I will be going to NY in Sept. We will be in the theatre district most likely or maybe Greenwich. I am originally from the S.F. Bay Area, and now feel like the only Puerto Rican in Denver. I miss the food, and want to know the best place to eat home style Puerto Rican food. My mouth is watering for arroz y gandules and all that good stuff. Thanks in advance.

El Deportivo
701 Ninth Ave
212-757-0819

LaFonda Broicua
169 E. 106th St
212-410-7292

not necessarily midtown...but Puerto Rican restaurants.

Zagat's lists two:

La Taza de Oro, 96 Eighth Ave. (14th-15th Sts.), 212-243-9946 -- "Chelsea's legendary Puerto Rican...is the place for awesome, cheap grub. It ain't pretty, but the natives know authentic, and they're here."

Old San Juan, 765 Ninth Ave. (51st-52nd Sts.) 212-262-6761 -- "Authentic Argentinian and Puerto Rican that's almost as good as mi madre's. Easy on the wallet but decor needs updating."

They both have a 19 food rating, which is pretty good. And, Old San Juan's close enough to the theater district. La Taza is in Chelsea.

I can't believe you've been away from such great comfort food for so long. You need to be in New York!

Thanks Betty, I think you are the Betty who knows EVERYTHING on this site. I am that person in Denver. If you ever come to Colorado, let me know whats on your mind.

By the way, I beg my family to FedEx me Puerto Rican food. Not the same as sharing it with loved ones, after you all cooked it together.

Thanks for the kind words, but I'm sure I'm far from knowing everything... it's just that I do love good food. I grew up on the lower east side, when "comfort" food meant my friends' Moms' home cooking (my Mom was a terrible cook!). We were a true melting pot, so I grew up with lots of Puerto Rican cooking, as well as Caribbean and Cuban, Southern, Italian and Chinese. Only the best, and no restaurant can match any of it! We even grew up sucking on pure sugar canes for candy. You can't even find that stuff any more.

One of my dear friends just returned last week from visiting her Mom in Puerto Rico, and tormented me with tales of her Mom's bacala, etc. I keep telling her to WRITE THE STUFF DOWN!!!

I just can't believe a nice Puerto Rican girl has found herself in Denver. Comfort food never be the same by Fedex, unless your family Fedexes the recipes. But then, how could you ever find the ingredients in Denver?

You really need a pilgrimage, Rita!

I cannot wait Betty! You grew up like I did, but in CA. My Mom was an okay cook, she did it because she had too. I love to cook. I am the oldest, and guess it is good that job fell to me as I got older. I am a Mexerican. Mom, Mexican, and Father, Puerto Rican. Divorced. My Mom's best friend Diana is Puerto Rican Hawaiian, and the best cook in the world. Our families were always around each other. Growing up, we moved alot, but the Bay Area is a United Nations like NY. You never knew what you were going to eat when invited to someones house.

The last house we lived in, on one block we had Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Filipinos, Germans, East Indian, and Dutch Indonesian. The later is my second favorite food!

I did go to my first Puerto Rican Festival in Denver this summer. Not to much of a festival. More of a huge family picnic, and I did not have family to share it with. A friend of mine who had lived in Puerto Rico said he felt the same way.

What was funny though was as I would walk around I felt this total familiarity and whenever another woman caught my eye it was like we had this special smile for each other like "oh, another P.R. girl like me!". That made for a good memory. I did find out there is a Puerto Rican Club, and will check it out. Cause more than the food, I love to dance Salsa! There are some good places to dance here. I hope they stay in business.

Keep up the good work. You all do a great job. Starting to see more of who's who as I surf. This site is the most fun, and I am learning a lot for my trip in September.

Rita, stay in touch, maybe we can schedule a comfort food fest when you're in NY. I'll drag my friend and her sons to join and we can all try out one of those restaurants.

Where in the Bay Area are you? I lived in the East Bay and SF in the late '60s / early '70s, and I'm back and forth there fairly frequently. Going to the East Bay end of this month, in fact.

Take care.

Betty, you sound like you can be my sister! I am famous for taking people under my wing. I once met a Japanese man while at the Botanic Gardens. He asked me where to go for lunch. I gave him a personal tour of Denver, along with enjoying a wonderful lunch with him. We wrote back and forth often for a long time. I saw him on my next trip to Japan.

I was born in S.F., but lived most of my life in Oakland, then Napa, San Leandro and Hayward. Have been in Denver almost 25 years. It is a great place to live. It is becoming more diverse by the minute and there is so much to do here.

We host students who come to learn English. Mostly business people. I have a 16 yr old boy from Japan now. He has to start high school in Columbus next month. Poor thing is not to happy about being uprooted, but at least he can play soccer everyday within walking distance.

I will keep in touch, and thanks very much for being so thoughtful. My work day has been slow this week, and I have spent a LOT of time on this site!

Where in the East Bay are you going?

I'm going out for my best friend's big birthday. She lives in Castro Valley, but we're going to surprise her so I won't be staying there. She thinks no one's coming out, so she and her husband are going up to Tahoe for a birthday dinner, then we'll pull the surprise up there. Should be lots of fun if I can manage the 4-hour drive up to Tahoe -- it's been years since I've driven, and I was never good anyway. Should be some adventure. On the way back I'll stay with my step brother in SF for a couple of days. There's a wonderful little Mexican restaurant near him that serves fresh crabmeat enchiladas with mole sauce! (I know you'll understand a food craving!)

I love that you "adopt" people, I do it all the time! That's part of what I like so much about Big Apple Greeter. Have you visited our web site? It's a wonderful program, sounds like it'd be right up your alley to get a program like this started in Denver.

"Talk" to you soon... enjoy your weekend!

I am sure you have your ticket already, otherwise I would say fly into Reno or Sacramento. Sac is a nice little airport.

The drive should be fine, as the highway is much improved over the years. The hardest part would be if you were driving up on a Friday, and that is because EVERYONE from the Bay is driving up that way on Friday.

Housing is so expensive in the Bay, that a lot of people live in the Bay with friends and family Mon - Fri, and then go home to the house they can afford to buy on Friday night. Then of course there is the traffic for those who are going "up the hill" to gamble or just enjoy the shore. So actually since everyone is going slow, that could be the better drive for you!

When you go visit S.F., a great food experiance would be Timo's at 842 Valencia. Go to their website (timos.com) it is cool, especially the story of Gato. My cousin Theresa was married to Timo (Carlos Correador), but I never made it to the restaurant while she was alive. While we were very close as children, she became distant as an adult. This will be a real food experiance for you. Spanish food at it's best. They also have Flamenco dancers once a week.

My family in CA just spent the 4th of July in Tahoe. They had a blast. Wish I had been there, but my "son" Bruno from Rio was in town and is with us until he starts his Masters program at Georgetown. Bruno lived with us a year. He leaves tomorrow , but I will see him when I am in D.C. in Sept.

Have a great time on your trip. We had the same kind of surprise for my friends big birthday in San Diego. She was clueless, and we had a great party.

Barbeque tonight at my house, my best Puerto Rican dish - Pernil! Mmmm can't wait. Wish you could stop by!

Betty I forgot, I have actually wondered how Big Apple Greeters originally started. I know it is non-profit, and one of the Presidents of a burrough started it, but I was wondering about the nuts and bolts.

I was a neighborhood activist for over 15 years, but am on hold while my kids are in High School. Last year and this upcoming year I am President of the PTA. Wish I could be there full time. I would love to be a stay at home Mom at this point in their life. Much more important than the younger years. Anyway, I could start the wheels in the meantime if I had an idea of where to start. I could do a presentation for the umbrella org. of all our neighborhood associations.

Rita, what is Puerto Rican food like?
I don't know what sort of thing is classified as Puerto Rican food.