“Good!” my husband said in between bites of his dinner. This, my friends, is a huge compliment! If you haven’t been to Puerto Rico in a while — or ever — Sofrito, on Main Street in White Plains, may be a close second! The scene is quite tropical: earth-colored skirt-like scarves billow from the very high ceiling, a lighted scene of leaf-like figures don the wall behind the bar (and change from purple pink to white), and salsa music is the background of all the discussion you hear around you.

Sofrito offers a step into the Caribbean. The friendly wait staff, and large portions, make Sofrito an experience, especially during these special restaurant weeks, that gives you some bang for your buck. It was hard not to notice that in addition to being a busy Monday night, several people (when we first arrived, especially) were with kids; kid-friendly — for a grown-up kind of place — is an attribute I don’t see everywhere in the States…. Though my kids are big, they shared crayons (and a crayon friendly “cloth”) and kid cups, as well as a sweet welcome to them. Back to the food, my hubby and I went for the Restaurant Week menu. This features choices from three appetizers, four main courses, and three desserts. (Just a side note: Seth and I were laughing because upon seeing the menu I proclaimed, “WOW! Can you believe there are six choices for apps, and eight for dinner?” and he replied, “Hon, I think you are you counting the English translation as an additional dish.” Of course, I was…)

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So, after sipping on their red sangría (nice—sweet, but not too crazy…but with a kiss of rum!) we decided on the Crispy Pork Quesadillas with Guacamole and Pico de Gallo and the Empanadas  of Puerto Rican White Cheese and Cilantro; the quesadillas were our favorite of the two.

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For dinner, we had the Roasted Pork with Green Pigeon Pea Rice and Sweet Plantain (I’ll always go with anything that has sweet plantains!), and my husband chose the Chicken Breast Stuffed with Yuca and Spanish Sausage, topped with Mango Sauce.

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For dessert, which was, wow, a tough fit after dinner, We asked for the Coffee Flan (favorite), and Rum Raisin Pudding with Maple Syrup.

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We left happy, and with tomorrow’s lunch…and/or dinner!

Arlen Gargagliano

 Latin Twist blogger Arlen Gargagliano blogs about her food travels and explorations at In the Kitchen with Arlen ^[7] and on Facebook ^[8]. She’s a featured chef-author on Cookstr.com ^[9], and regularly teaches classes at Don Coqui in New Rochelle. Her website is arleng.com ^[10]. Arlen, who has coauthored books with many, four with local chef and restaurateur Rafael Palomino, has also written her own cocktail and appetizer books: Mambo Mixers ^[11] and Calypso Coolers ^[12].