4 New Restaurants Bring the Soulful Flavors of Dominican Republic to LA - Eater LA
"Garcia’s regulars come from the growing Dominican community in Los Angeles. The stewed chicken and beef are cooked in a savory blend of onions, sweet peppers, garlic, black pepper, and cilantro. The slow-cooked oxtails get those ingredients as well, plus the heady kick of bay leaf. Garcia offers a rice of the day, which can be moros de habichuelas (beans and rice mixed together), moros de guandules (rice and pigeon peas mixed together), or separate sides of rice and beans dishes. Plates also come with a scoop of ensalada rusa, a Dominican-style potato salad reddened by beets, plus some sweet plantains. Dominicans from all over Los Angeles, as well as some in the community who hail from New York, stop by for coveted pica pollo, Dominican fried chicken with tostones (mashed fried plantains). To round out the menu, Garcia sells pastelitos (empanadas) filled with a blend of mozzarella and cheddar, quipes (fried kibbehs), and other fritura (fried snacks). Garcia also serves the Dominican Republic’s most iconic breakfast, tres golpes, which consists of “three hits”: crispy-edged fried eggs, fried cheese, and sliced fried salami imported from the Dominican Republic. It’s served with mangú, a mash of boiled green plantains garnished with pickled red onions." - Bill Esparza
