Unlike in New York, where Jay Anthony Irizarry used to live before making it out to the West Coast, it’s much harder in these parts to find a Puerto Rican restaurant.
With his Cabo Rojo Cocina Caribeña pickup based weekend takeout restaurant at 160 Sinclair street, Irizarry is bringing his own blend of savory, aromatic Spanish, African, and Taíno influences to the Biggest Little City. He also offers catering and shipping for some of his food products.
One of the first things that stands out is his restaurant’s logo which displays the iconic Puerto Rican Coqui frog.
“ My main thing was about rediscovering and claiming that identity again,” Irizarry said.
The restaurant is only open on the weekends but has still done relatively well according to Irizarry.
News about Puerto Rico or Puerto Ricans such as Bad Bunny being the next Super Bowl halftime entertainer helps create awareness about the richness of Puerto Rican culture in general.
In this light, Irizarry is planning to offer Super Bowl catering.
His cooking inspiration he says came from his older brother.
“We grew up, me and my sister, my brother, have two other siblings with a single mom, and so she would often be out working all day, and my older brother would be the one to step up in the kitchen, start inventing things, and it would taste so good. Eventually I wanted to have my hand at it, and I did later on,” Irizarry said.
One popular menu item at Cabo Rojo Cocina is “coquito chicken pasta” which bring the flavors of coquito which is a traditionally loved Puerto Rican alcoholic drink combined with chicken pasta.
“I had that feeling two years ago, when I first started, I had a strong feeling that Puerto Rican cuisine was going to start to become more mainstream than it is, and it's happening just like that,” Irizarry said.
There’s also a Coquito cream pasta he says he invented as well as combining tostones which are savory, twice-fried slices of green plantains, and nachos.
He plans to expand his services for banquet meals and hopefully soon become a daily restaurant.
“As Puerto Ricans, you know that we are proud of our culture. I'm sure you have a flag somewhere,” he concluded speaking to my own heritage.