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THE MIAMI HERALD

New Latin Restaurant Has A Family Feel

BY LESLIE ELLENBOGEN VOGEL

April 13, 2003
Copyright © 2003
THE MIAMI HERALD. All rights reserved. 

Miramar residents Rosa and Pedro Delgado, along with daughter Iveliss and son Junior, have opened a restaurant in Pembroke Pines that in many ways mirrors their own marriage.

''My father was originally from Cuba and my mother was from Puerto Rico,'' said Junior Delgado, who runs the restaurant. ``El Rinconcito, like my parents, is a marriage of Cuban and Puerto Rican cuisine.''

The Delgado family began their venture seven years ago when they bought a cafeteria in Hialeah. They knocked down walls and created a restaurant, calling it El Rinconcito.

'It means `the little corner,' '' Junior Delgado said. ``We named it for the spot where we were located in Hialeah.''

The Delgados had little formal training in the restaurant business when they started. Pedro had worked in a bakery in Cuba, and Rosa was a very good cook of Puerto Rican cuisine.

''We learned by doing,'' Junior said. ``We hired a cook there who taught all of us. You have to have people who want to work.''

With the success of the Hialeah location, the Delgados decided it was time for a second El Rinconcito. They picked the SilverLakes area and opened their doors on Feb. 5.

''There are a lot of Puerto Ricans and Cubans in the area, and it was a deal you couldn't beat,'' Junior said. ``It was a good spot to open our family-owned, family-oriented place where people can come to eat and relax.''

He said they call the restaurant the ``House of Churrasco and Mofongo.''

Churrasco is Argentine steak, and mofongo is a Puerto Rican dish made with fried, mashed green plantains with little pieces of pork rinds and special seasoning. The mofongo is usually served in a pilon, a traditional large wooden garlic crusher used by farmers in the Caribbean.

The dish called bandeja boricua is a large platter with mainly Puerto Rican dishes, including rice and fried meat.

Arroz con gandules is another Puerto Rican dish of yellow rice with pigeon peas.

Other chicken, fish and meat dishes are available on the El Rinconcito menu. Salads are featured as well.

El Rinconcito also has cantinas, or meals ordered weekly, available for pickup or delivered daily. The restaurant caters parties and other gatherings.

A children's menu is available.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served daily. For breakfast, prices start at $2.50. Main courses for lunch and dinner begin at $5.

El Rinconcito is at 18457 Pines Blvd. Call 954-443-5333. Reservations are not required.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday; 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

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