In Providence, R.I., a taste of the Dominican Republic

I've been meaning to post a link to a great food story my colleague, Philip Marcelo, reported in May about the Latin street food scene on Providence's West Side, a growing phenomenon that reflects the city's growing Latino population and the growing demand for cheap eats during the recession.

"Broad Street is also where many of the city’s 'chimi' trucks –– the converted trailer homes and ice-cream trucks serving cheap fried eats, like Perez's –– have made a home. Around dinnertime, anywhere from 10 to 15 of them are lined up along Broad Street, in the few blocks around the nightclubs and bars. It's especially noticeable as the weekend approaches and the weather gets warmer."

The food trucks, with august and boastful names like Con Sabor a Pueblo, La Universidad de Chimi, Johnny's Chimi, and La Casa de Chimi, all serve chimichurri, "a sandwich of seasoned beef, pork or chicken packed with fresh tomatoes and coleslaw on a toasted roll that is a fast-food staple from the Dominican Republic," Marcelo reports. "There's also frituras (morsels of salty fried meats), longaniza (sausage), pastelitos (empanadas), pinchos (kebobs), yuquitas and tostones, not to mention the standard-fare French fries and sugary fruit drinks. Here, five bucks goes a long way."

Read the full story here.

Photo by Ruben W. Perez for The Providence Journal.

Chayote empanadas

Mostly as an excuse to go to C-Town, the famous Latin grocery in Pawtucket, R.I., we decided to cook up some empanadas, turnovers with a savory filling that resemble the Indian samosa. Though Providence, R.I. has become super Latino in recent years, none of the local supermarkets carry empanada shells. (Surprisingly, even at C-Town, the only shells available were frozen.) For the fillings, we chose canned corn-shredded cheese-sauteed onions and roasted chayotes-roasted eggplant.


For an appetizer, we had Mexican tostada casera from Charras ("El Real Sabor Mexicano") and queso blanco from Wisconsin. Our friend Paco from Buenos Aires brought over a bottle of 2006 Trapiche Broquel Malbec.

C-Town's motto: "El Gigante de Pawtucket!"

Colombian grub in Central Falls, R.I.

Opened in 1976, the Colombian restaurant El Paisa is perhaps the most highly regarded of an impressive string of Latin American restaurants in Central Falls, R.I. that includes Taqueria Lupita. That's no small accomplishment. This tiny city north of Providence is about 60 percent Latino, and most "For Rent" and retail signs do not bother with English translations. (Listen here to an NPR report about the city's Latino community.) On El Paisa's detailed Web site, a map appears to locate the Dexter Street restaurant somewhere south of Panama.


Sancocho de carne de res, a traditional beef and potato soup. Mondongo, a tripe soup, is also on the menu.


Picada de chorizo, chicharrón, yuca frita and papa criolla, an appetizer platter with Colombian sausage, fried pork rinds, potatoes and cassava fries.


The massive Colombian platter, known as the bandeja Colombiana, includes lean steak, fried pork, roasted plantain, boiled yucca and potato, white rice, red beans and a salad with beats. It's served on two plates.




As always, I did not shoot the best photos above. For that, you have WBRU's Vilay Senthep (above) to thank. At least on the night we visited, Vilay was more talented than the cooks. The sancocho was luke warm, for example, and you can probably tell that many of the dishes, including the empanadas, were overcooked. But it was a Tuesday night, after all, so perhaps El Paisa saves its A-Game for the weekend.

Bonus: Click here to watch a choppy video of Hillary Clinton visiting El Paisa during the Democratic primaries.