Was very happy to see a Puerto Rican shop and Food Truck in Austin. However, after our first visit, I don't have the motivation to return, unfortunately. I'll explain.
To be fair, upon our initial visit, we were informed that since they had just returned from vacation, they were working on restocking their shelves. So they weren't fully stocked. But overall, it seems like they're only equipped to carry dry pantry items. Mostly Goya brand items, but no gandules at the time of our visit. They also have a lot of frozen goods, and lots of candy from the Island, and some popular pastries to enjoy.
It would be great if they carried fresh Puerto Rican produce such as Vianda, Culantro, Plátanos, etc, (even though there is definitely an understanding that some of those items are extremely difficult to find in Texas altogether). Finding them and then ordering and delivering them to the store could end up being very costly to consumers and also there is a risk of the produce losing quality on their travel to the shop.
Now, the food. We only ordered their Asopado de camarones (asopao). This is supposed to be a thick-like soupy rice with shrimp. This is a very special and popular dish among Puerto Ricans. Their version of Asopao was lacking the authentic flavor that is to be expected. Based on their soup, it seems unlikely that they used fresh ingredients. Very few pieces of potato and a few baby carrots, but no celery or fresh onions at the very least. The flavor, mainly, is supposed to come from the broth that is made using the removed shrimp tail/skin. The shrimp tail is supposed to be removed, because it is used to make the broth. They served the shrimp with the tail. Essentially what they served was asopado con camarones, and not Asopao de camarones. There is a difference. This review is not a cooking lesson, so I'll spare the details.
We want to fully support a Puerto Rican shop, and we would love to try their other dishes. Based on our first experience, there is definitely a lot of room for improvement. We look forward to another opportunity to try them out.
The people were very friendly and serviceable, as is to be expected. There is also a sense of being at home. The atmosphere is welcoming and warm.
Oh, and yes, we are Puerto Ricans. read more