Pop Up: Parada 22, Comida Puertorriquena

 Mary;


We've been wanting to try this Puerto Rican pop-up restaurant, which is only open on Friday and Saturday, 6 to 10 pm, at Boogaloo's site at 22nd and Valencia. We had two other people joining us this evening, Barbara, who eats like an omnivore, except that she says she's developed a sudden aversion to fish as she's hit her elder years. And Heiner, my German friend who is visiting us from Bali. He's unlimited in his appetite with the exception of an allergy to shellfish and raw fish. Poor guy can't eat sushi!

The menu is simple: pork, chicken and beef prepared several different ways, and served with your choice of white or red beans, a salad and maduros, which are ripe, sweet plantains. We had a hard time choosing among a lot of great sounding possibilities. I wanted the beef with caramelized onions, but didn't want the beans or rice. So the server suggested the beef and caramelized onions in salad form. Took his suggestion, and was delighted for several reasons. First, I got avocados, which blended in wonderfully with the onion and beef flavors, but even better was the salad dressing I ordered: Cilantro and Garlic. Yum. Very garlicky taste, and moderated by some sort of creamy base. I had to ask for the recipe, which means I need to call their main restaurant. I seldom ask for recipes but I kept imagining this sauce as a spread, a dip for veggies, or by the spoonful directly applied to the mouth. Yum Yum. The main course salad was an easy-on-the-pocketbook $12.

Heiner ordered the white beans as a side, Habichuelas Blancas, $4.) in a medium sized bowl. They are cooked with green olives, potatoes, carrots, sweet peppers and pumpkin. The server suggested the Yuca al Mojo, $5, when Heiner asked for french fries. That's cassava root with onions, garlic & olive oil mojo. He had to fend off everyone wanting to taste his "fries".

Barbara wanted chicken and ordered the Pollo Encebollados: marinated boneless chicken sauteed  with those delicious caramelized onions. She ate with gusto!

We asked each other what number we would give this restaurant on the 1-10 scale. We averaged 7.5 all around. The only dings were that the beef was a little overcooked, and the waiter couldn't explain the ingredients and cooking methods of some of the main dishes. Would I eat here again. Definitely. Would make it a dinner go-to place not only for ourselves, but for our out-of-town guests too. I couldn't understand why it was only half filled by 7:30 when we left. Should have been a line out the door. Glad there wasn't.

Shirley:

Sometimes you just know by reading the menu, that it's going to be good. I have had some minor experience with Puerto Rican fare, so I kind of knew what to expect. The combination of Taino, Spanish and African flavors and cooking methods resulted in a meal that was so good, that I wanted to lick my plate.
I love the variety of "pop-up" opportunities that are becoming so popular in our city. What a wonderful way for a businesses to try out a new location, without the high risk of a complete lease. Parada 22 popped up about a year ago, utilizing the evening space that serves as Boogaloos during the day. A few flags and signs were added to the existing decor and whatever else was provided by their other Haight street site, and it was ready for business.
Because everything on the menu sounded so very good, I decided to start with the first item on the Main list and tried the Pernil Asado. A roasted pork marinated with garlic, oregano & sofrito, served with rice and beans, salad and maduros (plantains). The food was plentiful, especially the pork and priced at an easy $14.

The Pork! - fall-apart-with-a-fork-tender, but not stringy or dry, delicious complex flavors. I tried to graciously share tastes with everyone, but it was not easy to watch bits of it move in a direction other than my mouth.
Salad - Standard greens mix with a nicely balanced vinaigrette.
Yellow rice - made with broth and annatto, a simple taste that created a base for the other flavors.
Red Beans - a wonderful combination of slow cooked kidney beans and smokey ham and onions. It was served in a little bowl with some of its cooking liquid. It could have been my main course, it was that good.
Maduros - sweet plantains, twice cooked, soft and tender on the inside, just a little bit crispy on the outside. Yummy.
Flan - because Barbara was with us, we split desert. It was light and creamy, not too egg-y and not too sweet. It also disappeared very quickly. 

Definitely encourage your friends to join you for a delightful meal. There are some great little shops nearby to browse and spend money in and Valencia is just a good place to hang out with friends, new and old. I got to spend a little time with Mary's friend, Heiner, and my dear friend Barbara and the dastardly duo. After an afternoon of painting, it ended the day just right.

btw - I think Boogaloos serves the morning shift in Parada 22's location on 
                                                                   Haight.


Jesse:

 Our evening started out well with a parking place right next door to the Puerto Rican,  Parada 22. We congratulated ourselves on our parking karma and were delighted before we even got out of the car. Unfortunately, we were right in front of Laku's. Normally this would be a good thing but Mary and Shirley had hungrily hurried off to the restaraunt leaving Heiner, Barbara and I alone in front of Laku's whimsically wonderful display window. We got stuck. 

     Heiner fell in love with the little shoes and finger puppets sticking out of pockets in tiny hats for infants. In we went. As luck would have it, the owner was just opening a large bag of finger puppets, entrancing us all. We had pretty much picked out our favorites when Mary appeared to hurry us along. Didn't work. She fell in love with a bunny and had to wear it home. So, if you're hungry, be careful where you park on this part of Valencia St.

     Finally arriving at the restaurant around 6pm, I was surprised to find that we were the only customers in the place. By 7:30 there were 5 other tables filled. So no need to get here when it first opens.

     The menu looked really good though and we excitedly made our choices. The waiter was very friendly about food allergies and thanked me several times for writing them down for him. I felt I was off to a good start. I felt even better when he told me that only a couple of dishes were off limits for me. Woohoo.

     I ordered the Biftec Encebollado for $14.50, a marinated sirloin steak sauteed with carmalized onions and served with rice, beans, a small salad and maduros. It reminded me of my favorite dish at Mom's Cooking. Mom's Cooking is sadly no longer in business, but was a wonderful bar and restaurant on Geneva, with great food. It was like eating at your Mexican grandmother's table. But I digress.

     The food came quickly and we dove in. Shirley ordered the best dish on the table. Pernil Asado, wonderfully rich, flavorful, tender pork. Even Barbara's chicken, the Pollo Encebollado,  was very tasty and for me, at the moment, I have to say I'm burnt out on chicken. Way too much chicken at home lately, but this, this I would happily eat. 

     I can't say the same for my dish. The beef was tough and not very flavorful. The onions were yummy but that was about the only thing going for the beef. The salad dressing was very good, the maduros were sweetly delicious and the rice and beans were excellent. They had been cooked with ham and could easily have made a satisfying dinner by themselves. 

     I think the waiter was not very thorough when he recommended dishes that would be OK for me to eat. There was a little something in one of the dishes, I ended up with a headache. Luckily not too bad. I should have asked more detailed questions. What was in the marinade? What were the maduros fried in? I have been spoiled lately by extremely knowledgable wait staff. 

     The bathrooms are tiny, decorated by very colorful black, white, red and yellow tile that give it a happy feeling. I've seen cleaner and I've seen a lot worse.

     I give Parada 22 an overall 3 out of 5 stars. Just don't order the beef and you'll be very happy.

POP-UP PARADA 22
3296 22nd Street, (corner of Valencia)
824-4085
(Friday & Saturday evenings only)

Home site:
1805 Haight Street
750-llll