Cuban Comfort Food At Rio Cristal
You know you’ve found real Cuban comfort food when your plate is piled high with greasy goodness and the only green comes from a wedge of lime. In Westchester, Rio Cristal has been serving up platters of mariquitas and mojo, bacalao a la vizcaina, masas de puerco, and palomilla steak for over 25 years. The unassuming place offers down home cooking and a relaxed family atmosphere. When I have out of town guests, Rio Cristal always makes the itinerary for its authentic criollo cooking and more than generous portions.
One of my family’s favorite moments at Rio Cristal comes when our unsuspecting guest is served the house specialty — a Rio Cristal palomilla steak and French fries (pictured). You can barely see the steak under all the golden hand-cut fries. Their eyes usually bug out of their heads and hands anxiously pat the paunch, as if checking capacity. After a good laugh, the waiter brings over an extra plate for the fries and everyone tucks in.
Other family favorites include the pollo a la plancha, a butterflied chicken breast flattened even further on the grill, the bacalao, salted codfish in a tomato-based sauce, and, of course, the black beans and rice. Despite our bulging bellies, we always find room for dessert and rarely miss out on Rio Cristal’s creamy flan de leche.
Rio Cristal [Official Site]
Comments
That reminds me of Lila's, which was also in Westchester, but closed down a few years ago after making a permanent niche in Miami's flan market.
Posted by: Carlos Miller | June 28, 2008 06:22 PM