This week on "Check, Please!

South Florida,"# some of the best barbecue in Miami.

Is consistent every single time.

It's just# got that cookout feel when you go in there.

[Michelle] A Puerto Rican favorite in Kendall.

You walk in, you feel like you're at the island all over again.

[Michelle] And Cuban comfort food in Coral Gables.

When you walk in, you automatically feel like you're walking# into grandma's house, abuelita's house.

[Announcer] Cultural culinary secrets# and global flavors.

We have a passion for blending ingredients and seasonings from# around the world.

Additional funding for "Check, Please!

South Florida" is provided by# the friends of South Florida PBS.

We were just really in heaven.

That was the best bread curry I've ever had.

It was the snapper, and it was tasted so# fresh.

I was going in between each dish.

The home fries were out of this world.

It was just perfect.

Hello, I'm Michelle Bernstein, and welcome# to "Check, Please!

South Florida," the show where regular people from all over South Florida# recommend and review their favorite restaurants.

So this is how the show works, every week we have# three guests.

Each recommends his or her favorite spot, and then the other two go to check them out# and see what they think.

Today, we're back at Dada Restaurant, located in the historic Tarrimore# House in Downtown Delray Beach.

Thank you, Dada, for hosting us.

This week, marketing manager# Carlos Banks, takes us to his favorite spot for homecooked Puerto Rican classics.

Content# producer Sofia Fleites shares a Cuban spot to rival abuela's kitchen.

But first, consulting firm# owner Christmas Hutchinson says, "If you can't cook out at home, head to Hometown Barbecue.

"# She said, "It's the place to go when you want delicious, quick, and consistent comfort food.

"# Hometown Barbecue is located in Allapattah.

My name is Brent.

I'm a chef here at Hometown# Barbecue Miami.

So Billy Durney started the restaurants in New York.

He opened Hometown# BarBQue, he traveled the world, went to Texas, fell in love with the barbecue style, and now# we have one here in Miami as an offshoot of those restaurants.

We are located here in# Allapattah, in Miami.

We're here in the produce center.

We're at the very end.

We have# a rustic restaurant with a tropical vibe.

Some of the most popular things we have here are# brisket, beef rib, we have the rib tips.

We have a little something for everyone.

Food at# Hometown is traditional with a multicultural twist.

Hometown Barbecue is purely authentic.

So, Christmas, I know you love the freshness of this restaurant.

Tell me a little bit about# it, but also I'd love to talk for a second about Allapattah, 'cause I don't think a# lot of people know about Allapattah.

Well, I don't know a lot about Allapattah [Michelle] So maybe I can tell you about Allapattah.

Being that I'm not from Miami.

Okay.

But it's like a industrial type of area.

It's extremely industrial.

And just about five,# six years ago, we started out with a big museum, which is wonderful, and then that brought in# restaurants.

And Hometown was really one of the first restaurants to open in Allapattah.

Oh, well, see, you just gave me some history.

Well, there you go.

So Hometown, it is one of my favorite places to go here in Miami.

It is consistent# every single time.

It's just got that cookout feel when you go in there.

There's music playing,# it's open, it has, you know, like, ceilings that are open, like, you can see the kitchen, and# they make the best brisket on the Earth.

Carlos, what did you think when you walked in# to Hometown Barbecue?

Like, first thoughts.

Definitely what Christmas was saying, you know,# the ambiance, the environment.

Walking in you see the high ceilings, you see the open# kitchen, you see the bar on the right.

Sofia, what were your first thoughts?

I feel like it was like a little hidden gem.

Like, I was driving around, I was like,# "Where could this place be?"

And it's like on the corner next to other warehouses, and# you walk in, and it's like you walk into a completely different world.

And I loved the# open-kitchen concept.

I loved being able to see, like, while they were making the food,# preparing the food.

And that cornbread is insane, with the honey butter on top.

[Michelle] Yeah, and how about smokers outside, too?

They have the big, beautiful smokers, which,# to me, I mean, I guess maybe, because it's what I do for a living, but I was so attracted to these# smokers.

I just thought they were beautiful.

"Ooh, look at that."

All right, Christmas, so tell me what you had this last time you w.. the broccoli, which is like this charred broccoli# with like a poblano sauce underneath it.

Crema, sorry, not sauce, but crema.

[Michelle] Same thing, it's a sauce.

But crema, okay.

[Christmas] And we got the Hometown Slaw, which is a coleslaw, and the# cornbread, and the banana pudding.

Oh, wow.

Yes.

Okay, Carlos, tell me what# you had this last time.

So I had the beef brisket, the brisket# sandwich, with the mac and cheese, and cornbread as well.

[Michelle] Okay, so tell me a little bit about the brisket sandwich.

It was delicious.

A big serving, like, you know, very hefty size.

Comes with peppers on top, some# onions on top, really breaks through and really mixes well with the brisket.

Sofia, what did you have?

So I got the pulled pork sandwich,# the mac and cheese, the cornbread, and I got a side of beans as well.

[Michelle] All right, so being the only person that had pulled pork,# what did you think about it?

I thought it was great.

The pork# was tender, melted in your mouth, and then it had that coleslaw on top.

The# bread wasn't too heavy, which I think a lot of the times happens with sandwiches, that# it's all bread, it was great.

I loved the mac and cheese.

I thought it was great.

Now, they have a variety of sauces, right?

Oh, they do.

Yeah.

Okay.

They have, like, a hot, and then like a barbecue sauce.

Okay.

Yeah.

I liked their hot sauce.

Were they sweet?

Do they do# sweet or vinegar based?

The barbecue sauce that I've tried of# theirs is more on a sweeter side.

Okay.

Okay.

Anybody have anything to drink?

I had, it was a ginger limeade.

Yeah, I had the same thing.

Ooh.

It was delicious.

It was really good.

Oh nice, all right, tell me about# prices.

Carlos, what did you think?

So the prices, for me, they were, I mean, for# the location and for the meal that I had, I think it was very well priced.

Kind of like upscale,# kind of elevated food.

It's not just a regular, you know, food truck type of barbecue.

It was# very upscale.

They really thought about their menu.

So I feel that for the price, I think# it was very, like, on par, with the meal.

How's parking in Allapattah?

Not bad.

It's very easy.

You don't have to pay to park.

No, and it's right there, right in front.

Like, I didn't have an issue.

Okay, well, Christmas, this was your choice.

Sum up Hometown Barbecue for us, please.

So Hometown Barbecue is the place that you wanna go where you want consistent comfort food with# brisket that melts in your mouth, literally.

Perfect, perfect.

Carlos?

Hometown Barbecue is a great barbecue spot if you are visiting Allapattah and# are looking for a New York-based barbecue spot.

That's exactly what it is.

Sofia?

If you're looking for, you know, a hidden gem in the middle of, like, this industrial neighborhood# that serves, you know, Southern comfort food, then definitely Hometown is the place to go.

Okay, well, for award-winning smoked meats and barbecue favorites with a chill vibe, you can# stop by Hometown Barbecue.

They're located in Allapattah, 1200 NW 22nd Street.

And they're# open Sunday to Thursday from 11:30 to 9, and 11:30 to 10 on Friday and Saturday nights.# Reservations are accepted, where the average price for dinner without drinks is about $45.

Okay,# what kid in us doesn't love banana pudding?

And I'm not just talking about the pudding, I'm# talking about the whole pudding.

You know, the delicious Nilla Wafers layered with# fresh bananas and vanilla pudding.

I mean, it's so perfect, right?

It's a perfect dessert.

So# let's make the pudding, because everything else is pretty simple.

I'm warming some milk, I'm whisking# some yolks here.

Here I have corn starch and sugar.

I'm gonna go ahead and mix that together# a little bit, and add some kosher salt to it.

We're gonna add some yolks, actually all the# yolks, to that corn starch and sugar.

And just a touch of this warm milk to it, just to get# it moving and started.

All right, let's whisk this up.

Once we have at least 60% of the hot# milk in the yolks, now it's safe to add this, which is now quite warm, into this, which is quite# hot.

So whisking, we're adding the egg mixture to the milk mixture.

Adding some vanilla paste, as# well as soon some banana liqueur.

Go ahead and add a little bit of butter to that as well.

Whisk that# in completely until it melts.

And then, it's up to you.

Some people strain, here, in the restaurants,# we always strain everything.

Why don't you look at your pudding?

If it looks like it needs to be# strained, maybe you got some little pieces of egg, then do it.

If not, I think it's perfectly fine.# So now let me show you what you do with that said pudding.

You have to cover it with plastic wrap,# you have to put it in the fridge and let it cool completely until it's really beautifully thick# and creamy.

So this is how I finish a pudding, and I love making banana pudding in a trifle# mold like so.

So we've got our vanilla wafers, those have been layered up.

They are layered# with our vanilla pudding.

Then, using a nice, large spoon, go ahead and flatten that out# so that it touches every square inch of that circumference.

Then we're gonna add slices of# banana all the way around.

Now, this is really how you make a trifle, right?

Okay, so we're# gonna add a little mini wafer to the top of each crown of whipped cream.

And there you have it,# a very large and very beautiful banana pudding.

Now, marketing manager Carlos Banks is ready to# share his favorite spot for classic Puerto Rican flavors.

It's called Isla del Encanto, Island# of Enchantment, and it's located in Kendall.

So tell me about the lowkey vibe here.

So yeah, Isla del Encanto is a Puerto Rican style restaurant.

It's based out of West Kendall, right# there near The Hammocks near Tamiami Airport.

Basically what it is, it's just you walk in, you# feel like you're at the island all over again.

They have a Puerto Rican mural on the wall.# They cover all their tables in Puerto Rican, like, history and culture.

So yeah, so they# have traditional Puerto Rican cuisine.

Please tell me they have mofongo.

Yes, they have mofongo.

How is it?

How's the mofongo?

The mofongo is delicious.

Sofia, what were your first# thoughts walking in?

So I loved, like, the ambiance and the atmosphere.# As soon as you walk in you're just like immersed in, like, Latin salsa music.

You see the# murals, I was like, "I love it here."

Christmas, first thoughts.

I felt the same way they did.

You walk in and there's this Latin music playing,# your face just gets hit with, like, this great smell of all the spices, it was great.

It sounds like it has a really good vibe.

Yeah, I went on a Sunday, and so there was# a lot of families there.

So there was a lot of energy that was just really happy.

All right, I can't wait to dig into this food.

So tell me what you had this last time.

[Carlos] So whenever I go, I always start off with the sorullitos as my appetizer, which is like corn# fritters.

It's a traditional Puerto Rican cuisine.

And I also pair that with a pollo a la plancha# that comes with chimichurri sauce on top.

[Michelle] So let's tell them what that# means.

So pollo a la plancha is basically [Carlos] Pollo a la plancha is a chicken that's# pan-seared very flat, very thin.

And then, my drink always is a Medalla, which is# a premier Puerto Rican beer that they serve on the island.

So they actually# imported it and they serve it there.

Oh, that's awesome.

Yeah.

So what did you have this last time, Sofia?

I got the pastel de plat.. version of a tamal, and it was delicious.

It# was, you know, filled with pork, and I got some olives in there, which I loved as well.

[Michelle] Was it very savory or did it have any sweetness, because of the plantain?

Very savory.

Okay.

[Sofia] Yeah, and then I got mofongo and.. [Michelle] Roast pork, yeah, leg of pork, yeah.

[Sofia] Yeah, with the onions and that little mojo sauce, it was kind of acidic, and you pour# that over the mofongo and it was absolutely delicious.

And then, I got arroz con dulce, which# was, like, their version of rice pudding.

Rice pudding, yeah.