Don’t let the signage at Shalom Puerto Rican Restaurant (3500 W. National Ave.) confuse you. Much of the internal branding on its walls and windows derives from the space’s former iteration as La Isla. But if the Bible verses in Spanish on the back of the waitstaff’s shirts indicate the current owner’s conversion, it appears Shalom’s bill of fare has been tastily regenerated, too. Shalom’s jibarito makes for a handy entryway into its distinct menu. This sandwich trades out bread for mashed, fried, garlicky plantains, filled with a choice of meat, such as shredded chicken, tomato, iceberg lettuce and a slathering of mayo-based adobo sauce. Saturday’s pork stomach stew special should find favor among diners already given to noshing on Mexican menudo soup and soul food chitterlings. Its thick orange sauce adds a tart heat with olives and peppers; a whole green banana in the dish provides mildly piquant starchiness.
A variation of sweet Dominican drink morir soñando (translated “to die dreaming”), incorporating frosty milk and passion fruit juice with a touch of vanilla, balances Shalom’s headier flavors or succeeds as a not-too-indulgent dessert. One’s appetite should be at peace after a trip to Shalom.
