Quisqueya

As prophetized. This establishment is closed.

We found Quisqueya on our way back from the Print Expo at the convention center. I had the yellow rice, beans, salad and pork chop. I LOVE IT. I thought the rice was Puerto Rican but it is Peruvian. This is a must go to place in Center City — the Food is freakin good. You will find me there once a week because it is Near Community College of Philadelphia. Lets GO!!!

I live in the Wolf Building at the corner of 12^th and Callowhill. For a long time Billy G’s was across the street. It was the quintessential American greasy spoon. I never had any desire to go there and I never did. Then one day it closed and the restaurant front remained closed for a month or two and when it opened it was Quisqueya. The building is under renovations so they are unable to put a their sign up but they have a board with specials on it outside and I wanted to see what was going on there. Turns out it is a Dominican /​Peruvian restaurant!
Boo and I stopped in for lunch following a gym session with the intentions of getting something quick and healthy. Quisqueya is not the place for either. After being seated by the nicest hostess ever, our waitress came over and took our orders. I kept it simple, beef, beans, and rice. Boo got one of the breakfast specials which was green plantain mixed with cheese with a side of salami. There were honestly 14 pieces of fried salami and about 2 pounds of plantain.
In our relationship like we share lots of things. The TV, the bed, occasionally the shower, but food is not one of them. This was the rare exception that there was enough of hers that once I was done my beef (which was yummy but not as good) I could move on to the salami and stuff myself without getting my hand slapped.
Quisqueya is still new and is finding its legs but I am excited to have it in the hood and I look forward to going back.

GREAT addition to that lonely stretch of 12^th Street between Spring Garden and Vine St. This is the kind of place that you leave and wishing & hoping that once everyone in the world realizes how amazing their food is that (1) the food will remain as delicious and fabulously prepared as it is now and (2) that the people working there will stay as cute and friendly.
I stopped by yesterday for take-​out. Thought I wanted one thing but let the super-​duper nice girl at the register convince me to try something else. WOW. Correct choice! I was blown away by the Chaufa w. beef. Although described as fried rice (I also got an order of tostones — fried green plantains) like the other reviewer I was impressed that nothing was greasy. My favorite part of the Caufa was this zippy sauce/​onion mixture (onion, lime, cilantro) that seriously took the dish to another level. It was spicy, it was tangy, but it was refreshing at the same time. Portions are very generous and prices are reasonable. For $ 18 I got enough food for two adults (with leftovers).
The place looks like a diner. Tile floor, a few booths, a few tables, a huge TV. The food is made to order — so it took a while, maybe 20 minutes for it to come out — TOTALLY fine with me. It’s also a BYO which I can’t wait to go back with a few cold beers and try out everything on the menu.
Oh, and they specialize in ceviche. I didn’t try b/​c I wasn’t sure how well it would travel via trolley out to West Philly but a few friends said it’s amazing and worth a special trip just for that.

I love Peruvian food, so I was very excited to hear that a Dominican /​Peruvian restaurant opened up just down the street from me. Unfortunately, my enthuisiasm for this place was short-​lived.
Quisqueya took over the space of Billy G’s diner, and renovations were minimal at best. Walking in, it still looked like an antiquated, dingy 70s diner with no décor at all. They didn’t have real menus, just a folded paper takeout menu, consisting of mostly breakfast sandwiches, appetizers, salads and entrees. It seemed like a reasonable variety, but the prices struck me as outrageous. For example, they have a $ 16 ceviche which would put it on par with ceviche at Alma de Cuba.
We decided the menu was too expensive for a first try, so we opted for the lunch special which is served cafeteria style, from a line of saran-​wrap covered hotel pans. For $ 8, you can choose one type of rice (from black bean, yellow or white), and one protein (chicken, beef or pork), with some plaintains, and a salad. Between the two of us we ordered black bean rice with pork and yellow rice with chicken.
— Rice: black bean was better than the yellow, but both were incredibly bland, chalky, and undercooked. They tasted like they came out of a box.
— Meat: The pork was medallion cut loin pieces, which were fried to a nice golden crust, but unfortunately, they were dry, tough, and underseasoned, with no discernible spice. The woman at the counter told me the chicken was Peruvian style, so I expected the chicken to taste more like pollo a la brasa, but it was flavorless, like boiled chicken, with a browned exterior.
–Plantain: caramelized on the outside, and undercooked within, and again, lack of flavor was a problem.
— Salad: iceberg lettuce, a single slice of under-​ripe tomato and a few pieces of shredded carrot with a crema-​ranch dressing.
The whole meal looked and tasted like something you’d find in a hospital cafeteria. On top of that, they’re charging Steven Starr prices for mediocre food. I hate to give a negative review so early in the game, but this place was really terrible.

This restaurant really exceeded our expectations. Based on it being in a reclaimed diner, with few upgrades, we figured it would be some decent Latin food (my wife and I are big fans of Latin food, especially Caribbean, so we had to try a Latin restaurant this close to us). Not only was it decent, we actually felt that it was above average. My wife, being Dominican, suddenly had the urge to eat Mangu or Yuca with salami and fried cheese. She opted for the yuca, which turned out to be very good. My usual complaint about these traditional Dominican/​Island dishes is that they tend to be too greasy, but that wasn’t the case this time.
In addition to Dominican food, they also have a selection of Peruvian food on the menu. I chose to try the Chaufa de Pollo (fried rice, with chicken, beef or shrimp and some veggies), and was pretty impressed. I also ordered a Chicha Morada (traditional Peruvian drink made from purple corn). I’ve tried this drink at a couple other Peruvian/​Latin restaurants and, while it’s good enough when no other natural juices are on the menu, it isn’t necessarily a favorite of mine. This time it tasted different, though. It seemed sweeter than other times I’ve ordered it, which made it taste more refreshing. I suppose that also meant it had more calories, though, so maybe not a good thing, depending on your point of view.
They’re obviously recently opened, and were having some issues with the credit card machine. They were finally able to get it working, but be forewarned that their ability to accept cards might be hit-​or-​miss at first. They also are in the process of installing an ATM, but it isn’t working yet, so try to have some cash on hand. The owners were extremely nice, though. Looking forward to trying this place again.