per usual which to refresh is beans, rice, steak, chicharron, egg, maduros, arepa and I added an avocado. The avocado was really good, hadn't had one in a while and mixed well with the rice, egg, and beans. Arepa was again dry and the only item not eaten but that's not just this place. Chicharron was good and was quite tender compared to other places. Fried pork...how can it be bad?? Either I was extra hungry or the beans were better than usual but finished those too. Maduros were good, interesting that they were not sliced in advance. I could take it or leave it - they are always good. The most disappointing was the steak - it was thin and not tender at all. It was marinated I think but I was not thrilled with the cut. I did get another piece of chicharron cause I thought that was quite good and to my surprise it was even meatier and larger than the picture. So back in the good graces

I would definitely go back to this neighborhood restaurant. Can't get any colombian in Michigan let alone with it being freshly cooked/fried. Service was helpful too and spoke fluent English and Spanish. Decor was sparse but was new as well but just coming for the food was good. Would try the thicker cut steak or pot roast next time mixed with some fried pork.

1231 River St
Boston, MA 02136

Rincon Caribeño Restaurant - @@@

I was talking to a friend about mofongo this weekend and I heard "Despacito" when I left work so that pretty much solidified my decision to get some Latin food. Looked this place up on Yelp and noticed it was open to 1am. No problem there

This is a Dominican restaurant as confirmed by the bartender as the waitress literally spoke no English. I wasn't mad at that though and figured it adds authenticity. My remedial spanish was no match for a loud restaurant that seemed to double as a cocktail bar and rapidly speaking Spanish waitress. I did get the order in alright cause I know food and it was translated. Knew I wanted the mofongo and also ordered this "appetizer" plate that basically was a fried item sampler. In short, compared to my mainstay of Carolina in Providence, it wasn't as good. The mofongo was kind of dry and didn't taste the pernil (roast pork) very much. I did have to request a side of mojo (oil, garlic, citrus mixture which is just flavorful and tasty) which added good flavor but not quite as good as Carolina. The fried sampler included chicharron, fried chicken, sausage, fried yuca, fries, and tostones. By the way anyone that thinks tostones are better then maduros is crazy. The chicharron was good - freshly fried and meaty but not that meaty if you count the skin and fat. Fried chicken was alright - typical in that no batter Latin style rather than a Popeyes type skin. Sausage was ok - could go without it. Fries, yuca, tostones were what I would expect.

Overall not bad especially for an actual sit down restaurant with pulsing spanish music going. Definitely not the cafeteria style of other Caribbean places I have been to out east. To me this is in a somewhat wasteland between Dedham and Boston so if you are traveling around south of Boston it is worth a try if you want what seems to be authentic Dominican food. I will probably be back to get some more pork and rice next time.

18 Fairmont Ave
Hyde Park, MA 02136

Gyro & Kabob House - @@@

A big sign right by my hotel had me intrigued every day going home so I made it a point to stop in tonight. This is a family run, authentic place that is just a casual place to get some good (though I have nothing to compare it to) Turkish food.

Now while I can't compare this to other Turkish food, I can roughly equate it to the middle eastern food back in Michigan. Not knowing what to get, I went with the mixed grill which had lots of recognizable items. It had lamb adana, lamb gyro, chicken kabob, lamb kabob, and kafte (Turkish meatballs). The only really new thing to me was the adana which is ground lamb (but not as ground as kafte aka kafta) that is mixed with red peppers and some light glaze. That was my second favorite. The best to me was the gyro meat which was well seasoned. The chicken kabob was good (also glazed-ish) and better than the lamb kabob which I thought was overcooked. Per usual the ground meat kafte was my least favorite but was still very edible. What really surprised me was the bed of bulgur wheat that it was served on. It was slightly red so maybe a hint of tomato but it picked up a bunch of flavor from the meat. Great alternative to rice for me just to throw something different on there. I thought it was really good. The side "shepherds salad" was finely chopped cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and parsley dressed with oil which was ok. The bread was hot and good, more like a naan then pita obviously. Went well with the meat and what I liken a taziki sauce (yogurt, cucumber, garlic). There was also a hot sauce which reminded me of a thinner sambal with the red pepper flakes.

All in all I thought a good meal and introduction to Turkish cuisine. Funny enough I hear Spanish coming from the kitchen; the front end speaks what I believe to be Turkish so authentic nonetheless. Perhaps of my bias, I still prefer the middle eastern in Michigan with the more juicy chicken shwarma, rice with pine nuts, and pure garlic spread. However I would not hesitate to stop by and pick up a gyro dinner over the next few weeks.

1275 Boston Providence Hwy Rt 1
Norwood, MA 02062