"Westside Coffee Shop is Tribeca’s best kept secret. The all-red Dominican diner on a quiet stretch of Church Street serves up some of the neighborhood’s best food—at a fraction of the price of the tweezery tasting menus and fancy steakhouses the area is known for. We like the pernil with its big slabs of dark, shiny skin, and the comfortingly simple yellow rice and red beans. Grab a chrome stool at the counter next to someone who’s deeply focused on their steamy bowl of carne de res guisado, or a table next to a group of friends who are 11 Coronas deep at 5pm on a Monday. Or get a big bag of takeout, and lug it home as quickly as possible. photo credit: Alex Staniloff photo credit: Alex Staniloff photo credit: Alex Staniloff photo credit: Alex Staniloff Food Rundown photo credit: Alex Staniloff Pernil This is a must. The pork is tender, the skin is thick and fatty and chocolate brown. Whenever it gets too rich, have a bite of rice and beans as a palate cleanser. Rice and Beans The beans are soft and saucy, the yellow rice golden and deceptively savory. A spoonful of this and you might consider taking the next spoonful outside, and feeding it to some stranger on the street. photo credit: Alex Staniloff Chicken Mofongo Soft chunks of plantain interlaced with shreds of chicken. A truly beautiful friendship. Always order the mofongo. It’s dense and deeply flavorful." - Willa Moore
