Friday July 6th: Monfongo

In the rugged streets of  Harlem,  you will find a variety eateries on every corner.  Since New York is the birthplace of cultural infusion, finding something appealing to the taste buds isn’t that hard. 

            Today, I was in the mood for some Puerto Rican cuisine.  When the Reid Group and I first arrived to New York, Briana Scott found this tiny hole in the wall, Puerto Rican place on 125^th and Amsterdam that sold fresh and delicious seafood.  She constantly bragged about how mouth-watering the food was. She ordered salmon and steamed vegetables. Right away, I wanted to find that restaurant and place my order. Seafood is my favorite thing to eat, so from the moment she mentioned the fresh fish, I was hooked. Sadly, Briana didn’t remember the name of the restaurant. The feeling of not having a clue of not having any information on this place, tortured me.  But I didn’t give up easily, because deep down I was still determined to find it. I asked around the neighborhood, City Tower’s residents and local businesses.  Everyone had no idea of what I was talking about so I resorted to Google and typed in the search domain, “Fresh Puerto Rican Restaurants” and still no luck. 

            At this point, I decided I was going to walk around 125^th and Amsterdam until I found it.  Around 10 minutes later, I stumbled across this restaurant called Seafood Boca Chica. It was located between a liquor store and barbershop and from the outside I could tell it was very small. I opened the glass door, and on the left side was covered a buffet filled with Puerto Rican dishes. Also in a chilled glass display was different kinds of seafood, from fresh tilapia, salmon, shrimp and many more. Although everything sounded so good, the item that really caught my eye was traditional Puerto Rican item called, Monfongo. Monfongo, is fried plantains, garlic, seasoning, and topped with any choice of fried meat. Actually, I never had it before but saw if for the first time on the Food Network Channel, Guy Fieri’s Diners, Dine-in and Dives episode in San Antonio.  Watching the makings of this dish had me craving for Monfongo for several months, so when I notice that Seafood Boca Chica had it on their menu, excited me even more.

✌ ❤☺-Demeshia Jackson