Island bites

Latin fare in Matawan is "shore to please."

Deep flavor, but without the fire—that’s how Carolyn Feliciano describes the fare she serves up at Salsa Latina Puerto Rican restaurant in Matawan (732-583-7000, www.salsalatinanj.com). Plantains are abundant—twice-fried and topped with steak or shrimp as a tostones appetizer; or mashed in mofongo and served with shrimp, pork, chicken or beef. Weekend-only specialties include traditional arroz con pollo, the chicken-and-rice favorite, and sancocho, a hearty Puerto Rican stew made with meat, Caribbean root vegetables and white rice. A special dessert might include a sampling of pineapple flan, sweet and rich but also light, and the luscious guava cheesecake.

Joe Bonaccorse used a GPS search for “Puerto Rican food” to find Salsa Latina. In from Orlando on business, he seeks out the dishes he remembers from his many years on the Island. “The pernil [a slowroasted pork dish] was like it was made at home,” he reports. “The pork just melts in your mouth.”