Back to the original question: "Dominican vs Cuban" Food.

In my opinion: To me Dominican food tastes better, is better prepared, is more sanitary, and frankly, my palatate is better adapted to it.

Dominicans clean and wash their meats with lemon or lime, and cut-off all the fat. They marinate the meats. (Note I am a vegan, presently). Dominicans wash rice before cooking it: It gets rid of bugs and other harmful particles. Dominicans cook their red beans, slow cooked, a long process similar to boston baked beans, no beans from Goya bean cans, or Iberia! Dominicans use corn or coconut oil; Not Lard! Dominicans wash their vegetables thoroughly, some with chlorine. So, overall the preparation process is more sanitary than many other cultures that I have observed.

Cubans, on the other hand; Use several spices that I don't care for. Some of these are Laurel leaf, (they make Bay Rum with it), I hate its taste. In D.R. they use it rarely, sometimes in "Pescado al Escaveche", and I can't recall any other dishes with this weed. Another one is the Anatto or Bija; I don't like its taste either; Yet, Cubans use it liberally in their dishes. Then there's Cumin, or Comino; I distinctly dislike this spice. Another basic ingredient of Cuban cusisine I don't care for is pork.
Cubans are pork-aholics; They have it in their black beans as tocino or fat back; in their congri; and they like to cook all their meals with LARD: Fo! FAuX! Che! LARD is pig fat; Now why would I want my tostones fried in such fat? Also, they love chorizos in anything they can put it into. Let's not forget the Ham (Jamon Serrano, etc) and Pierna or Pernil; Which they use in their Cuban Sandwiches, and Media Noches, and Croquetas de Jamon. I personally have never liked swine. I saw too many of them in the campo eating garbage to want to eat anything from that beast. Pork>>>On another note, I remember eating "Sandwich Completo" en el Conde as a child, (I'm from the Capital) and it also had Ham, Pernil, and Swiss Cheese; Yet, no one called them Cuban Sandwiches, I found that out when I moved to NYC. Where I learnt of Cuban Bread, Cuban Sandwiches, Cuban Crackers, Cuban Cofee, everything was Cuban. These guys really know how to take credit for things, even if it isn't theirs.
The Cubans I met in the city left Cuba with just the clothes on their backs, not bread or Ham.

Lastly, some of my detractors may say that I'm biased toward my own country's cuisine. You got that right! I love my nation's food. And believe that given the chance it will become more popular than Cuban, any day, in any town around the world. We just haven't been around the block like the Cubans have since their famous 1959 ( 50 years ago) Rebel-lution, which has spread these sons of Siboney around the world. Secondly, Cuba is a much larger nation than our half-island nation, who has had a long turbulent history. Cubans have received more attention also because of their proximity to the U.S. mainland. Also, some forget (I don't 'cause I've been dealing with the Cubans for 45 years) that Cuban Restaurants don't only represent Cuban food, but also Spanish (Comida de Iberia) food: Such as Bacalao a La Viscaina, Favada Asturiana, Ajiaco, Potaje, Paella, etc. So if we anylize the situation closely I see that there is a natural advantage on the side of Cubans. Besides, back in the day Cuban Restaurants were always staffed by white Cubans: That really helps when you want to appeal to the American people. Things have changed since "63"! It hasn't been that long since multi-racial people were accepted in great numbers; Forget about these people operating Restaurants where Americans, or people other than those of their own ethnic background would frequent, and patronize. Except if you were Chinese! They've been in the U.S. for nearly 200 years. So, again let's call a spade a spade. Dominican food is fantastic and has nothing to envy any other cuisine. Let's give it the Pepsi-Coke blind-fold comparison: I know we will win hands down. Que te pasa, papo? Caballeros, this is not Cubans Today, por Dios!

hi Frank, nice to hear from you again. i guess now that it is probably 30 degrees farenheit in London, blood is again flowing in your veins. i am 100% in agreement with you regarding the nasty taste of high fructose corn syrup. but you must admit that companies such as the makers of pepsi , coke, mountain dew, et al, have managed to artfully disguise the evil aspect, and produce interesting flavors. Red Rock, on the other hand, is pure sugar and carbonated water. heck, the little islands of the caribbean produce much better sodas. i have had a brand in New York called D AND G from Jamaica, and it is infinitely superior. as to the fruits and veggie thing, i am worn out posting about that. the best fruits in the world, going to waste. with all the glorious land in the Cibao Valley, how come we do not have a decent hot pepper in the island, so we can produce a pepper sauce which can enter the international market, even if it does not displace tabacso. Frank, you live in London. try to get a bottle of Grace Scotch Bonnet pepper sauce. tell me why we cannot approach those heights here. why are we still bombarded by things such as Baldom, which are just vinegar and red dye number whatever?

taking about about it´s for me a bad sign that you dont love your land as many othe like me.

i think that we have one of the best countrys arround the globe, but it doesnt meant that I will forget about the corruption of our goverment and other many things that affects a lot our Quisqueya!!!

Our food is very rich and I´ve been in many other countrys and the mangu, patano con huevo, arroz banco con habichuela rojas, el pollo horneado and much more dishes you can only enjoy here are nowhere the same or even better. i just talking of the tipics and simple dishes but talking about real cusine, we have a lot of good chefs that have put our name high.

"mountainfrog, the only difference i detect between the food in the DR and the food in the States is that the ingredients are superior in the states, and impart a more pleasing taste."

You gotta be kidding me dread. Fresher ingredients in the states? No way, no how. When I'm over there I eat meat from animals that have just been killed, I eat produce that was pulled out of the ground on the same day. No comparing ingredients for cooking in DR to ingredients in the states, at least not in the campo.

dreadlocks has made various comments that I find odd as hell such as the one you just quoted.

That's true.
But it so also applies to 'carne de res' and if you don't have a pressure cooker or are willing to cook a 'vaca vieja' for hours you end up chewing the cud... which for me is sufficient evidence that more Dominicans are gourmands than gourmets.
(Mind you, well-hung beef cuts are even imported... )

Anyway, fresh ingredients are certainly used, no doubt, but don't expect them to be served in a refined or gourmet style way.
Good down to earth cooking, you may say....

m'frog

USADR, rather than asserting that i have made several odd remarks about food, why don't you enumerate the comments and let us ventilate the issues. it should not be too difficult, since you refer to them as "several". i am not a trained chef, but i am accomplished in the culinary arts, so i am not talking off the top of my head. let's hear your disagreements with what i have said. as to what mountainfrog has just posted, that is what i mean when i say "superior ingredients" an american rib eye steak can be thrown on a medium hot grill for say 7 minutes per side , after which you can cut it with a spoon. try that with local beef! ever grill an american pork chop? do you think you can cook a local chop the same way? do you even think that Sal Perla and kosher salt give food the same taste? or crisco oil and crisol? get real here. nobody is trying to demean Dominican cooking, so no need to get defensive. i thought that the thread asked why dominican food does not receive the same acclaim as Cuban food. well, some of us are trying to explain why, while others are getting into foxholes to defend it with their last bullet!

Sorry, wanted to edit my above post (for wrong spelling) and hit the wrong button.
No "delete" button here?
Oh well, never mind.

Saludos
m'frog

My sentiments exactly ciba. But hey ciba home cooked food, is also pretty fresh in the capital, too. The women in my family over there buy freshly killed poultry or fresh beef and they prepare they prepare their own seasoning too. You know how it is over there, folks usually buy the food they are going to cook the same day. As long as your eating a home cooked meal over there, the women for the most part use fresh, natural ingredients to prepare their food. I know for a fact the women in my family do.

well. JEM. it appears you did not read my post, or you would not be talking about "fresh beef" freshly killed beef is worthless!