Pikalonga

Rude, dirty. Lady was mean. Rice tasted old.
Its not a memorable Dominican experience, the place was hot and felt muggy. I enjoy Dominican cuisine and places like this give it a bad rap.
I really hope they can get it together, sucks to see people struggle but with their lousy service and poor food quality; I totally understand why they are failing.

It’s not every day I discover a new species of hamburger.
But here at Pikalonga, a Dominican-​style dinette, dwells the elusive Chimichurri, or as it’s better known by its common name, the Chimi. It is not to be confused with the sauce native to Argentina, as they belong to entirely different animal kingdoms. Although, in some street vendors across the Spanish-​speaking Western Hemisphere, there have been instances where these two have been known to have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship.
The Dominican Chimi adopted in the United States is essentially one dirty dog of a burger — hyper-​seasoned patties, chopped cabbage, tightly packed, a nondescript bun, and a ketchup-​mayo swirl to really give it that street meat feel. It’s delicious in its own savory, flattened, grilled-​to-​shit sort of way, in stark comparison to the juicy, beefy, gut-​bursting, steroid-​injected All-​American burgers indigenous to this country. To hit my standard operating dosage of gluttony, I ordered a Double Chimi. Because, you know, when in Perth Amboy…
Anyway. Despite the map of most Caribbean countries (sans Haiti, the other half of Hispaniola) appearing on the wall of Pikalonga, this is very much a Dominican spot. It’s best if you have some Spanish-​speaking company with you, although they certainly won’t deny your white ass a Dominican hamburger if you just go up to the counter and say the magic words: «Chimi, por favor.»
It should be noted the bathrooms are in worse shape than most dive bars. I’m talkin’ holes in the wall and definitely no «employees must was hands» signs anywhere in sight. Even without the shitty shitter situation, this place is still by no means a date spot.
Americans may have invented the «greasy spoon», but Pikalonga, for better or for worse, seems to have nailed it, in its own grubby way.

I have been here a total of three times an this Friday was my last! Went in for some chimi’s (Dominican style hamburgers). Service was horrible, staff argued loudly amongst each other in front of customers, which is very uncomfortable. We waited forever for the food, too.
The burgers were okay, the french fries were actually very good, and the lemonade was tasty. Unfortunately, the wait and the strange behavior of the staff will keep me away for good. Food came to a total of $ 17, which I thought was pretty pricey.

Mofongo. It came in my inbox from chow hound. I wanted to eat it. I searched for it online and found that in the new businesses on Madison Ave there is a place with murals and music and from what people are saying, great Mofongo. I go there, and. its true. The place is really attractive, the murals and wood bar and stools with an open kitchen and big jukebox. The people are friendly and explain to me all about Mofongo. I had the Shrimp Mofongo to go, delicious shrimp in a garlic type sauce over a big mound of Mofongo, mashed plantains with crackling mixed in. I was very happy. This is a cool Dominican restaurant. I want to go back and try the grilled Tilapia or the stewed goat. I learned there is a big Dominican festival in Perth Amboy every August, I will have to check that out too.