Albert's Mofongo - New York

Mofongo used to be one of those dishes I had only once every couple of years—always delicious, but not something I thought about regularly. That all changed after my second trip to Puerto Rico, the birthplace of mofongo, where I got to enjoy three different and intriguing variations of the dish.

The food was delicious, and the waitstaff was friendly. Our meals arrived promptly. The only downside was the difficulty in finding parking, but overall, we had a wonderful experience and would certainly return.

Yesterday, a friend of my spouse and I had dinner at Albert's, which shares both its kitchen and chef with IFH. My friend chose chivo guisado (stewed goat), served with steamed yuca and onions, alongside rice and pink beans. She also ordered a piña colada. I opted for a mojito and the puerquito asado (braised pork shank), which came with a small green salad and mashed sweet plantains. For my spouse to take home, I got rabo guisado (stewed oxtails) and moro. Moro refers to moros y cristianos, which is a dish of rice and black beans. In Dominican cuisine, other beans like gandules (pigeon peas) can be used, and in this case, it was. Everyone enjoyed their meals. The puerquito was massive, but I managed to finish it at the restaurant. It was incredibly tender, and the skin was exceptionally crispy. My friend took home leftovers along with pollo a la brasa, and my wife had her share left over at home. The portions are generous, which makes sense given the prices are higher than most typical Caribbean restaurants.

Seafood Cocktail to die for!!!!!!!!. The first time I ate here, I had a mofongo and it was great! But their menu has such a wide variety of other foods, I've been going back and trying new things every time!!<br/ <br/ A friend recommended I try their seafood cocktail and it was delicious. Can you say FRESH crab??? Not imitation!! Seriously, if you like seafood you have to try their seafood cocktail. Heavenlyyy!!!<br/ <br/ My friend ordered their steak and it's an actual premium great quality cut of meat for almost 1/2 the price you'd get at a fancy steakhouse...<br/ <br/ and I can't forget the free pina colada they give you right when you sit down..<br/ <br/ I didn't eat outside on the patio this time, but it is really worth mentioning. It's such a relaxing place to eat--kinda gives you the feeling of escaping the city. There's this huge tree in the middle that gives it an oasis-type vibe. Another bonus-you can't hear the bustling noise of the outside traffic, etc AT ALL.<br/ <br/ Best Dominican food, hands down.

I’ve had lunch here three times, and each experience was the same. They seem to serve leftovers as their lunch special. The food was excessively salty, particularly the Pollo Guisado. The waitstaff served me meals that were more like lunch portions but charged me full price. This isn’t authentic Dominican cuisine. Be sure to ask for prices before you order, as they tend to overcharge. Even though the owner was there, they didn’t seem to care about the poor quality of the food.