MIAMI-DADE ROUNDUP

Zesty tastes of Puerto Rico are worth searching for

By ENRIQUE FERNANDEZ

efernandez@MiamiHerald.com

NURI VALLBONA / MIAMI HERALD STAFF

Angel and Millie Rosa serve Puerto Rican home cooking.

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Mofongo! It sounds like a battle cry.

Actually, it's a word of African pedigree for a classic Puerto Rican preparation of mashed green plantains with garlic and pork crackling. Like many dishes from La Isla, as its children call it, mofongo has much in common with classics from Cuba (fufú) and the Dominican Republic (mangú).

If Cuban dishes can be faulted for being a bit bland, Puerto Rico's are zesty, with the criollo taste kicked up by the enthusiastic use of cilantro and culantro, as well as the mildly peppy chile called ají dulce.

OLD SAN JUAN

At Miami's veteran Puerto Rican outpost, Old San Juan, the asopao (literally ''soupy'') offers flavors similar to a Cuban arroz con pollo, but much wetter. Like Cuban and Spanish rices (arroces), asopao can be made with a variety of proteins. I ordered the lobster asopao, the king of the heap, and it was deliciously flavored, even if the lobster was overcooked. (Caribbean cooks don't always have a light hand with seafood.)

The mofongo tasted fine, but was a bit dry, even with spoonfuls of the mandatory side cup of broth, and the crackling tasted like bacon.

The cuajito -- pork tripe -- had been recommended to me, so I tried it on another visit. The lunch buffet also offered the beef kind, mondongo. Both were good but the cuajito, which I had not tasted before, was silky. I admit, however, that tripe is not everyone's favorite dish, even if it's mine.

I had thought of trying the conch, either on mofongo or asopao, and the waitress was kind enough to bring me a small tasting before I decided. It was flavorful -- in a marinade, like a ceviche -- but a bit tough, unlike the fresh conch I enjoyed in Vieques, an island off Puerto Rico.

• Old San Juan Restaurant, 1200 SW 57th Ave., West Miami; 305-263-9911, oldsanjuanmiami.com; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, noon-9 p.m. Sunday. Dinner entrees $10.95-$34. Beer and wine. Free parking.

BENNY'S

Both the mofongo and conch at Benny's Seafood were much better. The mofongo, a house specialty served in a pilón (wooden mortar), was appropriately soft, and the crackling was just that, crackling -- good chicharrón. The fish broth for moistening the mofongo tasted house-made, and the whole thing was topped with tender conch in a salsa criolla of tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers.

The fritters -- outsourced at our other stops -- are also house-made. However, a plate of surrullitos -- fried corn sticks -- was disappointing, possibly because I was comparing them to the sumptuous ones I've had in La Isla.

Still, I was heartened enough by the mofongo and conch to plan a return sometime soon to sample salmorejo de jueyes, a saucy crab dish not unlike Cuban cangrejo enchilado, which is one of the glories of the Puerto Rican menu.

I skipped dessert, but the Caribbean sweet tooth still got the better of me. Along with my very good espresso, (Yaucono, a Puerto Rican brand not found in supermarkets) came a complimentary thimbleful of coquito (Puerto Rican eggnog) that nearly sent me into insulin shock. This is not a criticism, merely an acknowledgement that I've been away from the Caribbean too long.

• Benny's Seafood Restaurant, 2500 SW 107th Ave., Miami; 305-227-1232; noon-9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Dinner entrees $7.95-$23. Beer and wine. Free parking.

EL COQUI TAINO

No mofongo or asopaos at El Coquí Taino. Instead, it's the specials of the day and nothing else -- except fritters, an authentic rendition brought frozen from the island.

The first time I went there was bacalao guisado (salt cod stew), and it was noticeably finer than anything I've tasted at Cuban restaurants. This Puerto Rican version relied more on pimientos than tomatoes for flavor -- not far from a similar Basque dish that is made with mild red chiles.

Named for Puerto Rico's emblematic little frog, El Coquí is a modest mom and pop. Its proximity to North Miami's recording studios means that major stars, from veteran popster José Feliciano to younger artists like Ricky Martin and Daddy Yankee, drop in for their Puerto Rican fix. I'm sure they're not disappointed. This is true Puerto Rican home cooking.

Red beans were cooked down to sweetness. Pork chunks looked dry, but were juicy beneath the crunchy crust. A simple beef stew was addictive, as was the similarly basic chicken fricassee. And the cuajito was not only silky and tender, but came in a rich broth, not the commonplace tomato sauce that is overused at criollo restaurants.

I ordered a mere cupful of cuajito, meaning to have just a taste. I ate it all. Just as I had finished my mofongo at Benny's and my asopao at Old San Juan. There is something about Puerto Rican food that is hard not only to resist but to resist finishing.

I remembered how the great salsa pianist Charlie Palmieri had asked his equally gifted brother Eddie to take over his band in Puerto Rico so Charlie could move to New York. He was under doctor's orders to watch his diet, and Charlie simply could not keep himself from overeating in La Isla.

Puerto Rico is a culture of sensual pleasures. They might kill you, but in the process they will thrill you.

• El Coquí Taino, 1617 NE 123rd St., North Miami; 305-892-3719; 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Entrees $5.95-$7.95. Beer and wine. Free parking.