New iDine restaurant - Punta Cana
 

Wasn't sure if I should post this here or in the idine section. But, since we are such foodies here...

Last night Mr.Balima, Master Balima and I went to Punta Cana on 1024 N. Ashland. It is a small place, about 12 tables and some outdoor sidewalk seating. The menu reads very Puerto Rican dispite it's name. We received homemade tortillas chips and salsa at the table. We ordered the empanadas and the sweet fried plantains as appetizers. The cheese empanadas were just OK, the beef was better, but the chicken was very good. The fried sweet plantains were very good, they came sprinkled with cinnamon and came with sour cream. I would consider this dish more for a dessert than appetizer though.

We got the ropa vieja, "beef tails" - oxtails, and Carne Asada. We had a choice between white or Puerto Rican Rice, and black or red beans. All dishes also came with sweet plantains.

The Ropa Vieja was good, not great but good. Not like Mexican Ropa, it was basically shredded beef in a light tomato and onion sauce.

The Carne Asada was fine and came with Guacamole.

Oxtails were just OK. The menu stated that they were spicy, I got no indication of spicy. The sauce was fine, but the oxtails should have been cooked a little longer. The were a little tough for me. Another hour would have done it.

Black Beans were good, they came on the side in a seperate bowl to mix with the white rice. The Puerto Rican Rice was good and had black beans already mix in. The Red Beans again good.

No Alcohol - it's BYOB.

All in all it was OK. Nothing great but the bill only came to $54.00 for 3 people - not bad.

I posted it case someone needed a iDine and wanted something new. I would go back for the chicken empanadas and plantains for dessert.

After we were done the owner came over to ask how we liked our meal. He explained that they were only open a few months and that he had just signed up for iDine 2 weeks prior. He is from the Dominican Republic and says his recipes are Dominican. He does infuse a little of all the Caribbean with salso and chips (very popular)and a few other dishes. He says he uses Puerto Rican names for his dishes because they sound "prettier". He likes Ropa Vieja better than shredder beef in tomato sauce. He asked where we found out about the restaurant and when we told him iDine his face lit up and immediately told his wife.

He told us that the beans and rice had no pork in them. He says he does this so that Muslams can eat his beans and rice. He told us he got his start as a private chef doing catering for the Cubs, bulls, Sox, and the New York Yankees.

That's it!

Thanks for the review. That's walking distance for me, so I may give it a try.