Doing Dishes: Caribbean Series - Casa Dominicana

I love a nice place to go when I've had a long day at work and I want some terrific comfort food. Casa Dominicana sits at Lake and Central in Albany, and it is often where I go to seek just that.

There is an extensive menu displayed on the wall of the small dining room, above the counter where one places one's order. The counter itself is at the end of a steam table holding the day's dishes, which are everyone's favorites. It's a variety of pork, chicken, ribs with standard sides of beans, rice, plantains and often other vegetables. I've slowly been tasting my way across the menu and I have found many dishes to enjoy. 

The service is friendly and welcoming, and you can ask questions about what you're seeing or what's on the rest of the menu.  There's a wide variety of soft drinks including a small variety of beers in bottles or cans. They make lemonade as well.

The dining room has about  10 tables or so, and compared to the other Caribbean spots I've visited so far this is on the larger end of the spectrum. I like to go and sit in the dining room, but there is a constant stream of takeout customers, so it's obvious that there are many who prefer takeout.  I think the food is sturdy enough to be  delicious either way.

 My favorite is the pork, which is baked covered in a high oven with water to keep the meat moist, then uncovered for the last 1/2 hour or so to crisp the skin. There's nothing like it in the typical  styles of pork served in the US and the combination of rich tender juicy pork and crispy skin is hard to beat. The sweet plantains are a true delight, cooked to that perfect carmelized coating that takes the flavor to another level.   With beans and rice and choice of another side (I can never go without plantains) the dinner plate hits the spot. 

Some days I like to spice it up with one of the hot sauces.

This is the only Caribbean place I've tried many times and never made it to the oxtail, which is on the menu.  I always look at the dishes that are there, already prepared, and before I know it, I have a beautiful plate of pork or chicken, beans, rice and plantains that I know I am going to positively love. The seasonings are mellow, and if a spicy kick is what you're after you can add as much hot sauce as you like.

LorreBob sez: go when you've got a good appetite!

Doing Dishes: The Caribbean Series - Hot Spot [And a Special Thanks to our Readers]

Thanks to the thousands of you who read our blog every month! After starting out solo in  2009, writing enthusiastically but sporadically, I invited Zena, Goddess of Fire to join in this study of our local food scene.  She was game and we've been attracting a larger and larger audience ever since. We're glad you like food as much as we do, and we'd love it if you'd comment!  If you use our restaurant reviews to choose where you are eating out, let us know about your experience - you might even want to link to your Yelp review.  If we're doing a series and you want us to write about a particular spot, don't hesitate to let us know. The more conversations we can have about food the better, as far as we're concerned.

And now on to the regularly scheduled Caribbean fare:

Hot Spot on Central Ave. in a row of international restaurants is worthy of its location. The menu includes many island classics and it is self-described as "Jamaican American". You can see the menu and order online here. I've tried the online order service and it works perfectly. Their in-store service is polite, friendly and efficient. I've also stayed in their small but nice dining space and enjoyed the bustle of Central Ave. - the place is always busy in my experience.

First, as a helpful suggestion, they turned me on to red plum Nantucket Nectar, for which I will be eternally grateful.

Next, tucking in to their delicious oxtail is a lovely treat! The gravy has a greater spicy oomph than the other two Caribbean places I've reviewed thus far, and it's truly delicious and not overpowering in the least. It seems to be typical for the meat dishes to come with a small selection of sides, and so I have been favoring the plantains over a steamed cabbage or other side. There is still a bit of a sweet tone to the oxtail, most likely from the vegetables added during the simmering process. Overall the gravy at Hot Spot has a lovely balance of thyme, peppers and vegetables culminating in that seductive rich dark gravy.  The plantains are more on the dry side which leaves them a bit less sweet, although still a great side dish.  All I can say about the rice and peas is that they are wonderful and perfectly executed, so that they are a fitting complement to the oxtail. Rice and peas always say "comfort" for me, and I always look forward to the way they seem to perfectly complete the dish in a nom nom nom sort of way.  I could have them every day and never tire of them, especially in the oxtail gravy! 

In the photo I have plated the small size entree onto a small dinner plate, so you can see that it's still quite a hearty meal. 

For those who haven't seen a Jamaican patty, I've put one at the back of the arrangement in the photo.  I adore them. Most of the places I have seen offer a mild version, and they come in a variety of meats and vegetables.  A bit more dry than a pot pie, they are a spicy and savory treat and can be carried in the hand. I would say they are very similar to an empanada, but with the distinctive seasonings of the Island.

LorreBob sez:  check out the Hot Spot for that ultimate comforting savory and spicy fare.

Doing Dishes: The Caribbean Series - Dutch Pot

Dutch Pot appeared on the scene in recent years,  describing themselves as Jamaican and setting up shop near the corner of Madison and Lark in a small storefront. There are a dozen or so chairs, so eating in the restaurant is an option, and takeout is also common here.  They offer online ordering from the website, which makes takeout very convenient, and they also offer delivery.

Service is prompt and friendly at the counter. The staff is helpful regarding making selections if you're not familiar with Jamaican dishes. I've been tasting my way across the menu by ordering chicken dishes and patties as well as the oxtail and I've never been disappointed.

Once the staff at the Hot Spot turned me on to red plum Nantucket Nectar I've been drinking it with my Caribbean food, but there's a nice variety of juices and other soft drinks on offer at Dutch Pot.

The storefront windows offer a view onto Madison Ave.

The mac and cheese here is not made with sauce, but melted cheese and herbs, which makes it dense and full of flavor. The oxtail falls off the bone, as it should, and has the deep brown gravy that calls my name.  It has an intense beef flavor with thyme in evidence and the mellow sweetness of carrot and onion. The spiciness is a very mild background flavor.  I'm only guessing that other veggies may be involved, but the slow cooking process blends everything into the divine intense stew and makes individual flavors hard to identify. With rice and peas as the perfect food for soaking up the gravy, you can most often find me in that pensive mood that truly comforting food brings to the forefront while I relish the sheer homely goodness. Their sweet plantains are also a typical side dish and I prefer them over the mac and cheese. 

The Dutch Pot jerk chicken is lively, tender and moist, also perfectly accompanied with peas and rice. The stewed chicken is full flavored and simmered until completely tender. A fellow customer was emphatically singing the praises of the curry goat, so it's on my list of dishes I must try. 

I am a sucker for the patties for the same reason I love the oxtail.  It's just some of the most straight up meat and onions wrapped in pastry savory flavor. If you like spicy patties they're always an option too.

So LorreBob sez: check them out, mon!

Doing Dishes: the Caribbean Series - First Choice Up First

After enjoying Clayton's lunch buffet years ago, then trying Kenneth's, I began to get a bit of a sense of Caribbean food in Albany, but other interests have caught my attention in the mean time.  Lately I  can't help but notice that we have a nice list of Caribbean restaurants in our region now.  So of course it's time to start checking them out to see what is up.

As I've been doing some research and tasting I've come to understand my affection for oxtail.  So oxtail will be my dish of choice through the Caribbean series.  This isn't to say I won't try some alternatives, but that deep rich beef flavor will be my mainstay as I work diligently to review our local places.

First Choice in Troy sits on Fulton Street and has a sunlit bright scarlet dining room due to the huge windows facing the street. I've found that ordering at the counter is common in our local spots, and takeout is a good portion of each of the businesses.

Oh yas.  Much of the fun of Caribbean food locally is the pepper sauces, in my humble opinion.  Each one has its individual flavor and adds that special zestiness to the dishes.

Oxtail isn't very mysterious, although it's a popular dish so every cook has a personal preference when it comes to flavors.  The dish requires patience. The common flavors include onion, thyme,  garlic and carrot.  It's going  to have a very mellow sweet overtone from the carrots and onions and the delicious herbal aroma from the thyme. The oxtail is to be cooked until it is falling off the bone, so the flavoring and the meat are gloriously mingled and a rich gravy is formed from the softened veggies and bone marrow and connective tissues. In my mind the peas and rice are a perfect foil for the gravy.  Their mellow undertones blend well with all that sweet and savory deliciousness.

At First Choice I detect a tomato element in the gravy and it is well-balanced while adding a special unique touch that stands out among other gravies in our area. Allspice along with the thyme gives a lovely overtone of complexity.

First Choice oxtail does not disappoint!  All my favorite elements are present and make this ultimate comfort food a very satisfying dish. The scotch bonnet sauce adds a little extra combination of flavors and I prefer that specific pepper over others, so I am glad to see the sauce on the table.

Although I have found the food to be satisfying, the service can be uneven. One day, for instance, I asked for oxtail and got oxtail with peas and rice.  Another day I asked for oxtail and got oxtail, cabbage, plantains with peas and rice.  Perhaps it's a mystery of the universe. The First Choice dining room is spare, with the obligatory tv tuned into a sports channel.

The menu includes several styles of chicken, Ackee, Callalou, Curry Goat, patties and other Caribbean favorites.  Prices are low enough to allow you to taste all the way through the menu.

LorreBob sez: check it out and get the red plum Nantucket Nectar.