The Freakin Rican

"Home to some of the best pasteles in the city, The Freakin Rican started as a Puerto Rican food truck, but now has a casual, beachy, brick-and-mortar location in Astoria. Add a plate of mofongo to your order of pasteles, and follow that with some tembleque and a Coco Rico soda. If you feel like trying your hand at some Puerto Rican recipes, The Freaking Rican also sells homemade sofrito, so you don’t have to try to replicate the all-important mix of herbs and spices at home." - marisel salazar, bryan kim

"Chef Derick Lopez runs this Astoria-based ode to the foodways of Puerto Rico. Expect all the usual suspects: alcapurrias, sorullitos, pernil sandwiches and hearty mofongo platters. But the pasteles, which are available for nationwide shipping, play a big role in making this such a special place. For that preparation, Lopez mashes together steamed taro, pumpkin, and plantains — a blend of mildly-flavored roots that let the pork and olives stuffing shine." - Korsha Wilson, Brianne Garrett, Ryan Sutton

"Chicharrones de pollo — a staple of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and a mainstay of New York cuchifrito parlors — easily rank among the top stateside chicken nugget traditions. Derick Lopez, chef at the Freakin Rican in Astoria, Queens, makes a particularly compelling version. He marinates boneless thigh chunks in adobo, paprika, and apple cider vinegar, before frying up the meat in a batter laced with cumin and other spices. The nuggets sport a deep bronzed color and pack a profound crunch. Sprinkle a bit of sazon seasoning over them for extra salt and aroma, or squeeze a bit of lime on top to cut through the fat." - Eater Staff

"What started out as a Puerto Rican food truck is now a brick-and-mortar restaurant found between a laundromat and a pub in Astoria. Derick Lopez, the executive chef/founder, and his husband Victor Vargas say if you’re looking for your abuela’s pasteles (boiled plantains with pork and olives), then you should probably pay them a visit. It may look like a tamale, but these are in fact silkier and contain no corn - they’re super labor-intensive and not widely offered at other restaurants. Add a plate of mofongo to the pasteles, followed by tembleque (a jiggly coconut pudding) and a coco rico soda. And if you feel like trying your hand at some Puerto Rican recipes, The Freaking Rican also sells homemade sofrito so you don’t have to try to replicate the all-important mix of herbs and spices at home." - Marisel Salazar

"Derick Lopez’s fine Puerto Rican restaurant in Astoria remains open for takeout and delivery, serving up nourishing mofogno, heady pernil, tropical fruit shakes, and perhaps most notably, pasteles. Lopez forges the rectangular parcels from a mash of taro, plantain, and pumpkin, and then laces them with stewed pork. They are as green as seaweed and smell of smoke. [Order by phone or on Seamless]" - Ryan Sutton