Traveling beyond our borders gives us a chance to taste the culture of a foreign land. Whenever I travel, I want to explore new tastes and get inside the gastronomy of a place I haven’t been before, to discover flavor combos that don’t taste like home.
Cuisine obviously is shaped by the ingredients that are available locally, but it also reflects elements of national character and all the myriad influences that shape a culture. Warmer climates, for instance, are usually more relaxed and have a slower pace. The same is usually true of population density — urban (fast) vs. rural (leisurely). These characteristics are reflected in what and how we eat and drink. One of the more interesting collisions of cultures is found in the Caribbean, which is full of African influences — especially in music, dance and, of course, the food we happily devour.
Like many clueless non-Latinos, my first exposure to Puerto Rico came via West Side Story. Just where was this “lovely island ... of tropical breezes” with “pineapples growing” and “coffee blossoms blowing”? Did they really lack “a road you can drive on”? Or clothes “to keep clean”? In any case, it certainly seemed exotic. And the embodiment of that fiery spirit to a young mind was Broadway star, Chita Rivera.
I couldn’t help but think of Chita when eating Susan Gonzalez’s “authentic Latin” food based on family recipes. Tia’s Puerto Rican, Cuban and Caribbean dishes are those she learned as a little girl in her grandmother’s Puerto Rican kitchen — and those she taught her son and fellow chef, Gabriel. They are, without exception, full of spicy goodness. Chita would be proud, and my trek to explore new flavors is considerably shortened.
Even though the small storefront is only open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday (with takeout only after 5), they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and have developed quite a following. So much so that they’re the #1 Largo restaurant of 230 listed on TripAdvisor.com.
As you enter the narrow space in the middle of a row of shops, you notice a line of small booths along a bright red wall opposite a piece of corrugated metal. The shiny undulating sheet wraps around the counter where they do food prep, under a shelf festooned with a couple of giant cowbells. To the right is a steam table where the items that are not made to order wait to delight your taste buds.
And delight you they do. The proteins are all delicious. You can choose from a baked quarter chicken rubbed with a medley of Caribbean spices, pork shoulder (pernil al horno) slow roasted in garlic and peppery mojo seasonings, spicy browned ground beef picadillo, or shrimp or tilapia seasoned to taste. The chicken is the mildest, but still bursting with flavor and falling off the bone. The pork and beef are succulent, complex affairs that dance on your tongue. And the shrimp (our seafood choice) really pop; they are not for the faint of heart.
Each entree comes with a choice of two sides. There’s white (why) or yellow (yes) rice, comforting red and/or black beans, chunks of sweet soft fried plantains, and tostones. The tostones are fried flat pancake-like discs made from green plantains that are the one item I just don’t get. For me, they harbor absolutely no appeal — especially when compared with their scrumptious riper sibling. The mixed veggies appear to be a frozen medley, but no matter, meat is the star here. I love each one, and when you consider value for money, you get a great return for a modest investment. It’s good old homestyle cooking that you can imagine picking up on a side street on a Caribbean isle (or, luckily for us, in a shopping strip just off a busy thoroughfare).
The beverages are also quite interesting. Malta India is a carbonated non-alcoholic drink brewed & bottled in Mayaguez, PR from barley malt with cane sugar, refined corn grits, and hops. It looks like Guinness but tastes like molasses soda pop. Then there’s the fruity Good O brand Kola Champagne Soda (it’s similar on the palate to Irn-Bru from Scotland if you’ve ever had the chance to check that out), which smells just like Juicy Fruit gum. You might also like Jupiña, a pineapple soda made in Miami, or CoCo Rico coconut soda, which has been made in San Juan since 1935. They’re a far cry from Coke or Pepsi and well worth exploring. I can even see making a cocktail with a little Bacardi. You can mix and match and have a ball.
While Tia’s is indeed bare-bones, the goal is not finesse but the simple delivery of a taste of home. And believe me, these “authentic Latin” flavors pop just as enticingly as Chita Rivera’s dancing hips.