Relish: Sofrito Rico
Seattlest was invited by a friend to try a new Puerto Rican restaurant in Ballard called Sofrito Rico. Seattlest had recently been in Ballard and hadn't seen any new restaurants, so we couldn't quite picture where it was located. But when we walked in we realized that it was the old MiYi (Australian Pies) place, next door to Kitchen 'N Things on Market Street.
Sofrito Rico has made some improvements to the space, but it still feels a little like eating in a Taco Del Mar. Something about the high ceilings, bright colors and open kitchen; it's cheerful, but not cozy. The restuarant only has about eight tables and they were at capacity when Seattlest arrived at 8pm. There wasn't a waiting area or a bar, so we left our phone number and crossed the street to have a beer at The People's Pub. After about 20 minutes Sofrito Rico called and we headed back over, hungry and ready to eat.
We started off with the Bacalaito appetizer ($3.95), because Seattlest has a secret love for salt cod. The thin cod fritters were delicious and salty (but not too salty) and coated with a perfect, light batter. Seattlest quickly realized that someone in the kitchen really knows their way around a deep fat fryer. The kick to this dish was the garlicky mayonnaise sauce--which was so strong it verged on being offensive, but quickly changed to an addiction as we slathered it on everything.
Next up was the Vegetariana Empanada appetizer ($3.25), which was again deep fried and delicious, and came with the same garlicky sauce. The empanadas were made with a flavorful mix of tofu and veggies, encased in a flaky, shatteringly crisp pastry dough. Like a perfect pie crust that's been, uh, deep-fried.
To be clear, we're not complaining at all about all the fried stuff, but we were excited to see some greens when our Ensalada de Jason ($5.95) came. Unfortunately the salad was drenched in dressing (although we know quite a few people who love their salads this way). Fortunately, the dressing was really good. Something like balsamic and oregano and, you guessed it, tons of garlic.
After all the appetizers, we knew we couldn't get through a whole entree each, so we split the Pollo Guisado ($11.95). And it was a good thing we did. The kitchen kindly plated the single order on two plates, but what came to the table looked an awful lot like two whole dinners. We can't imagine what a single entree looks like, but we're guessing it would feed a small country. Okay, we're exaggerating, but it certainly fed two people easily enough. Everything on the diner plate looked so good that it was hard to know where to start: Tostones? Rice? Chicken?
Like everything else that was deep-fried, the tostones were amazing. Not that we've eaten a ton of tostones, but these were by far the best ones Seattlest has ever tasted. They were just the right thickness so that the plantain was soft and chewy, but the outside was really crunchy. They were covered with another strong sauce, which we suspect was just garlic, lime juice and salt.
Next we sampled the beautiful, Arroz con Gandules (we had upgraded from the regular rice and beans). Usually rice is just a plate filler to us, but this was rice we really wanted to eat. The texture was like a good paella and the flavor was tomato-y and rich. Seattlest learned that "grandules" are pigeon peas, which lent a wonderful nutty flavor to the rice.
The chicken was mild in comparison to everything else, but it was mild in a welcoming way and helped tame the strong garlic flavors. The chicken was slow cooked in a tomato base until absolutely tender and falling apart. Seattlest kept looking for something like a tortilla to put the chicken in and had this weird feeling like we were getting away with something; like eating all of the delicious filling out of someone else's taco.
By the end of the night, our tongues were pleasantly numb from all the garlic and we were glad we weren't on a date because kissing would be out of the question. We can't speculate on how authentic the food was because this was our first time eating Puerto Rican, but one thing is for sure: we'll be back soon.
Sofrito Rico
2320 NW Market Street
206.789.0516
http://www.sofritorico.com
