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Dining Out: Casa Latina RestaurantJul 15, 2011 (The Fayetteville Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Growing up in Fayetteville, Patricia George saw Puerto Rican restaurants open, only to close not much later. George and her husband, Tyran Jamail George, opened Casa Latina Restaurant on Fort Bragg in June in the hopes that it will have some staying power. Patricia George worked as a legal assistant for her husband, who is a criminal lawyer, before she left to run Casa Latina. To ensure the authenticity of the food, she hired the best Puerto Rican chef she knows -- her mother, Lucy Vazquez. All of the dishes served are made from her mother's recipes. "We've started out really well," Patricia George said. "Everybody is begging us, 'Please stay. Do not close this place.' " The family serves traditional Puerto Rican dishes in a casual setting. The restaurant offers a lunch buffet Monday through Friday, which is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost of the buffet is $8.95 for adults. The Saturday menu features sandwiches and combination plates. The sandwiches offered at lunch are served with chips or fries. All sandwiches are pressed, and include choices such as ham and cheese for $5.99 and roasted pork for $6.99. Dinner platters include fried chicken for $7.89 and fried pork chops for $8.99. Signature platters are available only certain days of the week, except for the cubed steak with onion platter for $10.95, which is offered daily. The Monday special is chicken stew for $8.99, and roast pork is offered Friday and Saturday for $8.99. All plates come with a choice of yellow or white rice, beans, fried sweet or green plantains and a small garden salad. Traditional Puerto Rican appetizers include empanadas, which are meat pastries, for $1.75 each, and bacalaitos, which are salt cod fritters, for $1.50. Casa Latina offers indoor and outdoor seating. A large room is available for private parties. "When people come in, they hear the music and feel like they're eating back home," George said. Casa Latina Restaurant Address: 500 N. Reilly Road, Suite 128 Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday; noon to 6 p.m. Saturday Information: 339-3935 Specialities: Traditional Puerto Rican cuisine Staff writer Amneris Solano can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3521. To see more of The Fayetteville Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.fayettevillenc.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |