Un tour de la comida de Santiago

Sea bass with bean rice

I had the good fortune to visit the Dominican Republic earlier this month. I spent a week in Santiago, located in the north of the country and experienced its local cuisine.

The food was  similar to that which I experienced  in my trips to Spain, Latin America and Africa, a reflection of the larger influence of Hispanic and African culture on the island. I tried variants of the Panamanian Sancocho (sancocho), mashed/fried African plantains (tostones and Mofongo), Peruvian roast chicken (el pollo), Mexican beans with rice (Habichuelas Rojas) and Spanish croquetas (Croquettas de pollo). I tried the lunch buffet at  Rancho Chito, and came out very delighted. The food had a lot of flavor (not heavily spiced) and was very reasonably-priced.

Roast chicken with beans

In terms of the ethnic dining options, there were not many options. However, I visited an American pizza chain (Brixx) for the first time and will fondly remember its white sauce pizza. An Italian restaurant that we visited, called RistorArte was my favorite of the trip. The pastas, risottos, and a cheese fondue we tried for an an appetizer were outstanding and very reasonably-priced. Though I did not get to visit a Chinese restaurant , Santiago's Chinese establishments (El pez dorado) have a good reputation.

All in all, I got to try some good, simple food, but I will admit that the seafood (I saw a lot of sea bass on their menus) did not meet my expectations. I was expecting fresher seafood given the country's location on an island, but came away a bit disappointed.