Maria D.
Yelp
Friends, romans, countrymen, lend me your ears (eyes): This hole-in-the-wall Dominican restaurant, just a couple of blocks away from the Green Street orange line train station, should be on your list of 'where I can eat [insert ethnicity adjective] food made by real [insert ethnicity pronoun].' This is where you can eat Dominican food made by real Dominicans. You can either sit down or get it for take-out, but this isn't a hybrid type of place in the way other places can be. This is a low-key restaurant with low-key options in a low-key neighborhood.
CELIACS: Most Dominican food is (SOMEWHAT) gluten free. You might have some problem eating here. Dominican cuisine uses a lot of bouillon cubes and they CONTAIN GLUTEN. Please BE SAFE!
****Much-needed disclaimer: This is a ready-to-order Dominican food joint. It is not Mexican. This is *not* a seafood restaurant.
I had a sudden urge to eat Dominican food today, and I wanted something close enough to work that it wouldn't be totally out of my way, but different from where I've been before. The place is in a commercial area of Jamaica Plain, surrounded by barber shops and salons that are reminiscent of my youth in New York City. The nostalgia was killing me. I walked into the restaurant, which can be easy to miss because the sign outside says "Mariscos" (*seafood in Spanish), though seafood is not what they make most (or every day).
I went here because as much as I love Dominican food and as often as I've seen my mother cook it, I have never learned to make pollo guisado, and that is too delicious to just stop eating. I bought the pollo guisado (chicken stew), accompanied by rice and sweet plantains. I took the food to go, so it was a while before I bit into it. First things first, the chicken was good, but it tasted just a tiny bit odd. Some of the pieces were absolutely amazing; other pieces lacked things as basic as color. When I get chicken and rice, I sometimes get the sauce (or gravy-- the 'stew' part of the chicken) and pour it on my rice. No beans-- not today. When I ordered the lady asked me if I wanted 'plátanos maduros' (sweet plantains), I said yes. I don't really like sweet plantains and I haven't eaten one in probably 3 or 4 years, but I was hungry and they looked good. I got a heaping serving of rice, plantains, and chicken for $8 (total). They say it's to serve 2, but I think the portion I got is actually for 4 people. So generous and I don't feel at all cheated!
When I got home (Cambridge), I opened the container and noticed my food was still warm, because it had been freshly cooked when I got it in JP.
The food was delicious, *but* it was not the best Dominican food I've ever had. It was, however, the best Dominican meal I have had in Massachusetts. Step up your game, Massachusetts. It's about time..