Don Coqui, Puerto Rican restaurant in Astoria, NY

0

Please note that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!  

Astoria surely has some great gems that should not be ignored, and Don Coqui, a Puerto Rican restaurant is one of them. I discovered it last Sunday when we went for a tasting for dinner. This huge place is a restaurant and lounge with multiple rooms:

A first one, small, at the entrance, with a nicely furnished bar:

The lounge with its impressive lighting:

The two dining rooms that can cater approximately eighty guests each:

They set the mood with not only Latin music, but also a blue lighting in the dining room that kept the lounge-y feel. 

Don Coqui opened in February 2011 in Astoria (they have several locations such as The Bronx or New Rochelle that is their flagship). The restaurant got its name from a small frog that makes a sound like "coqui, coqui", that is quite a funny anecdote. 

The menu, crafted by Executive Chef Jack D'Angelo, had so many mouth watering dishes that I admit that I was not sure what to order; so we followed the advice of our server, Andres, who was very knowledgable about the dishes, describing them in detail. 

I started by ordering a drink. I chose the mango Mojito that was delicious, refreshing and original. 

They then brought us some bread, made on premises. 

It is like a focaccia with garlic butter that is pressed like a panini. I had to resist not eating too much of it...

For the appetizers, we got a sampler they made for us (so you will not find it on the menu). 

It was composed of:

Fried calamari with marinara sauce:

The difficulty with fried calamari is that they are either rubbery and/or soggy, not crispy. There, they were perfect.

Beef empanada with tomato and guava sauce:

Nicely done: the filling was juicy and tasty, and the shell crispy. There was no need for the sauce that I appreciated anyway with the empanada...and the calamari. 

Tostones montaditos:

It was fried plantains topped with cod fish, tomato, onion, cilantro and lime. I liked the flavors that were clean and well balanced, a bit refreshing. 

I also tried their hot sauce that they import directly from Puerto Rico. At first, I did not taste the heat, but it rapidly revealed itself.

For the entrées, when we thought we would have smaller portions, we saw all these big dishes coming! The first one was the plantain crusted red snapper, served with a yuca mash. 

This is a very original dish: they bake plantains, crush them and then use them as breading. This was divine: the plantain crust had a bit of crunch and worked perfectly with the fish that was nicely cooked, moist and flakey. I also loved the yuca mash: prepared with cheese, it had a very interesting texture that I am not sure how to describe, denser than regular mash. 

Then we got one of their best sellers: rabo guisado that is braised oxtail. 

This is a very comforting dish, with bold flavors, but I admit that it was my least favorite one. Well, my favorite one was definitely the Don Coqui paella!

It was made of rice cooked for more than two hours with mussels, shrimp, clams, calamari, chorizo and chicken, topped with half a lobster. 

This was the high point of the meal: the presentation was outstanding, as were the flavors. You could definitely taste the fact that the rice was cooked with the ingredients for a while. I hate when the rice has no flavor, indicating that it has been cooked separately and assembled with the rest at the last minute, right before serving. Quantity wise, it is a huge serving: I cannot imagine how one person can eat that and was surprised to see many customers ordering the paella for themselves: they probably take it home...

I should also mention the abundance of seafood, especially the squid. If you love paella, Don Coqui is definitely the place to go!

With our dishes, we also got tostones, served with a garlic and oil sauce

As well as some sweet plantains. 

For dessert, they told us they would bring us a sampler. We did not imagine what was coming. 

There were five desserts:

Tres leches:

Cheese flan (my favorite, made with condensed milk):

Chocolate flan:

Coconut flan (Jodi was in heaven):

Chocolate lava cake:

Know that they make all the desserts on premises and they were fantastic! I could have eaten everything but admit that I was full after such a feast. 

To finish our meal, they brought us a drink called the coquito, that all customers get (I saw few of them getting more than one...). It is a drink usually served at Christmas time, made with coconut milk, nutmeg and rum. It was very good and a nice way to end this succulent meal. 

If you crave Spanish cuisine or would love a paella, Don Coqui is for you: it is worth a trip to Astoria!

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Continue Reading »

Lunch at Telly's Taverna in Astoria, New York

0

When we got invited to Telly's Taverna, we were thrilled! Jodi used to live in Astoria at the time I met her and this was my first discovery of Queens. In fact, we walked around and even went to her old place after lunch, trying to identify what was new and what was not. 

I was not surprised that it was a Greek restaurant that invited us: Astoria has a large Greek community and there are plenty of Greek restaurants there. 

The first thing we noticed when we entered in the restaurant was the fish display and the grill that was behind it.

They get their fish from a market in the Bronx and it definitely looked fresh.

After passing the first dining room, we ended up in the second one that was pretty large and full of Christmas decorations, with a tree in the back.

We sat close to the window, ready for a feast! But first was a glass of ouzo, a traditional Greek aperitif that is anise-flavored.

I just added couple of ice cubes in it and sipped it, not like milk for sure...

The first dish that came was Nana's green salad, made with chopped romaine lettuce, feta, scallions and peppers.

It was light and refreshing, however, I would have liked a bit more feta in it.

Then came three dips:

From left to right:

• skordalia (potatoes and garlic),
• taramosalata (fish roe),
• tzatziki (cucumber, yogurt and garlic).

We ate them with some bread:

And some pita:

Both were grilled on an open flame, giving them a fantastic char.

I loved the tzatziki, but I admit that I did not really liked the other two dips, the skordalia having too much garlic and the taramosalata having a different taste than the tarama I am used to.

Later in the lunch, they served us some fried zucchini and eggplant:

That were delicious with the tzatziki:

When I looked at the menu before coming, there were couple of dishes that I hoped they would serve and my wishes were realized...First was the saganaki:

It is so interesting how every Greek restaurant makes it differently. This one was made with the cheese wrapped in phyllo and then pan fried. It was heaven! The cheese was gooey with a slight crunch from the phyllo. 

The second dish was the grilled octopus:

It was grilled on an open flame, giving a nice char to it.

It was tender and quite tasty, bathed in olive oil and lemon.

The next appetizer was lima beans baked in tomato sauce:

I loved that dish, it was very comforting, the beans being perfectly cooked and melting in my mouth. The beans were cooked with onions that kind of neutralized the acidity of the tomato sauce and added a slight sweetness to the dish. This is a great vegetarian dish and a good side if you order a grilled fish.

Then came a spectacular piece of red snapper that was simply grilled:

Everything looked beautiful in that fish, from the head:

To the tail:

They deboned it for us:

And brought to the table some olive oil and lemon sauce that they made:

The way the fish is prepared is by putting it in a fish grill so it can be grilled on an open flame and turned without any problem. The photo below shows a swordfish grilled as we were leaving, using the same technique: 

The fish was very good: fresh, moist, flakey, the olive oil and lemon enhancing the taste of the fish. I never think about ordering fish in Greek restaurants, going primarily for the moussaka or lamb Yuvetsi, but, after this experience, I will definitely consider fish! 

Then came dessert: it was a Greek yogurt with preserved grapes:

They did not make the yogurt, but made the preserves that were fabulous: their sweetness complemented very well the yogurt.

Of course, I could not refuse a coffee and got a Greek coffee:

They added some sugar to neutralize the bitterness. It was stronger than regular coffee and there was a thick layer of ground coffee in the bottom. When reaching that layer, you know you have to stop drinking it.

Although I did not like all the dishes, I liked Telly's Taverna: it is a nice neighborhoody Greek restaurant that serves traditional food which I found comforting and flavorful. My favorites were definitely the saganaki, octopus, red snapper and Lima beans. Hey! That could be your next lunch when you go there!

Enjoy (I did)! 

If you like this post or the photos, feel free to share it using the toolbar below or to write a comment! 

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Please note that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own! 

Continue Reading »