Seattle is woefully lacking in Puerto Rican restaurants and until a couple of months ago, had just one (that I know of). That would be La Isla in Ballard - a very popular destination these days.
As of this past March, there's a new kid in town - El Pilon - a bright oasis of tempting aromas, salsa music and great food in Rainier Valley, located just South of Columbia City at 5303 Rainier Ave South (between S. 42nd Ave & Brandon St). Run by Luis Vega and his mom, Marta, this family friendly bistro offers homestyle Puerto Rican cooking.
An old friend and I visited El Pilon this past Saturday, May 22, 2010. We were promptly greeted and seated by Luis Vega and settled in to peruse both the menu and the establishment. The small dining room is brightened by yellow walls with interesting art - much of it for sale. There were wonderful framed black/white sketches by Charles Tatum, authentic art from Puerto Rico including carnival style masks made from calabash gourds and butterflies made from coconut shells. The Puerto Rican flag is proudly displayed in several areas and the table mats are from Puerto Rico and contain maps, recipes, pictures of Puerto Rico, and other images.
We were quite ravenous when we arrived, so promptly ordered the appetizer of Empanadillas - one of meat and one of cheese. These hot, flaky delicacies arrived swiftly and assuaged our appetites so that we could choose our dinners with care. We definitely wanted to try the mofongo and Luis recommended the Mofongo with Camarones. For a contrast, we then ordered the Pollo Fricase.
Our salads arrived first - small and tasty. Then came the mofongo, which was served in a pilon and was amazingly delicious! Mofongo is essentially mashed plantains mixed with garlic, fried pork rinds (yes, I know this is wickedly FATTENING!), olive oil, and other seasonings which combine to make a very tasty dish. Combined with this is your protein of choice - meat, chicken, or as in our order - shrimp.
The Pollo Fricase arrived on a plate containing a healthy portion of nicely spiced chicken, which was cooked perfectly and practically fell off the bone; a scoop of white rice and a small bowl of habichuelas - pinto beans simmered with sofrito and other spices to create a nicely flavored sauce to pour on the rice.
We gave it our best try, but were too stuffed to completely clean our plates so Luis graciously brought containers to put our leftovers in and even added some extra rice.
If you want to try the real deal in Puerto Rican cuisine, it's worth the trip to travel out to Rainier Valley. If you keep your eyes closed until you walk through the door, you can imagine that you're on vacation in Puerto Rico, stopping in a local restaurante for a bite to eat. El Pilon is brand new and the staff is still working out all the details so be patient if your experience isn't as perfect as ours - they have a vision and are working hard to achieve it!
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