A Bunch of Random Questions

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cjewell

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Oct 11, 2004
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Rather then being annoying and starting multiple threads - I am starting one thread with a bunch of questions. Any ideas/answers/help would be great.

1. Translator - Does anyone know a good Spanish to English translator and the approx. rates? If so please PM me the contact information

2. Expat wages in Sosua - How much do expat wages differ from Dominican ones? For example would a restaurant supervisor that is an expat earn the same as a Dominican restaurant supervisor. Does anyone know what the right salary would be for an expat in that position?

3. Foreigners and Dominican Food - Of all the different Dominican Food (excluding fried chicken) - I am talking more traditional dishes like Mangu, Sancocho etc... Is there any that you particularly like?

4. Entertainment in Sosua. One thing I loved about the Jolly was that they ran bingo. In fact I was planning on going right before they burnt down. Are there any types of games like Eucker etc... where you would like to see a local venue host a day for that particular game gathering like minded people together to play? What about a weekly art exhibit j/k.... hahaha But seriously I would like to know
 
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PeterInBrat

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May 29, 2006
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One Dominican food I've never seen in restaurants is Eggplant fritters. They can vary in size, but the ones I've had had scallions and onions in them and were about the size of golf balls. I've made them myself and they aren't that hard. They would be nice with a mango salsa... Very much like making hush puppies or crab cakes using pre-cooked, shredded eggplant.
 
Bronxboy

Bronxboy

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Jul 11, 2007
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Seriously, you cant go wrong with:

Bistec con totones

bistec.jpg
 
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PeterInBrat

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May 29, 2006
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I used to do a Dominican inspired Chicken Guisado. Grilled marinated chicken breast over beans and rice in a sauce that was mostly Chicken based with some bacon and bacon fat for flavor with some tomato paste for color and a bit of corn starch slurry to thicken it. Not technically a guisado because the chicken was grilled, but I sold a lot of it when I had it as a special. I had something like it in a tiny German restaurant in Sosua around 1990.. I use Goya Mojo Criollo marinate or simply Italian Dressing as the marinate nowadays.

I miss the deep fried whole reef fish over rice. Make a couple slashes on the sides, dredge it in seasoned flour or corn starch and deep fry it. Simple and tasty. Parrot fish is great for that
 
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dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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cjewell said:
1. Translator
2. Expat wages in Sosua
3. Foreigners and Dominican Food
4. Entertainment in Sosua.
Click to expand...

ad 1. PM matilda if you require translating services.

ad 2. expats may earn more than dominicans because of experience, knowledge and skills. but if you are talking about low level place like yours (no offence here, it's a small, cheap restaurant, not a chain, large volume sales or upscale establishment) you'd be talking about fairly low salary, 500 dollars a month max, possibly less.

ad 3. foreigners in general may not be such great fans of dominican dishes. besides, they can get them in plenty of local places, on the cheap. i'd focus on foreign dishes gringos miss the most.

ad 4. i always thought that the biggest entertainment in sosua was cheap blow jobs. but i hear it's passe now.
 
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cjewell

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Oct 11, 2004
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Holy smokes - Ask and yee shall find some answers.

@DV8:
1. If it is a legal document does a translator need to certified or something like that for it to be accepted abroad?
2. Ok... thank you
3. What's strange is we have had pollo guisado and we have been selling a lot of it - but that's about it for Dominican Food. Now I am adding a couple of Dominican specials, I keep thinking the demand isn't there but then why are so many foreigners buying the pollo guisado? :S
4. There will be no blow jobs at La Mesa Verde

Everyone else thanks for all the food ideas - I really like the eggplant fritter one. Egg plant has been pretty popular too.

Anyone else with ideas?
 
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dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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ah, you did not say you wanted a legal translator. plenty of lawyers who do this in DR. my MIL does that too, she's in POP. sorry,i don't know about prices.

chiri does a great job of making edible near-dominican dishes. staple foods here are not particularly healthy but i think nice sancocho would be a good addition to the menu. and i have a weakness for ensalada de papas as a side dish.

as far as games and so on... i thought your concept was to serve healthy foods? don't take it a wrong way but it is better to be good at one thing than mediocre at many things. if you are looking to serve truly healthy fare and focus on healthy lifestyle then neither dominican dishes nor bingo make sense. you can be the only place that offers healthy options and some extra activities like walking and/or running club. don't try to offer anything and everything. just a thought :) your original plan sounded exiting and new. don't become forgettable.
 
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cjewell

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Oct 11, 2004
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I will PM you about the MIL - POP is not problem

Sancocho - That's what the guys want to do LOL... When I look at a pot of that I think ewww. That and a couple of other dishes so I wanted to see if by random I would get that one. I hear it is pretty good.

#3 - You are so right and what we have done so far has been working as much as can be expected for a new business. I agree - no to games...

I have been trying to keep my mind open. I have a marketing background - Staying on brand has been tough. Sister wants it hyper healthy, partner want to have Dominican food, moms on me about ideas for promotion..... :S loco

dv8 said:
ah, you did not say you wanted a legal translator. plenty of lawyers who do this in DR. my MIL does that too, she's in POP. sorry,i don't know about prices.

chiri does a great job of making edible near-dominican dishes. staple foods here are not particularly healthy but i think nice sancocho would be a good addition to the menu. and i have a weakness for ensalada de papas as a side dish.

as far as games and so on... i thought your concept was to serve healthy foods? don't take it a wrong way but it is better to be good at one thing than mediocre at many things. if you are looking to serve truly healthy fare and focus on healthy lifestyle then neither dominican dishes nor bingo make sense. you can be the only place that offers healthy options and some extra activities like walking and/or running club. don't try to offer anything and everything. just a thought :) your original plan sounded exiting and new. don't become forgettable.
Click to expand...
 
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PeterInBrat

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May 29, 2006
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Ever see the movie Big Night? Keeping your principals and making a profit are not always a good match..
 
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dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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there is a room for everything in sosua: healthy food, dominican fare and bingo nights. just maybe not in the same place at the same time:) good that you have ideas but stick to one coherent concept at the same time. running a business is a learning curve and you will adapt as necessary but too much of a change may not be beneficial. your goal number one, as a business owner is to produce money. it seems that your original plan works well enough so far. nothing stops you from running few different businesses eventually.
 
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