Jackson Heights Life

Breaking news on Jackson Heights Life!

We're getting a new eatery on Roosevelt Avenue, called Green Plantains.  According to their website, Green Plantains is "a Nuevo Chino Latino Dining Experience. Our menu features the finest in creative Latin and Caribbean-style cuisine with a touch of Asian influence. Our hearts and souls go into every dish we prepare, and the food we serve reflects the passion and heritage of our Dominican roots."  Sounds very promising.

I noticed a new sign for the restaurant today at 79-09 Roosevelt Avenue... it's not open yet, and there was no indication of when it would open for business.  This is the second location for this restaurant... the first location is in Gainesville, Florida.  Interesting that they decided to break into the NY market in Jackson Heights... perhaps this is the best way to get noticed among the foodie community.

From reading through the menu, I'm thinking that this may be a chain restaurant similar to the likes of Pollo Tropical?  Pollo Tropical, a popular chain also in Florida, has seen additions in Jersey and Brooklyn. 

Opening tomorrow!

I ate there yesterday for lunch as well, and I enjoyed my meal as did my dining companions.  The staff was extremely nice and attentive.  Since they just opened a day or so ago, I think maybe that can account for the disorganization (which I didn't personally experience).  I am glad to have this restaurant in the nabe since it is a bit different then a lot of the other Latin places on Roosevelt.  And they say that they are Carribean food with an Asian influence (i think they called it latino chino or something to that effect) which would explain the lo mein and fried rice that is on menu.  All in all I liked my experience there and will definitely be eating there again.

I decided to walk along Roosevelt Ave. today and see what I've been missing by never going there.  The one thing I haven't missed is the noisy, noisy 7 train.  But there were new businesses to window shop.  I actually went in here because it was cute looking and some of their menu photos looked interesting.  It was lunch time and the place had no business.  I just got a menu cuz I wasn't hungry.  I'm a rib fan so I'll give them a try.

My husband and I decided to give Green Plantains a try tonight, and we're glad we did.  We ordered the caldo gallego, mojito grilled chicken and ropa vieja.  All dishes were good.  Todd's description of the service is on the money.  The staff is very friendly and eager to please.  I would recommend Green Plantains for those occasions when you're in the mood for a quick and tasty and reasonably priced meal.  Overall, it's nice to have a place in the neighborhood offering a Caribbean menu.  Delivery service will be available soon.

After our meal, we had the pleasure of meeting Jimmy, one of the restaurant's owners.  He's a very attentive and enterprising young man.  He explained that his love of Cuban food and Caribbean food in general, garnered from growing up in Florida, is what influences the menu he is offering.  His Vietnamese background may explain that Asian flair that is present in some of the dishes.  Jimmy further explained that like the Florida location, he would like to build a community oriented customer base in Jackson Heights with the goal of giving back to the neighborhood and its children.  In a couple of weeks, they'll be hosting what he called a "gala event" complete with Latin music and red dragons!  Sounds like fun.

Kate, it may have been Jimmy.  He'll probably get a kick out of the muscle comment.  He said he's going to check out JHL.

Just want to point out that the Chicharron de Pollo, although called "chicharron" is not a true crackling in the literal sense of the word.  So when ordering, don't think that you'll be served something along the lines of chicharron de puerco (pork crackling).  Having gone to a few Caribbean restaurants, particularly Dominican and Puerto Rican, when served Chicharron de Pollo, it has always been in the form of deep fried chicken strips or chicken tenders.  I assume that when the menu was created, the owners probably decided to just use the English translation of the word chicharron, which is crackling.