[ugosanchezo]

Among all the choices from indian restaurants to thai cusine to delicios italian restaurant in canada, if people choose to eat dominican white rice with tasteless watery beans and spiceless pork or chicken (guisado) then I feel the world is coming to an end.
People you must understand one thing, dominican republic is not famous for its delicious local cuisines. No one comes here to eat mondongo.
But good luck anyway.
\AZB

I think some of you have taken his comments out of context. I interpreted what he wrote as an evaluation of Dominican cuisine in terms of the cuisines of other countries.

Let's be honest, the 4 main food groups here are: 1. salt 2. sugar 3. saturated fat 4. carbohydrates. With notable exceptions, overcooked combinations of pork chops, ham, stringy beef, root vegetables and tubers, and rice, are seasoned with the 4 main food groups + bachata or merengue at skull splitting volume and rivers of cold beer...and I LOVE IT!

[WenPyclenoWex]

Ok, I agree, some dominican home cooking is good but its a sin to put some sort of flavor in restaurant food in DR. I eat dominican food everyday but in restaurants. there is this one fat cook who works in this lunch time restaurant, he cooks with passion and invents different exotic dishes. He happens to be a homosexual as well. Does that have something to do with authentic flavoring? I hope he washed his hands before cooking.
So there is good dominican food to be found in DR but mostly in home cooking. In restaurants, its just prepared to fill you up and you leave full but without any flavor to write home about.
I remember eating Arepas in Venezuela, they were flavored mild to hot and served with many different sauces. Ummmm, they were delicious and filling. They are also experts in empanadas of various types.

[Trebbinsa]

For breakfast - trigo, fried salami with lemon juice with tostones or mangu with onions and vinegar.
For hangovers - modongo
For the male customers - attractive waitresses

[Kiariitf]

We are tossing around the idea of opening a Dominican cafe in downtown Calgary. My husband is an amazing cook, and he would partner with another great Dominican chef in town. Calgary's downtown is really booming due to the Oil and Gas industry being on a high, and we are thinking about opening a "lunch-only" cafe catering to the business crowd.

The layout would be pretty close to a Chinese-style fast food place, only we'd be serving Dominican food. There would be about 5 different plates to choose from, an example of one would be: arroz blanco, habichuelas guisado, puerco guisado, and ensalada Dominican-style. We'd also have a daily special, such as pescado con coco on Fridays.

What dishes would you like to see if you could eat Dominican food in your city? We also need a catchy name for the restaurant and are coming up short.

We welcome any suggestions...thanks in advance!

[occalmnab]

Trina:

I owned several biz here in the US and could tell you that the biz that made and still makes more money for me it's in the Restaurant line, and I'm a Dominican!
My last adventure on this field was one name Cafe Rubio in Corona Queens NY, is located at 9805 Northern Blvd, right on the corner of 98th st, the name Cafe Rubio is due in part to the chef and original owner who had contracted me to build the Sport's Bar for him, after a while we became partners and I redesigned and rebuilt the interior to my ideas, when you step into the restaurant you're met by the facades of two Dominican style rural houses, those made with wood and with a tin roof, I built the kitchen inside one of them and the other is just more of a decorating facade than utility, one is blue with red trims and the other pink with white trims, I had planned to built the entire interior as a local street with asphalt and sidewalks but after about a year we decided it was best to part ways, I like to do things certain way he likes the other way, so I called it quits and left, yet we have a good friendship and keep tabs on each other all the time.

To the point: the fact that the restaurant is Dominican and offers many Dominican dishes and others not Dominican at all, isn't a detractor but a plus because 40% of customers are NOT Dominican and do enjoy the food and amusements, in fact Dominican restaurants are known to be very well to do in NY and the US, the fact that you want to open one up is a plus and you won't be soory I can tell you that much...

Go ahead full steam!!!
Break a leg!

[kHy87gPC]

[QUOTE=trina]We are tossing around the idea of opening a Dominican cafe in downtown Calgary.

Good luck with your venture! It would be great to hear you are also serving DR coffee and Presidente beer or Brugal Rum drinks. Your bar sales would be a great addition to your revenue base if you plan on having a cocktail hour fulll of fun and fancy drinks from the island. Also try and sell some Merengue or Bachata music from the bar (purchased form the DR). Get in touch with the local Spanish language schools and have a Spanish night once a week so your patrons can have the oportunity to mix and mingle, learn the language and have fun. Decor will have to be authentic so a show case of faceless dolls, paintings and ceramics from the DR would be starting points in your decor designs. Depending on the size of your location...how about an indoor enclosed sand box for the kids of your patrons. (or if your location is huge how a bout a sandbox big enough to play beach volley ball!Would make a pretty interesting draw for the younger crowd) Just thinking outside the box! Toby

[Sillaycheg]

I totally diagree with ol' AZB's take on DR food. He needs to eat at a higher class household.

Anyway:

Pollo: locrio, con longaniza; chicharrones de pollo; pollo al horno
Moro, black Bean and Chick pea (guandules)
Chulets-fritas or broiled
Tostones a must as well as platanos pasado por paila
Carne mechada
Filete a la Criolla: con muchas cebollas.
Pescado con coco of course.
If you can get yuca there are lots of things to do with it.
Same with batata.

During Lent Habichuelas con dulce (Make sure the ventilation works real good!)

La bandera Dominicana: flash fried meat, white rice, choice of black or red beans, tostones, grated cabbage and green tomato salad w/ vinagrette dressing. If you do it right and the meat is good this could be a killer meal.

Serve Dominican coffee, so strong the spoon will stand up in the cup.

Names:
Not my field but'''';;;;;;

Hummm: Tropical Eats
Kisskeya Kafé
Holiday Food

Villa Trina Café (with photos of the real Villa Trina)

Cal-Caribe Restaurant


You might want to include some of the spicy dishes from jamaica to bring in the folks that have been in the West Indies, mon!

HB

[Kiariitf]

Thanks to all for the awesome responses and ideas. The hunt is on for a good location at a good price, I will keep you all informed!

[nemoforone]

Empanadas is one thing that is DR to me As a native from Santiago, I have never heard of fish with Coconut. I know quite a few tasty great Dominican cook by my grandmother and mother. Frujoles con dulce with raisens and sweet potatoes. Fish with a onions , pepers, (three kinds)and capers sauce.
Pasta done DR rich sauce, onions garlic, butter(oil to keep it from burning)tomatoes paste capers and olivesand covered with Romano cheese. Chulitos, and quipes.

[Kiariitf]

That's another great idea, Bob...I didn't even think of applying for a food stand at the Latino festivals and other food festivals in town! Thanks! If we do get this restaurant going and you ever want to leave the Sunshine Coast to come visit Calgary, you'll have to be our guests!

[Trebbinsa]

I remember a real small place (I think it was called Aida's Quipes) that served quipes - they are Domincan (but I believe of Syrian origin) but I think they could add variety to the menu. I couldn't eat enough of them especially with the sauce that you dip them in.

I had no idea what they were made of but just found this recipe:

http://www.dominicancooking.com/foru...ead/t-451.html

[boizzones]

I really miss the deep fried tropical fish in Maimon, and platanos fritos with the ketchup that has been unrefrigerated for too long at Playa Caleton that keeps you up all night.

lol. Seriously the fish and platanos are the two things I miss the most from the DR.

m

oh yeah, and the fresh avocados/mangos.

m

[Kiariitf]

Where's the Chocolate cake??
Good Luck

You're cute, Eddy! Next time...Angel will probably come and stay with you around Christmas with Angelo, and Dominic, me and the new baby will probably come around March or April. Promise cake this time!

[Kiariitf]

Thanks Chris, HB...I can't believe I started this thread while I'm at work. I'm pregnant, starving, and craving tostones...truth is, I never liked them, but right now, I'm craving them (con cachu, of course!). And habichuelas con dulce...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmnnnnnnnnnnnn...

Great suggestions, all. I love the name suggestions, of course Villa Trina being at the top of the list. But then I'd be taking all the credit, and I don't deserve it. My husband has asked me not to try cooking Dominican food when we have guests coming!

Oh yes, and the coffee, that was already topping our list of "must-haves"...

[Prarnenoexpog]

We are tossing around the idea of opening a Dominican cafe in downtown Calgary. My husband is an amazing cook, and he would partner with another great Dominican chef in town. Calgary's downtown is really booming due to the Oil and Gas industry being on a high, and we are thinking about opening a "lunch-only" cafe catering to the business crowd.

The layout would be pretty close to a Chinese-style fast food place, only we'd be serving Dominican food. There would be about 5 different plates to choose from, an example of one would be: arroz blanco, habichuelas guisado, puerco guisado, and ensalada Dominican-style. We'd also have a daily special, such as pescado con coco on Fridays.

What dishes would you like to see if you could eat Dominican food in your city? We also need a catchy name for the restaurant and are coming up short.

We welcome any suggestions...thanks in advance!

Where's the Chocolate cake??
Good Luck

[WenPyclenoWex]

I thought Arepas were from venezuela. Am I correct?

[SarSerceSaice]

Good Luck. Yris and I made Dominican Food (Arepa, locrio, carne guisado) for an international food fair last July 1st. We sold more than $400 worth at $4 per plate in less than 5 hours. I think like any resturant if you are in the right location, right price and appealing food you will do allright.

[Kiariitf]

Among all the choices from indian restaurants to thai cusine to delicios italian restaurant in canada, if people choose to eat dominican white rice with tasteless watery beans and spiceless pork or chicken (guisado) then I feel the world is coming to an end.
People you must understand one thing, dominican republic is not famous for its delicious local cuisines. No one comes here to eat mondongo.
But good luck anyway.
\AZB

Hey AZB! You obviously haven't had the pleasure of tasting my husband's cooking! Tasteless? Spiceless??? Where exactly have you been eating in the DomRep (oops! caught myself! Almost highly offended some DR1ers)? Each to his own...if I had to eat at an Indian restaurant, that's when the world would be coming to an end!

Thanks for the suggestions, Toby. We'll open small, and if we do well, we'll go bigger. I wish we could serve Presidente or Brugal - at the moment, it's not on Canada's import list - have to cut a lot of red tape to get into that. Hopefully in the future, though!

Thank you also for the great suggestions and good wishes, Forbeca. Keep them coming!!!

[Trebbinsa]

Here in NY/NYC there are many Dominican breakfast/lunch restaurants and I know some do well so I think success could be possible in Canada, also. Some of the places I know mostly have Dominican clientele, but there is 1 in Queens where I used to eat lunch everday whose customers were from all backgrounds - it was tough to find a seat at lunchtime. There was everyone from office types to constructions workers to policemen. So not only Dominicans like Dominican food.

Off the top of my head, I would recommend serving mofongo (you could use everything from chicken to shrimp), pastalon (not sure of spelling but it is like a casserole of ground beef, cheese, and platanos maduros), cubano sandwiches, chivo, mangu, chicharron, potato salad (with eggs), always have aguacates, tostones and platanos maduros, you could have natural juices like chinola and guayaba and batidas, too. For dessert, flan and arroz con leche.

I definitely think an economical Dominican lunch spot could be a success and wish there were more in Midtown Manhattan.

Good luck
(I am getting hungry thinking about it)

[Jimambol]

Among all the choices from indian restaurants to thai cusine to delicios italian restaurant in canada, if people choose to eat dominican white rice with tasteless watery beans and spiceless pork or chicken (guisado) then I feel the world is coming to an end.
People you must understand one thing, dominican republic is not famous for its delicious local cuisines. No one comes here to eat mondongo.
But good luck anyway.
\AZB

AZB, where in God's name do you get this stuff from? Watery beans? Let me tell you something, dominican food is very tasty, I don't know who cooks for you, but perhaps a change is in order, eh?

Now, you know you're one of my favorite posters, but plealse stop this nonsense.

Trina, some favorites are: arroz con pollo, sancocho, pastelon de platanos maduro, potatoe salad, dominican style.

Good luck to you.