Dread you like myself are hooked on the Spanish Antilles and yes there is a common thread throughout the islands but culturally they are profoundly different....English ,Spanish and French.....Dread if you research the culinary traditions there is more similarity.....Journey cake ....Johnny cake ....Yanikeke

of course, Goulet. take the humble empanada, for example. just about every territory has some version of that delicacy. the only difference is in the execution, but the idea is the same. merely an enclosed meat pie. the basic differences are in the seasoning of the meat, and the preparation of the crust. some territories fry them, some bake them. i prefer the baked versions, and i have a canadian friend who makes a jamaican style beef patty as good as any i have had in new york. also, in the DR they sometimes use a cheese filling, which is not seen in the english caribbean too often. more lavish offerings come from the eastern caribbean, such as lobster and shrimp empanads, but the concept is the same. heck, the cooking utensils are the same all over the area, so, logically, the food has to be somewhat similar, since the animals and vegetables we eat are basically the same. it is not as though some islands have elk and moose, and others do not. it is a matter of tastes, as i said. in Trinidad, my friends eat a fiery dish of curry goat with a side dish of sliced habaneros!! it is not the going in that hurts, it is the coming out, as they say. but Dominicans will run away from the table if a hint of hot pepper is detected, saying it is "demasiado picante". these traits being in evidence, food will be prepared differently, and each person will like what he is accustomed to. i, for one, have never been accustomed to squeezing lime juice over just about everything, but there is no rule book which says it is unacceptable!

Yes, but it proves that you can take hillbillies out of the hills, but you cant take the hills out of the hillbillies

A comment like that from a suposed dominican born (blanco) is a pitty to read in a media like this, because he only recognizes the negative behavior of dominicans , he doesnt have enough brain to see all the good things many dominicans have done in the United States.

Frankly, I may been confrontational or bellicose as you describe me; Yet, ther's no need for the back-bitting, and dropping my name in the way you're doing, and trying to drum up support for this Caribbean alliance that you are so fond of. My point is that I call them as I see them. If the issue is our food why stray away into the ridiculous: White men and pornography ; Or why DR don't like spicy food. That's your prerogative, eat what you want. No one will dictate to you what to eat. Our food, in my opinion is fantastic, and better than Cuban; That's my thing! So, it's that simple. Not this stuff about Tobago, or St. Croix. We have the Turks and Caicos next door! But, again don't take it personal this is Dominican Today, not Cayman Islands or Belize Today, OK? Even, Cuba, or P.R. Today.
KISS concept. It ain't rocket science.

Arsenio, you stated in the comments section that you did not want to turn this into an intra island war of words, but it appears that that is exactly what you want. there have been numerous posts on this forum which express negative opinions on some aspects of Dominican cuisine, some from Dominicans themselves. i have tried to keep my comments at a objective level, mostly from a technically food prep standpoint. at no time have i tried to demean your cuisine subjectively, because that is counter productive. the only point in this thread, which has gone on for weeks, in which you chose to enter is when you realised that a west indian had posted. then , you enter with guns blazing, combustible and bellicose, as if trying to shut me up. others have said less complimentary things, but you let them slide. dude, if you have a soul disturbing issue with west indians, i cannot help you with exorcising those demons. you might want to consult with Dr Phil.

I've been reading most of the post and agree with many and have no idea where others are coming from. I lived in the Heights (INWOOD) all my life and have been raised on Dominican and Cuban food. My father is Cuban and my mother is Dominican. I love both food equally for what they are. When it comes to Cuban food there isn't much of a selection compare to Dominicans. My father never had mangu with the fried chesse, etc until he met my mother. A typical meal for my dad was rice with and egg and what ever "meat" if any he could find. In my opinion, the reason Dominican food is not as popular as Cuban food is because you wont find a Dominican restaurant out of the Dominican community. Until recently these restaurants were frequent by locals or non Hispanics who worked in the area. Here in NYC we have a popular Cuban restaurant that does very well, Victor's cafe which is located in the 50's in the middle of all the tourist attractions, B'way shows, hotels, stores. Yes there are other so called Cuban restaurants but they are sold as fushion cuisine. So there is really nothing Cuban about it if you ask me. Then to top it off I feel these restaurants are popular because there in the area for the main stream folks but it also has that forbidden folk to it. Cuba was the Vegas of the time and all the famous people went there and lived there, oh my...and so on. The Heights now is uprising(depending on who you ask) and the white folks are moving back and changing everything but if you go on any given night to a local restaurant you will see the non spanish kids on dates enjoying some pork chops with tostones.

In short my opinion is if Dominican restaurants where open in the main stream area, Wall street, east side, west side what ever that the food itself will get the recognition is deserves!

The Cuban government is behind the Cuban Brand - Many overseas restaurants have Cuban shareholding for example Cubana restaurant in London - Castro's office is major shareholder. They also link it to culture - for example Cuban Dance performances at major venues. There is good 'intenational' style cookery schools in Cuba - in restaurants there often visiting Cuban chefs, waitresses. The food is designed to apeal to an international clientele and is different to food preferred by native Cubans. Although anything can be prepared on request. Cubana Airlines at times co-operates with deliveries of special Cuban food e.g. fresh fish. They also master the art of pouring rum.
But there are so many other well paid jobs Dominicans can do perhaps there is little motivation.
Special immigration arrangements are improtant in international cusine - therefore US visa control for Domicans for the US does not help. Cubans have 'exile' status. Haitians/Dominicans are sent back. The Dominican government could demand say 100,000 special visas to be issued for US/Canada for chefs and waiters/waitresses as part of free trade negociations. In the recent Japan / Thailand free trade negoications Japan agreed to visa quotas for Thai restaurant staff. This could help redress the trade imbalance.
For many years the UK encouraged ethnic restaurants by visa policy -
Recent changes have caused problems:
http://www.globalvisas.com/news/uk_immigration_policy_causing_curry_industry_skills_shortage502.html
http://www.cubana.co.uk/
For example of Cuban government assisted restaurant.

S.

2 thoughts about this thread.

1st Abc is still a silly blind liberal

2nd Cuban food is more popular for the simple fact that it is better!

MAKES SENCE