Hmmm, no DR or Haitian restaurant in Spring Valley, NY? I agree that is very odd indeed. Last summer I was in Norwark, CT most of the time training for my job and you could find Dominican restaurants and even a hair salon (much to my relief!), so it's ironic that there isn't one where you're at jemesouviens. Oh well

Dominican hair salons we have a lot of that ,JEM. But no restuarants......I always wanted to try how you guys make your plaintains and fried pork(my favorite dish).

FYI: I grew up in a single family home. My mother is from the campo who learned to cook at very young age the old fashion way before gas stoves were affordable. She cooked for the family which consisted of approximately 12-13 siblings. She lived where Tinajas held the water, carbon was used en el fogon and carosen lamps where the evening norm. So my experience with Dominican home cuisine as well as Dominican life is exhaustive. But to pacify the inquisitive minds I will attempt to give light to the building blocks of my opinion. My opinions are based on my childhood, my life as well as my experiences with others inside and outside of my cultural circle.

When I say overly spiced I really mean "liberally used". What do I mean by this? Well, I'll use another example I had previously used. If you have ever had spaghetti Dominican style you will notice that unlike Italian spaghetti everything is thrown in the pot. This drowning out of food and spices prevents one ( the eater ) from savoring the individual elements and ingredients of the dish. Hell this jumbo-lia will even prevent you from discerning from the type of pasta and spices used except for the occasional olives and pimento .

Notwithstanding, I cannot neglect my penchant for a bowl of con-con and some pollo guisado. But I have yet to eat at a Dominican restaurant or home where I actually tasted the true texture of the Chicken or beef. Why? Because Dominicans have a tendency to over cook the meat.

Heat and movement will change the texture of the meat as well as the absorption of the ingredients. This is why Steak is so much more appreciated when it is cooked/seared in different ways i.e rare, medium rare, medium well. The more the meat is cooked and moved, the more the texture will change which will affect the stimulation of the taste-buds.

Now, I agree to a degree about the marketing aspects. What Cubans have is an ability to market in tandem "all things Cuban". One thing about Cuban food is true. It is more bland than Dominican food, but this is a good thing. Why? If I am a restaurant owner with vision of expanding I prefer to have it slightly bland for the reason that not everyone is Cuban, not everyone is Dominican and therefore you are widening your appeal by allowing the customer to sprinkle a conservative dash of salt or pepper. This is what makes Cuban food more appealing to a greater audience. It's available flexibility.

Finally, If you survey 100 Dominicans and asked them what they think about their food, 95% or greater will agree that Dominican food is the best. The same will happen with just about any nationality. However to gain recognition you must be able to appeal to a critical mass and do it in a creative and unobtrusive way.

In the U.S. you go to any Dominican restaurant and you will find pechuga a la parilla and at home Dominicans cook pollo al horno with the same green natural seasoning. LOL....I think Dominican food has all the qualities to appeal to mainstream America. I've seen it countless times Americans in the "heights" eating out of our restaurants. They enjoy it and keep going for more. I think the real issue is the marketing. Sooner or later we'll get it right. In the mean time, we'll continue to produce good food for everyone to enjoy.

ny4life,you are missing the point. not because you eat pechuga de pollo a la parilla, and many other dominicans do, that does not make it a dominican dish . i eat pizza on a regular basis from Pizzarelli on the malecon in Santo Domingo. that does not make pizza a dominican dish. when we refer to something as the dish of a country, it is something that is uniquely associated with that country, such as flying fish in Barbados, jerk chicken and beef patties with coco bread from jamaica, etc. we are not addressing foods that anybody has. i can go to any restaurant, of any nationality in new york, and get a grilled chicken breast. i can get it from fast food outlets, for Gods sake. but if i go up to some restaurant in say, Vermont, and ask for jerk pork, they will look at me as if i had two heads! and ladronaso, your understanding of culinary issues never ceases to amaze me. what most cooks have to learn in the DR is that they are cooking meats and fish, not seasonings. seasonings should be subtle, not overpowering. as Texas Bill says, that overuse of recaito is unsettling, because it has a taste which cannot be cooked out, like onion or garlic. you season with it, and the food tastes like it. and as i mentioned before, you cannot cook for long periods with a high flame. you either cook fast with a very high flame, such as wok cooking, or very slowly on a very low flame, almost like a crock pot. you cannot combine high heat with long cooking times. yes, the flames do not have to engulf the pot for the food to cook. neither do you need a cup of oil to fry an egg.

Good point Ladronso. I think the way Dominicans cook is unique. Albeit we do use the same seasoning for everything, I like the fact that its made freshly. The fact that Dominican cook in a while to disguise the flavoring of the meat I think is a skill. I personally hate the way Pork tastes but if you are able to apply recaito, cilantro, garlic, etc in a way that disguises the taste of pork, I love it! I have noticed that if the food tastes like the meat or if the smell of the seasoning is not avaliable must Dominicans claim about it not being seasoned correctly. I guess, when it comes down to it, the way cook is very unique. I thoroughly enjoy it. For mainstream America, it might need to be tweaked a bit but the essence of our food preparation should be there.

Ditto in PuertoRico I love dominican food.

ny4life, i understand your perception of cuisine, but it will not work on a large scale. if you like food which has been disguised by seasonings, that is fine. but if that is the philosophy of dominican cooking, it will never receive universal acceptance. if you get a prime quality steak from such masters as Peter Luger, for example, they brush it with a little salt and black pepper, and grill it to perfection.the patrons love it because the flavor of the cut is revealed in all its glory. if you go polluting it with cilantro and other herbs, you have debased and devalued it. it is ok if you are going to stew some rotti sin hueso, but you will not make a good impression if you kill a prime rib with cilantro, then cook it to charcoal. and you make a good point about local cooking; the same spices are used on everything, including soup. that way, everything tastes the same, and sadly, not all spices work with all meats. as i posted before, sage, for example, does not go well with beef. caution has to be exercised when choosing spices and herbs for seasoning food

It will. Just watch and see. It already does. Just better markeing needs to be done.

Gracias Hermano for your comments.