In the Frig – Caribbean Cravings

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Dinner at Caribbean Cravings
4632 N. Post Road
Indianapolis, IN 46226
(317) 897-4241
No Website Available

 

I was chatting with a friend the other day and she was lamenting November:  bare trees, cloudy days and early dark evenings! By the end of the conversation, I was ready for an escape to a tropical destination. However, since I don’t own a jet, I opted instead for a trip to the eastside of Indy to Caribbean Cravings!

Caribbean Cravings is a new Puerto Rican restaurant, only open for four weeks, on the eastside of town.  If your Garmin or Tom-Tom is not programmed or you are not direction-savvy, you could drive right past it.  It’s quite unassuming, a small little place next to a barbershop. (Muy pequeno - meaning very small in Spanish – sorry I must demonstrate the little spanish I know!)  Caribbean Cravings is in a small dimly lit strip mall across the street from another small strip mall. 

Inside, the theme of “pequeno” continues – it has around 6-7 tables, a couple tables will seat 5 or 6.  There’s nothing fancy here – plastic tablecloths, silver napkin dispensers, salt, pepper and hot sauce.  The main wall of the restaurant is adorned with a large mural of a tropical paradise – like an image you might see on those “Island” Calendars.  There are no hostesses nor staff that seat you – and there are no big plastic menus with Margaritaville type views.  When you walk into this place, you are walking right into the line and ordering from a white board or a paper sign on the wall.  Not fancy enough for you? That’s ok, because what it may lack in that cheesy ambience you see in most tropical-themed restaurants, it makes up for in FOOD LOVE!!!

At first I was a little intimidated to order because there were no explanations of the offerings. The white board announced “Lunch Special” and of course, it was not lunchtime.  On the line, the chef was serving beans, rice and pork chops, but I saw nothing like this on the menu ( I assume it was the lunch special). A smaller menu/white board announced Mofongo  – con carne or camarones (meat or shrimp) and Flan. And the paper menu (pasted on the smaller white board) listed Alcapurrias, Pastelillos, Tostones (8) and Amarillos (10) – no explanations. You can either be really adventurous and order blind or use this cheat sheet:

• alcapurrias -  deep fried meat (fritter) shaped like a banana. I saw them deliver one to a table and I thought perhaps it was a plantain. Nope! Deep-fried meat
• pastelillos – like meat pockets – coin purses with yummy goodness. They may look like ‘Hot Pockets’ but I am bettin’ they don’t taste like ‘em.
• tostones - plantains which are pressed into flat patties and baked
• amarillos - plantains fried to golden-brown – crispy on the outside, tender on the inside

I finally gave up and just ordered “what the other person had with the rice, beans and meat.” My hubby ordered the Mofongo con carne (which was pork). We were warned it would take a little longer to cook the Mofongo. This is always encouraging because it means your food is cooked to order!

 
 
El Cuerdo Especial
After about 25 minutes, dinner was served. A young man first brought out my dinner, piping hot and …the smell was delightful. My dinner included two thinly sliced “pork chops,” rice and beans. Wow, it was so delicious! Right now, even after a lovely dinner of homemade tortilla soup, my stomach still rumbles at the olfactory memory of that lovely ham-my smell.  The chops were deliciously salty and perfectly tender and chewy at the same time.  They were out of sight!

Now for the beans! Savory, saucy, spicy and incredibly good. I added a bit of Louisiana hot sauce and holy frijoles, these are holy! These had to be eaten at the last supper! I mean, good! I mixed a few forkfuls into the rice, then slid my fork into the pork. Crazy good. The only problem is you don’t get a lot of beans. If you really love beans, get an extra side of beans OR invite a friend along who won’t eat their’s! You’ll be glad you did.

 

Mofongo!
Before we go any further, let me assure you Mofongo is not a Puerto Rican boy band (that was Menudo, which consequently is a Mexican dish made with tripe. More on some other culinary adventure). Mofongo is a dish made from fried plantains, garlic, olive oil and chicharrones (pork cracklings). Some restaurants serve it with chicken broth. It’s served in a dough-like mound and, on this occasion, was served con carne (large chunks of pork in this case) and rice.  The mashed plantains give the Mofongo a starchy texture – like potato mash with gelatin.  It was not pliable enough to construct Devil’s Tower (get it, as in Close Encounters?) and had some give. The chunks of pork were deep-fried and thus had more texture – more “chew.” However, my hubby loved the intense pork flavor. A direct quote from my husband, “the Mofongo was good and I imagine if you grew up with it, it would be comfort food you would crave, but I liked your chops better!”

 

What about the Alcapurrias, FoodieGal?
We ordered the alcapurrias (deep fried meat fritters) for our appetizer, but the restaurant got a little busy, so we received them after dinner. I am not sure I care for the deep fried meat fritter. Likely because it was a little heavy after a big dinner. But definitely very savory and actually, after a few bites, my hubby grew to like the flavor.

Save Room for Dessert!

We were just finishing dinner when a young lady brought us some flan to sample. Ok, if this wasn’t served at the last supper, it was served at the one before. I readily admit that I am not a fan of the flan. I just don’t like that wobbly texture. But this flan was – in the words of Ned Flanders (The Simpsons) - Flan-diddly-doodly! The texture was dense, like cheesecake, but very light and mild with that caramel coating on the top. It was so incredibly good. I cooed, oohed and ahhhhed. It was almost like a scene out of “When Harry Met Sally.”  Incredible – you must save room! Even now, I remember that creamy texture. Ooooooo, give me a moment!

Upon hearing my sighs of delight, the chef appeared at our table (it’s a small place, you could hear everythng!) He explained how much he had doubled his cooking workload, the demands for rice and beans outlasting his supply! He shared some recipes and thanked us for stopping in. He was very warm and gave us his card “anytime,  you can call to check our specials or order ahead!”

What You Crave
My husband and I really enjoyed our experience at Caribbean Cravings. It was food cooked with love. I loved the simplicity, the family atmosphere (everyone was talking together, it felt like a family dinner with distant cousins…that speak spanish!) and the pork! Vegetarians, I love ya, but seriously, how can you not crave pork. It’s food of the Gods! The check came to about $25. Two dinners, three drinks (just soda) and alcapurrias.  If you don’t stop for cash, no worries, they accept credit cards! (Not sure about Amex though, so bring your VISA or MasterCard). Caribbean Cravings was worth the trip.  If you can’t make the trip to Puerto Rico, or if you are craving PORK,  be adventurous and sample the cuisine of Caribbean Cravings! Work yourself out of your macaroni and cheese groove and get your Caribbean groove on!

Navigating to Caribbean Cravings
The restaurant is located just south of Pendleton Pike on Post Road. If you are driving south on Post, it will be on your right. It’s a small place next to a Barber, and you might miss it. Plug the address into your Garmin and take a drive!