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There’s no sign outside, but the loud piped-in bachata music that greets you as soon as you step through the door lets you know you’re in the right place: This little Dominican joint draws patrons from the far outer boroughs and regulars from the nabe. In the early morning, office and construction workers alike check in at the long Formica counter for plates of huevos con longaniza (eggs with potatoes and spicy fried sausage), and batidas (shakes) made with fruits like papaya, mamey, and guanabana. By midday, the half-dozen tables, decorated with vases of plastic flowers, are filled with elderly men bickering and laughing over chuletas (fried pork chops), rabito guisado (a garlicky tomato-based oxtail stew) and bottles of Presidente. The mofongo—a dish of mashed plantains baked with shredded chicken, beef, or seafood—is served here in a molded heap rather than in the traditional casserole dish, and is consequently a bit dry—but that’s easily and deliciously remedied by ordering a side of habichuelas rojas (soupy red beans), and dumping it on top. — Sarah Gold

Chuletas, $9.50; mofongo, $13.50; arroz con habichuela roja, $3