Lechonera La Piraña

Hey Spud Heads!

I'm back in The Bronx again for another review. I headed over to 152nd St & Wales Ave to check out Lechonera La Piraña. I saw a video on Facebook a few months ago about this dude and how he began cooking his lechon in the middle of the night so it'll be ready by lunch time. From the crispy skin, juicy meat, and a vast menu of other Puerto Rican dishes, Angel(owner) definitely got me hooked with the video. I saw Lechonera La Piraña again while watching an episode of Fuck, That's Delicious and knew it was time for me to get off my ass and go.

The Review.........

While Angel's lechon seems to be the most popular menu item, he has a bunch of other delicious choices. I rolled up to the truck and see a menu of bacalaitos, lechon with rice, mofongo with shrimp/lechon, alcapurrias, octopus salad, pastelillos with crab/shrimp/beef, all written on the door. Luckily, there was a line, which allowed me to keep my composure, think about 3 things I should get, and check my wallet to make sure I even had enough money (it wasn't a pay Friday).

Lechonera La Piraña

After some time, Angel made eye contact with me. This was it, my time to order. Thoughts raced in my head. Should I get 1 of everything and just not pay my bills or should I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind? Thankfully, my fellow Puerto Rican don't pay attention to lines and at that moment, a lady from the back of the line asked for an alcapurria. Angel swiftly said he wasn't doing any pastelillos, alcapurrias, or bacalaitos that day because he was by himself. My troubles were over. I got the octopus salad, lechon with rice, and mofongo with shrimp.

I TORE it up! Lechonera La Piraña was exactly how every video portrayed it. The lechon was juicy with crispy skin, the mofongo was full of garlic and flavor and the sauce from the shrimp was incredible. I was a bit nervous to try the octopus salad since I don't like octopus. It was featured on his videos and every customer was buying it, so I gave in to peer pressure and ordered it as well, but I was not disappointed. Angel was pumping food out as fast as possible, going back to pull fresh lechon out of his smokers, peeling plantains by hand and making the mofongo fresh right in front of you. For $45, it may seem like a lot considering its a small truck in The Bronx, but it's actually worth every penny when seeing what ingredients Angel uses and the amount of passion he puts into his food. My ONLY issue was with the rice being a bit too hard since he made a big pot so it was left out. While I understand he's by himself and there's no way to make a fresh pot of rice for each order, I have to mention it. The rice was still good though, but a bit hard.

Octopus Salad

Mofongo with Shrimp

Lechon with Rice

The Rating...........

4 Potatoes - Waffle Fries