Hudson Heights, Broadway at 184th Street

Mary Sargent © 2009 ….. click to enlarge

When I saw the El Conde Steak House, I couldn't help thinking of the pork and beans and rice I had at their other location. I was hungry. I stood on the corner a while thinking about the corn and tomatoes at home that I had bought that morning at the Farmers' Market. But I finally realized I owed it to my readers to go in and get some pork and beans and rice. I would photograph it!

I didn't see pork and beans and rice on the menu, so I settled for pork chunks with fried plantains. Here's a photo.


Mary Sargent © 2009
click to enlarge

Can you see the "pork chunks" are like huge slabs of bacon? Huge, very thick slabs? With more fat than meat? It wasn't smoked, so it wasn't bacon, but other than that they were huge, very thick slabs of bacon. Luckily, I've never lost my taste for fat, so I actually ate 3 of them. The tostones (fried plantains) were good and the lime juice on both was a nice touch. And the Corona came with a frosty glass. Nice.

I copied the Spanish words for what I ate: Chicharron villa mella con tostones. All you Spanish speaking readers are laughing at me, right? Chicharron means (Cracklings) Pieces of fat cooked slowly until lard is rendered out. Lightly salted, may be served as a warm or cold hor d'oeuvre. Or it means Crackles, morsel of fried lard left in the pan. (m). Or it means pig skin according to Ben.

I gotta learn Spanish.


See map.