Having moved to NYC from LA, I’ve had my fair share of Mexican food. I’ve tried Puerto Rican, Ecuadorian, Peruvian, Guatemalan and even food from El Salvador.

But until today, I had never tasted Dominican food. Knowing there is a substantial Dominican population here, I knew I wanted to give it a shot.

I had been wandering around the Cloisters museum and knew that the Little Dominican Republic neighborhood in Washington Heights was nearby. Malecon is known as one of the top Dominican eateries, so I chose that as my first foray into the cuisine.

Looking over the menu, it appeared to be an exact replica of a menu from Puerto Rico. Mofongo’s aplenty (mounds of mashed yucca or plantains filled with meat or seafood) and tons of rice and seafood dishes.

I started with a pretty terrible empanada. I’ve had some pretty incredible empanadas in my time. And a few average ones. But never a terrible one. Until today. Yay! I guess. The thing was fried within an inch of it’s life, contained barely any filling and managed to be both dry and greasy.

The star of the show here is the rotisserie chicken. It’s AMAZING!! Sorry, I can’t think of any other creative words. For $6 bucks, you get a juicy and flavorful half chicken that will fulfill all your dirtiest chicken related fantasies.

The chicken will come with a tiny container of green hot sauce. You will want to conserve this and make sure each bite has a little bit of sauce. The chicken is wonderful without it, but even more wonderful with.

The very large side of fried sweet plantains was just that. Very large. Too large. Plantains are good for a bite or two. Then, they become too much.

The servers tend to only speak Spanish but as long as you have a finger, you can point at what you want on the menu. I know just enough Spanish to get by and Google Translate helped with “Can I take this mound of fried plantains that I really don’t want and should have never ordered, to go?”

4141 Broadway
New York, NY 10033
b/t 175th St & 176th St
Washington Heights
(212) 927-3812
maleconrestaurants.com

Empanada de Carnes – Meat Empanada – $1.50

Maduros – Fried Sweet Plantains – $4.50

Medio Pollo – Half Chicken, Malecon Style – $6.00

THE CLOISTERS MUSEUM

The Cloisters is a museum (part of the Met family) that focuses on Medieval art and it’s pretty freakin’ breathtaking. Instead of just a bunch of boring paintings hung on the wall, the Cloisters is a collection of recreated historic medieval interiors, each room is like walking into a different medieval church. (Say Medieval again). The museum also features some pretty cool and creepy statuary, especially who I can only assume is Jesus on the cross below. I can’t say for sure, as I am allergic to reading those information placards. Definitely worth checking out, especially if you’ve got some visiting Goth’s with ADD in town.