Lechonera Principe

I was craving a taste of home, and was really excited when I spotted a biz card for this place at a local shop. I ordered lechon, rice & beans and tostones. The lady I spoke to was super nice but the food was just ok. Kicked the craving, but I wouldn’t eat here again. The pork could’ve benefitted from some extra seasoning, same with the beans.

Pre-​ordering works especially well for a big group here, though a bit of Spanish was needed to convey what I wanted when I made the call. We stumbled in and were quickly greeted by piles of lechon, rice, beans, and potato salad. Then, came the fried course: empanadas and alcapurrias. The pork and beans were the showstoppers. Maybe the beer and spirits were to blame, but I spent most of lunch aggressively tearing though pork skin. There may be blackmail pictures of this floating around on the internet. I love my friends.
There isn’t a menu or much at all about Lechonera Principe on the internet. There is however, this video.

They only had one platter available. Chicken, rice, and beans. I am happy to report that it was delicious.

Great, I mean great! The roast/​smoked pork and the Latin sides, along with the friendly and helpful service is unbeatable. I really cannot stress how good this hole-​in-​the wall is. I live two houses away and smell the grill and smoker every morning, it is delicious and cheap. They also have some great sides including «potato balls», which are softball-​sized seasoned smashed potatos stuffed with ground beef, battered, and deepfried… don’t pass it up. They also have roast and rotissere chicken, home made sausage, and probably 5 – 6 other dishes that I am not sure what they are, I just have gotten the pork because it smells so great.
The interior is very modest, card tables with table clothes, assorted sauces (french, BBQ, and a homemade chili-​vinager), and homemade, bottled sweet tea in the fridge. It is a little intimidating if you are not of Latin descent (which I am not), but the service is friendly and they will explain everything to you. It is very fast also. Barbeque is among my favorite cuisines and this Latin take on it is really good. The first time I was there the owner offered us a shot of home made liquer, it was in a jus with lots of fruit and my friend said it was good, I don’t drink but the gesture made it feel like we are part of the family.