Owls Corner Cafe brings the taste of Puerto Rico to Dundalk
It's Hispanic Heritage Month, and WJZ wants to celebrate by acknowledging local families and businesses that embrace their Latin roots. Our Alexus Davila shows us her Puerto Rican background by introducing a restaurant that brings the taste of the island to Maryland.
BALTIMORE -- Salsa music greets you at the door, and vivid colors line the walls reminiscent of Old San Juan as Owls Corner Cafe brings Puerto Rican cuisine to Dundalk.
After you pass the hand-painted mural of the coqui, the island's common frog, look up. Colorful umbrellas hang above to recreate Puerto Rico's iconic tourist spot, Calle de la Fortaleza.
"Our commitment is to try to bring you the island," said Lilly Ordonez, co-owner and chef at the restaurant on North Point Boulevard. "I think that's why people like us so much, because, you know, it's like home."
The savory smells make you want to join Lilly Ordonez in the kitchen. She and her husband's family opened the restaurant about two years ago.
Decades after moving to Maryland, the family decided to offer the community a taste of their culture.
"Bringing people who are not from the island to our culture, to our food, all our music and all that - it makes me happy," said co-owner Joel LaTorre.
But finding the most traditional ingredients like yucca, cod fish and guava every week is not easy to come by.
"It's very hard to find things that we are used to in tropical weather, to find it here," Ordonez said. "I have to go all over Maryland sometimes in order to find what I need to cook for you guys."
But whether it's mashing plantains to make a staple dish called mofongo or grilling meat to make tripleta, a popular sandwich, she makes it her mission to serve fresh, authentic flavors on every plate.
"Our goal is when you come here we want to make you feel like you are at titi's kitchen," she said. "We want to make you feel like you are a part of the family. You are not just a customer. You're part of us."