The owners of Rice-n-Beans Puerto Rico on Wesley Chapel Blvd., next to the Pinebrook at The Grove plaza in Wesley Chapel, obviously aren’t afraid of working hard.
The husband-and-wife team of David and Cindy Cruz also have owned DC Accounting for more than 20 years and opened their Rice-n- Beans Express location on S.R. 54 in Lutz a little more than a year ago.
But, when they purchased the former Cody’s Roadhouse (and Remington’s Steakhouse before Cody’s), there was a nice-sized patio in front of the main building that basically went unused for the first few years after the couple moved Rice-n-Beans from its successful original location in a gas station building on S.R. 54 in Lutz.
But, that all changed in November, when Cindy and David finally opened their completely redesigned “El Patio” in the formerly unused patio space. And, even though they weren’t sure at first if they wanted it to have its own menu, El Patio is now serving the main Rice-n-Beans Puerto Rico’s full menu, as well as a variety of craft cocktails, beer and wine in El Patio’s beautiful, full-liquor bar (with its own open hours).
Of course, the main restaurant also is a beautiful place to have authentic Puerto Rican and Latin cuisine and some premium cocktails. It’s just nice to have your choice of settings.
What About The Food?
Pretty much from the day it moved to Wesley Chapel from Lutz — where it was much more of a hidden gem that only a few Wesley Chapel residents even knew about — Rice-n-Beans has been voted by our readers as either the #1 or at least one of the Favorite Latin (not Mexican) Restaurants in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel.
I’m no Puerto Rican cuisine connoisseur but I do enjoy many of the dishes I’ve sampled at Rice-n-Beans. Among my favorite appetizers are the crispy-outside beef empanadas (right), which we also enjoyed as part of the Antojitos Puertorriqueños platter, which also includes a chicken empanada, as well as a sorullito de maiz con queso (a corn & cheese fritter) and an alcapurria de carne, which is a popular Puerto Rican street food item that looks like a sausage but is actually a crispy fritter made from a blend of root vegetables, stuffed with savory seasoned beef and served with a ketchup-and-mayo-based dipping sauce. The restaurant also has empanadas stuffed with shrimp, octopus or pizza.
One of the special items we’ve enjoyed were the tostones rellenos de carne (left) — fried green plantain slices topped with tender steak, onions and red peppers in a tomato-based salsa Criolla (Créole sauce). The tostones rellenos are usually served either plain or topped with shrimp or octopus, but marketing manager Damaris Gutierrez had the kitchen make it with steak for me. Loved it!
Another special the day we visited was the mofongo relleno de langosta, which combines the Puerto Rican staple dish of twice-fried, garlic-infused mashed green plantains with a full-sized lobster tail and six large shrimp which, of course, I had to take Charmaine’s word about because of my shellfish allergy. She said that both the lobster and shrimp in garlic butter sauce sitting atop the mofongo bowl were delicious on their own, “but they taste even better when you mix in the mashed plantains.”
The mofongo was definitely eye-catching and popular, as several other tables during our visit either ordered the langosta or the same dish with chicken, steak, shrimp, octopus or “mariscos” (mixed seafood).
My favorite entrées at Rice-n-Beans include the chicharrons de pollo (bone-in crispy fried chicken), the carne frita (deep fried pork chunks), chuleta Kan-Kan (a Puerto Rican-style pork chop, marinated in garlic rub and fried), the pechuga de pollo (pan-seared chicken breast topped with sautéed onions and garlic or the salsa Criolla mentioned before), and the super-tender churrasco steak (above), which is pan-seared and served with a fresh green vibrant house coriander and cilantro chimichurri sauce (sorry that we forgot to photograph the chimichurri). The churrasco is served with sweet plantains and a side of rice (your choice of white or yellow) and I also got a side of red beans, which also were excellent.
For you seafood lovers, Rice-n-Beans also offers a filete en salsa (fish filet in salsa Criolla or sautéed in garlic and capers), a chillo frito entero (whole pan-fried red snapper) and mariscada personal — a seafood lover’s delight with shrimp, octopus and lobster served over saffron-infused yellow rice and accompanied by red beans and (you guessed it) crispy tostones.
We also wanted to sample a traditional Puerto Rican sandwich on our most recent visit, so Damaris recommended the jibarito (left photo) — which is a sandwich made with twice-fried plantains instead of bread and stuffed with steak (bistec), roasted pork (pernil) or the pollo (grilled chicken) we chose. The jibarito is topped with lettuce, tomato, cheese and a zesty garlic mayo (and served with crispy fries) and Charmaine and I were both surprised at the sandwich’s unique flavor. Savory plantains certainly are a recurring theme at Rice-n-Beans, but if you think you’re not a fan of them, you definitely should try one of the dishes described in this story.
If you still have room for dessert, Charmaine and I both heartily recommend the flancocho (below right), which is a layer of chocolate cake topped with a thick layer of Puerto Rican-style flan, which is denser and more cake-like than Cuban or Colombian flan. The dessert is topped with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles and drizzled with chocolate. You might want to add a café con leché and/or an after-dinner cocktail.
Other desserts include vanilla, chocolate and even cheese flan, plus tres leches (sponge cake soaked in three milks and topped with whipped cream) and ponque de novia (a shareable, tender cake infused with almond and topped with buttercream frosting). If you bring the kids, they can choose from chicken strips, fried pork chunks, grilled cheese or empanadas.
Rice-n-Beans also is the place for great entertainment on the weekends, both in the main restaurant and now, also out on El Patio. There’s DJ music, salsa dancing nights and even live performances. For the February schedule, check the Rice-n-Beans website (RicenBeans.com) or visit the restaurant.
Rice-n-Beans Puerto Rico (27405 Wesley Chapel Blvd.) is open Sat., 11 a.m.-midnight; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sun.; and for dinner only on Tues.-Fri., beginning at 4 p.m. It closes Tues.- Thur. at 9 p.m. & at 11 p.m. on Fri. El Patio is open Fri.-Sat., 5 p.m.-close & noon-6 p.m. on Sun. For more information, visit RicenBeans.com or call (813) 803-7974.
For Rice N Beans Express (24726 S.R. 54, Lutz), call (813) 428-5077, or visit ”Rice n Beans Express” on Facebook.
