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Photo by: Katie Rickman

Pernil y arroz con gandules features roasted pork, Puerto Rican rice and pigeon peas.

By Mark Smesko & Michael Vallas

It also gives us a chance to dispel a few misconceptions. Let’s start with the latter. No (Mark), you don’t need a passport to visit Puerto Rico, it is a commonwealth of the United States. No (Mike), Mofongo isn’t a curse word used when you stub your toe on a door jamb, it is a classic dish made with fried plantains. We’ll hold off on the remaining misconception until later. Now let’s talk about the Calle Doce Restaurant.

The husband and wife team of Mark and Milly Rosa opened this Campbell establishment in June. As parishioners of St. Rosa de Lima Church, they would participate in making food for the annual parish festival. Over time, the work evolved into an idea with the Rosas to share the Puerto Rican comfort food they grew up with with the community all year long. They brought on Chef Juan Carlos and took a leap of faith and opened their business.

Our meal started off with two of Calle Doce’s signature appetizers: an order of fish tacos and a seasoned meat pie.

The tacos consist of lightly breaded and fried filet of Mahi Mahi, shredded lettuce, fresh pico de gallo, cilantro, cheddar and Monterey jack cheese, spicy sour cream and lime juice, all wrapped in a flour tortilla. On first bite you get a burst of citrus that is offset by the slightly spicy cream. Next comes the crunch of the fish that is rounded out nicely by the softness of the flour tortilla. A satisfying mixture comes from the hot fish paired with the coolness of the toppings.

Next we sampled the meat pie called Pastelillos. This dish is made with house-made pastry dough filled with ground beef seasoned with Sazon (spice blends that use ingredients such as salt, pepper, coriander, cumin, garlic powder and paprika). The pies also contain olives, cilantro, green peppers and onion. Accompanied by a roasted jalapeno sauce, the flaky crust and the savory filling of the pie matched well with the spicy sauce. Both starters were tasty and succeeded in stimulating our appetites.

We next moved to a staple of Puerto Rican tables. The first entree was pernil y arroz con gandules (roasted pork with Puerto Rican rice and pigeon peas). Mark and Milly explained that rice is a critical part of Puerto Rican cuisine and is served with most meals. For this dish, pork shoulder/butt is marinated with Sazon, Adobo and fresh garlic, then slow-roasted for five hours until tender. It is served in its own juices over the rice and peas.

The pork was fork-tender and melted in your mouth. The rice had slight texture, similar to risotto, and paired well with the meat. This wonderful dish would make a perfect Sunday dinner and made it clear why Mark called this Puerto Rican comfort food.

The second entree we tried was Mofongo with a shrimp creole sauce. The main ingredient in Mofongo is plantains. A member of the banana family, plantains are starchier and lower in sugar, which means they are still green when ripe. They also have to be cooked before eating.

Calle Doce slices the plantains, then deep fries and mashes them with cilantro, garlic, Sazon and Adobo seasoning. The base of the creole sauce is red and green peppers, onions, garlic and cilantro that is mixed with tomato sauce and the shrimp. The creole sauce had a slight spice perfect for the shrimp preparation. The Mofongo was a hearty and flavorful dish and can also be ordered with chicharones, or fried pork rinds.

Moments later a glorious basket of fried pork appeared. Mark nearly fainted. Calle Doce takes a whole pork belly, marinates it in dry rub for 24 to 48 hours, then cubes the meat and deep fries it to crispy perfection. When you pop one of these nuggets in your mouth, you get a crispy explosion of pork flavor that just melts in your mouth and then it’s gone, leaving you craving another one. It’s like “pork-candy” and was perfection in one bite, addictive and amazing.

To finish up our visit, Chef JC presented us with a tasting of rice pudding and flan. Once again Mark noted how these dishes are reflective of what he and Milly grew up with, and what they taste when they visit Puerto Rico. His hope is to share the taste and culture with others, and that brings us to the last misconception worthy of correction.

Recently a reader knocked our opinion because we don’t show up unannounced for these features. Granted, if you knew us personally, you’d have a thousand valid reasons to knock our opinions. But our intent here isn’t to catch people off guard, but to give local establishments a chance to shine, and show what they are capable of doing. In that light, we hope you give Calle Doce a chance. They are good people, serving good food that is close to their heart.