1 review

1. Retta Mowers  

   on November 20, 2014
   

   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.

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