(This venue is closed.) In my experience, concon (cone-Cone), the burned rice that adds crunchy texture to many Dominican dishes, had always seemed to be a byproduct, thriftily collected from the sides and bottom of the cookpot after fluffier rice had been scooped free.
At Margot, in upper Manhattan, a half-measure of concon was crumbled in with my rice; the annual Salsa Street Party in Spanish Harlem offered a glimpse of the pot itself, and its crispy leavings, under their Puerto Rican name, pegao. But at Nuevo Canario it was the sight of concon shards, seen through the window, that beckoned me inside. As large as my palm if not so thick, and lightly browned or even pale rather than burnt, they gave the impression of manufacture rather than happenstance. Above, the concon had been broken up further before being wetted down by red beans, but still it held form. Co-starring on my plate ($5 total): blackfish fried with egg, mounded over white rice.
El Nuevo Canario
1062 Broadway (near Malcolm X Blvd.), Bushwick, Brooklyn
718-602-0006
