4 New Restaurants Bring the Soulful Flavors of Dominican Republic to LA | Eater LA

"Parked just off La Cienega Boulevard a few blocks north of the 10 freeway, I celebrated the first anniversary of chef “Tia” Ilonka Garcia’s Karibbean Cuisine food truck, where her daughter Jasmín helps run a concise, daily-changing menu beloved by the growing Dominican community in Los Angeles. Regulars come for rabo guisado (stewed oxtail) and slow-cooked chicken and beef prepared in a savory blend of onions, sweet peppers, garlic, black pepper, and cilantro, with the oxtails brightened by bay leaf; dishes are best paired with fruit juices like chinola (passion fruit) and guayaba (guava). Plates include a rice of the day (moros de habichuelas or moros de guandules, or rice and beans separately), a scoop of ensalada rusa reddened by beets, sweet plantains, coveted pica pollo (Dominican fried chicken) with tostones, and fritura such as pastelitos (mozzarella-and-cheddar empanadas) and quipes." - Bill Esparza