Local Food and Drink

So you'll know what to cook, here is a great source of Dominican recipes. Aunt Clara is active on this board under the name of Pib. http://dominicancooking.com/index.htm

There is a farmers' open air market in Puerto Plata. My wife likes Supermercado Tropical

Good dominican wine are Gitano(kinda sweet). Also if you want good sea food go to Miamon(the same road to riu bachata). As for beer, president is the wide choice of the dominican. I mean you could buy Budweiser, heineken, corrona and many imports yo could find at the gas bars and supermarkets. The supermarket I use is Supermarket Messon.

Maimon is the place to buy fish. Find the tunel road to Santiago and it is just 20 minutes up the road. Lots of little road stands around and lots of local fish restaurants. Buy any fresh fish, just be careful of reef fish like rainbow fish. Grouper is called 'mero' and it is wonderful.

Stop at any road side stand for fresh fruit. When you take the road to Maimon, get some of the new mangos of the season, as well as limon (lime). Try the local root vegetables, especially the local variety of sweet potatoes called batata.

I like to shop at Supermercado Tropical. Also try Messon - I've found good fresh veg and good fresh herbs there. You'll find shrimp and the big shrimps called langoustine there if you're lucky. Keep your eyes open early morning for the pickup trucks stacked with fresh vegetables in the back. Flag one down and you have all the fresh veg you would want, with a friendly driver telling you what to do with the stuff that you may not recognise.

Wine, the story of my life is to find a good bottle of dry white wine (like french of italian table wine) for less than 10 bucks. It is a life long challenge. Here I buy the Chilean wines - if your palate goes to a drier type white, I buy Gato or Tarapaca for ordinary everyday drinking wine, like a sauvignon blanc. There may be better but I'm still drinking my way through it and these are available in most supermercados. Avoid Vino de Casa and avoid buying real cheap. It is real bad... Reds seem to be easier to get in a reasonable wine. Again I like the Gato or Tarapaca for a Merlot. The rule of thumb down here (and it may not be right in all cases) is the higher the price, the better the wine.. Perhaps other posters will jump in here. I find it hard to buy wine here as the selection is not always available. Bear in mind that I have a palate for a drier type wine.

Try the rums, perhaps again someone with more experience will jump in. I am not overly fond of rum but will have a Barcelo Anejo as a after dinner liquer (for me with an ice cube). My husband makes a mean Pina Colada (for the moment I cannot find the N with the curlique on top) with the local rums.

Something that I quite like and it is not readily available anywhere else, is the smoked pork chops. The closest I can get to describe these, is kassler rib.

Also try making some of the deserts on dominicancooking.com. Easy and delicious - you absolutely need to have tres leches. (Three milks) and do try making flan (a baked custard type thing coated with caramel.. delicious).

I have about 20 caribbean type recipe books and have learnt from these how to make beans and rice (the staple down here). I don't particularly enjoy the dominican way of cooking aroz con habichuelas, but if you can get hold of a cuban cookbook, their beans and rice is out of this world. Do try the dominican version as well.

Food and drink - I can go on for ever... Beer? As far as lagers go, Presidente served at the point of freezing is as good as it gets.

Yeah those smoked pork chops are good.
Ask someone where you can find some chicharron - usually a guy carrying a cardboard box and a machete is selling it - sprinkle with some limon juice, and enjoy some small pieces with your ice cold Presidente.

Local avocados are excellent-although I understand that a large portion of the area that grows 'em was hard hit.

Forget local wine unless you like a sweet sangria taste.