Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Caribbean comes to Williamson Road
Larry Bly
Larry Bly has plenty on his plate these days. He's got two TV shows on Cox Cable Roanoke. Click ahead for details and showtimes.
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For those who don't know, the coqui is a small tree frog. It's an amphibian that does not go through the tadpole stage. It breaks out of its egg as a tiny replica of its parents, much as we folk are when born. To what to I owe this keen knowledge of the coqui? I read the back of the menu. Otherwise, I wouldn't know a marsupial from a marshmallow.
If you remember the old Sears Town on Williamson Road just up from the Roanoke Civic Center, the building now houses city government and social services offices on the upper floors and retail on the lower. And if you remember the old Scarlett's Restaurant & Lounge on the end, this is where you'll now find El Coqui. The place is way oversized, so an "intimate" meal would require 600 close friends. But the floor is wide open for cutting the Caribbean rug when they have musicians in on weekends.
If you've not experienced Caribbean cuisine, then you must be one of the three people left in North America who hasn't taken a cheap cruise there. If so, save your money and dump your motion sickness pills and head out to El Coqui .
Enjoy some of the fruity flavors of the Caribbean. At El Coqui, you'll find one of my favorites: the Cuban sandwich, which can now be found at any number of restaurants around this town. It's made with tenderloin pork, smoked deli ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard. But because it's fried on the grill, it tends to get a bit dry, so be warned.
In virtually every menu category, El Coque has tried to include at least one item that includes Caribbean spice or flavor. Soups of the day are numerous, and include a very dark, delicious and remarkably lemony spicy black bean soup. Be warned that even a cup of this thick goo can fill you up. The prices are certainly reasonable enough: $l.89 for a cup and $2.99 for a big bowl. You could make a meal of either.
Appetizers are those you don't hear every day: alcapurrias, bacalaitos (cod fritters), mofongo (mashed plantains), sweet potato chips, stuffed potato balls with beef, and something called frago strips (chicken tenders with various sauces including the famous "jerk" sauce).
I like the rice side dishes: arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas), rice and sausage, cilantro lime rice, bake kidney beans and rice, and white or yellow rice with beans. On a trip years ago to the Caribbean, we stopped at a joint called "Cuba Cookin' " and I had many of these traditional rice dishes there, as well as vaca frita (fried beef) with plantains.
Sadly, the childrens' menu tends more toward the standards: burgers, fries, dogs, chicken nuggets ... not the slightest effort has gone toward expanding their tiny culinary experiences. Maybe a kid could have a spicy chicken and adouille sausage pasta dish and actually enjoy it.
Main dishes are refreshing here: Caribbean honey-spiced chicken with mango, Cuban chicken fricasse, Jamaican curried stew chicken or beef, Jamaican fish with peas, Caribbean chicken and shrimp kabobs, grilled margarita chicken breasts, fried beef (vaca frita), baked Caribbean pork tenderloin (you have to try this one), and carne guisada (stew meat with Caribbean spices).
Main dishes are very reasonable, in the $6.99 to $12.99 range. Beer is served.
Some desserts worthy of a try: flan, rice pudding, bread pudding, coconut bread pudding, bananas in rum butter cream (just pour it all over yourself), and guava with cheese.
If you're looking for something a bit different, El Coqui is a place to discover the tastes of Caribbean right here at home. Restaurant owner Edwin Montaneqez has poured much of his enthusiasm -- as well as some of his retirement money (he's a retired Marine) -- into this oversized effort.
EL COQUI CARIBBEAN RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE
1502 Williamson Road
Roanoke, VA 24012
