I dream of Dial Bar’s mofongo in Santo Domingo

I first learned what mofongo was when my MasterChef season 3 co-finalist Josh Marks made it during a ground beef challenge early on in the competition.“It’s made of fried plantains,” Josh explained. "It reminds me of my childhood in Panama."Then I tasted my first mofongo a few years later during the MasterChef cruise when we stopped at San Juan, Puerto Rico, for one of our ports-of-call. It was good but nothing absolutely memorable.Then for our last meal in Santo Domingo, Francina took us to Dial Bar at the end of the night after our beach trip, and it was divine.The music was loud, the place crowded and dark, and we squeezed in together at a small low table, elbow-to-elbow with our neighbors. Everyone was drinking Presidente beer and eating mofongo. Of course, we had to do as the locals do.Francina took us here after we’d expressed a desire to try mofongo DR-style. (There’s a mofongo rivalry between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico—although mofongo was purportedly invented in Puerto Rico, the Dominicans say theirs is different, better.)The charming thing about Dial Bar is it ostensibly doubles as a carwash during daylight hours. But at night, it’s all social scene and plantains.We ordered the classic mofongo with crispy fried pork, extra pork jus, and tons of garlic. Such a simple dish, but it is by far the most amazing food I had in Santo Domingo. I’m not fancy—just love me a solid comfort dish, and that was what mofongo unfailingly delivered.The fried and mashed plantains were crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, well-flavored by the extra pork sauce and the crispy pork bits peppered throughout. The garlic was strong, but somehow, I found it a perfect balance to the meat and starch. I loved it so much, I packed some of it to go and flew back home with it in my carry-on, not giving a damn that I stunk up the cabin with my mofongo garlic.If you’re ever in Santo Domingo, the mofongo at Dial Bar is a must.Dial Bar & LoungeCalle Presidente Vasquez 100Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicPhone: +1 849 261-3744