Mofongo NY
Mofongo NY
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Price range.
Price range
4 reviews
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Mofongo NY
Good but nothing to write home about. Fills you up because of all the starch but if you want a quick good Caribbean bite go for it.
I ate at the Mofongo stand during the summer Smorgasburg at Brooklyn Bridge Park. After making several rounds to choose a stand for lunch, I picked Mofongo partly because of the long line – I mistakenly attributed its popularity to mean a better product. Sadly, I ended up waiting more than twice as long as my friends for my food and was disappointed with the taste as well. There were only two options offered : chicken or vegetarian. I opted for the chicken.
The mofongo here was essentially a thick, tomato, almost gumbo-y soup poured over plantains smashed into a small bowl/cup. The long wait is a result of the time it takes for them to smash the plantains bowl by bowl. I remember the plantains were very dense and starchy, without much flavor. The soup on top is necessary to make it palatable. At the end when I was out of the soup, I wanted to throw away the plantains as I was tired of eating the tasteless, thick mush. However, I trudged on, motivated by the fact that I had paid $10 for a tiny bowl. The soup is topped by a small amount of chicharron. This helps provide a bit of crunch in the midst of a thick soup and dense starch, but not nearly enough. The placement of chicharron on top of soup is also a tad problematic as it begins to sop up soup and get soft right away. In the end, Mofongo NY made me regret my trip out to Smorgasburg and wish I had found a more authentic mofongo place, rather than choosing the convenience of a white-washed stand at Smorgasburg.
Just visit them at Smorgasburg in Dumbo. It's not your traditional mofongo. They offered only two options… chicken or vegetarian. It was like a soupy tomato soup poured onto the smashed plantains in a cup. For a long line i thought i would be tasting some thing amazing but it was just okay to me. I read that there would be pork cracklings (optional) on it. Maybe i had to ask? *shrugs. For $10 it was kind if pricey but I guess it's expected since its at a food fair.
This was easily one of the longest lines at the Smorgasburg. I can't say I'm the king of this cuisine, but I work with someone who knows it, and I've been to so good ones because of him. The make a little hole in the mashed plantains and do fill up the bowl with good amounts of pork. We got a little bit of a spicy drizzle on top too. The pork was pretty tasty but I just thought the whole thing seemed dry. I've seen people get extra juice/soup on top so maybe I was missing that on mine. It's definitely worth a shot if you see the vendor though. I'll know for next time to do it right.