At the Table newsletter: My favorite Caribbean lunch. Labor Day eats. Plus tacos!
My favorite Caribbean lunch. Labor Day eats. Plus tacos!
I stand in awe of air-fryer devotees. I see them on Instagram, popping everything from fries to broccoli florets into their mod contraptions. Look at those crispy fries and beautiful broccoli, so much decadence and health at once!
I’m mostly in awe of the devotion to a gadget that upsets the homey kitchen aesthetic. Like their cousin the Instant Pot, those dome-shaped air-fryers don’t lure you with heady aromas, not the way a roasting pan might. Some newfangled kitchen tools snap you out of the poetry of cooking.
Then again, this comes from a home cook whose go-to kitchen utensils are stainless steel tongs and the carved-wood pilón (mortar and pestle) I use for pounding sofrito.
Recently, I spoke to several local chefs about their most trusty utensils. It was lovely to learn how some of these tools brought the chefs memories and luck, apart from efficiency. Indie pastry chef Anna Ross adores a particularly efficient tool that turns her into the Edward Scissorhands of dough. Corporate chef Lisabet Summa most often reaches for a new gadget with an old soul. You can read about their and other chefs’ favorites in this story.
Best thing I had for lunch
When at La Casa del Mofongo, order the mofongo. Of course, one can’t avoid the namesake dish here – which is a good thing. The menu at this busy, Dominican-owned restaurant is all about Puerto Rican-inspired mofongo, that earthy mash of fried green plantains, crispy pork rinds, garlic and seasonings.
There are no fewer than two dozen mofongo dishes on the menu at the South Dixie Highway eatery in West Palm Beach. There’s a mofongo mound that’s served with fried pork chunks, mofongo that's stuffed with garlic chicken, smaller mofongo orbs accompanied by steak, shrimp and/or fish. There’s even the “Hamburfongo,” a burger patty between mashed plantain patties.
But the revelation to me was the mofongo served with chicharrón de pollo, deep-fried, on-the-bone chicken chunks ($13.99). There’s no breading on these meaty pieces, but they’re crispy outside, tender and juicy inside.
Portions are generous here. The mofongo mound on the side was so large it could have served two as a side dish. But if you’re a mofongo novice, maybe try a dish with more sauce – the dense plantain mash benefits from a bit more salsita.
Service here is as superb as the food. Our server thought of everything, from the lime slices to that quintessential Puerto Rican pink sauce.
“And here’s your mayoketchup!” she said, placing the squeeze bottle of pink dressing next to our salads. I had forgotten how addictive it can be on cucumbers and tomatoes.
We wrapped up lunch with a touch of country – café colao, rich coffee brewed through a cloth mesh strainer ($6.99, serves two to three). As everything at La Casa del Mofongo, coffee was served with plenty of flair. The cloth filter is hung from a rustic wooden stand and tray that holds the ground coffee, sugar, demitasse spoons, a small pitcher of boiling water, a mini nutmeg grater and enamel camping-style mugs.
Scoop the coffee into the cloth filter, pour the hot water, and watch it brew into a large tin cup. Stir in the sugar, sip and, before you return to your workday, daydream of the island countryside.
6108 S. Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach, 561-557-5367; open daily at 11 a.m.
Labor Day BBQ
Here’s a farm-to-table barbecue happening to put on your weekend list: the “BBQ on Fern” cookout at Fern Street Wine Bar and Kitchen in downtown West Palm Beach.
What’s notable about this event is that the meats are raised and harvested at the restaurant’s own farm, Rancher’s Reserve in Okeechobee. The farm raises Japanese red Wagyu (Akaushi) cattle and Berkshire pigs on a non-GMO grain diet.
“We are proud to be able to provide great quality cuts straight from the source for our guests to enjoy,” Fern Street co-owner Nick Scalisi said via a restaurant release.
Those cuts will be among the weekend’s smoked specials, which include Akaushi barbecue pulled beef, Akaushi brisket and Duroc baby back ribs.
Fern Street will offer the barbecue specials today through Sunday. They’ll be served during Sunday brunch as well. (501 Fern St., West Palm Beach, 561-328-9745)
Want to explore your ‘cue options this weekend? This 2021 list of favorite local barbecue spots still holds true.
And there’s a newcomer to the local barbecue scene: a Brooklyn concept that recently opened in West Palm Beach.
Did we miss your favorite? Email me at lbalmaseda@pbpost.com and let me know!
Something to taco-bout
Avocado Cantina in Palm Beach Gardens has rolled out some dinner-time Taco Tuesday specials to note: $4 tacos, $6 Mexican wine and $8 house margaritas.
Specialty tacos include a pork belly taco served with pineapple pico de gallo and a grilled fish taco served with ají amarillo aioli.
Add to that live music by the Mojito Latin Band from 6 to 9 p.m. and you’ve got a weeknight party.
11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Ave., at Downtown Palm Beach Gardens plaza, 561-766-2430
Food fest tickets, like hotcakes
Tickets are selling quickly for this year’s Palm Beach Food and Wine Festival, which runs from Dec. 8 through Dec. 11. Just days after the fest opened ticket sales, nearly half of the events have sold out, director David Sabin tells me.
There are plenty of sit-down dining and walk-around grazing events still available, but there’s a good chance most of those will be sold out soon if previous years and present interest are any indication. PBFoodWineFest.com.
Discount dining
Flavor Palm Beach has arrived, so has the Downtown Delray Beach Restaurant Month promotion. What it means for you is options, scores of nicely priced menus and other dining deals.
Here are the Flavor menus that have caught our eye this year.
Here are some standout deals we found in Downtown Delray.
Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Newsletter: My favorite Caribbean lunch. Labor Day BBQ. Plus tacos!
