Where to get great Puerto Rican food in the Bronx, from mofongo to famous lechón

The Bronx: home of Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Zoo, as well as the birthplace of Cardi B, but also home to the largest population of Puerto Ricans in all the five boroughs and some of the best cuchifritos, lechón, and mofongo in the city.

My friend, skater and fellow food fanatic Pedro Muñoz, joined me in exploring the borough's Puerto Rican food. His family initially moved from Puerto Rico to Manhattan before settling in the Bronx by the 1970s. Although Pedro is Puerto Rican and was born and raised in the Bronx, he says he didn’t grow up eating a ton of Puerto Rican food (aside from during the holidays) and never learned to speak Spanish. He’s what many might call a Nuyorican (an American-born Puerto Rican living in NYC that has lost touch with their island roots). At one time, this term was used pejoratively, but now many embrace the label and use it to celebrate their culture.

Pedro is one of the few people I know who can get down and eat everything like I can (he even has a show called Pedro Eats Everything), and since we were hitting up spots in the borough where he was born, raised and still lives, I knew he was the right person to eat with on this adventure.