PBS Show Highlights 6 Restaurants In Washington Heights, Inwood

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — It is not every day that a food show with a national audience shows up in Washington Heights and Inwood with a camera crew, but that is what happened recently when PBS' "Roadfood" arrived for a tour of uptown restaurants.

Hosted by Misha Collins, the show travels to different American cities and checks out cuisines that might typically go under the radar from a coverage point of view.

The second episode of the show's first season is, "NYC/Little Dominican Republic: Tres Golpes." It checks out six food spots in Washington Heights and Inwood.

The uptown food tour was reported on in Untapped New York by Xandra Harbet, which you can check out on the publication's website.

Collins got some local help when picking out uptown eateries from community activist and uptown resident Juan Rosa, who acted as a guide for the majority of the episode.

"I’ve visited New York a million times," Collins says during the episode. "I have driven past here and just had my blinders up, and I haven’t allowed myself to explore, experience, and talk to people, and I feel like I am learning so much about how culture can be and how we could interact with one another.”

Here are the Washington Heights and Inwood restaurants that the PBS camera crew visited.

Malecon: 4141 Broadway

There are few better-known Washington Heights restaurants than Malecon. Collins and Rosa visited the eatery as their first stop for a Dominican-Caribbean breakfast, where they ordered tres golpes and feasted on cheese, fried egg, salami, and mangu (mashed plantains).

Dios Proveedor Bakery: 1300 St. Nicholas Ave.

The second stop on the tour was the popular Dominican bakery, where the pair got a baked good and cafe con leche. Collins struggled a bit with the sweetness of the drink.

Nidia Rivera's Hachichuelas Con Dulces Stand: West 182nd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue

It wouldn't be a proper food tour without stopping at a streetside stand, and there are few more popular or well known than the one operated by Rivera and her family.

The stand has been serving habicheulas con dulces to customers in Washington Heights since the 90s. For those who might not be familiar with the Dominican classic, the dish contained beans that are cooked with dairy and then sweetened.

“It’s great — unlike anything I’ve ever had," Collins said about the dish.

La Reina Del Chicharron: 4840 Broadway

Known as the best chicharron spot in the city, the Inwood restaurant takes pork ribs, chops them up, and deep-fries the dish. It is traditionally then served with platanos fritos (green fried plantains).

MamaSushi: 237 Dyckman Street

For the next uptown stop, Collins met up with Susan Osorio, the co-founder of Mamajuana and Mamasushi, along with multiple other restaurants in Washington Heights and Inwood.

Osorio highlighted the use of Spanish ingredients in MamaSushi's meals, including sushi with pork, beef, bacon and chicken. She also noted how there's a lit bit of everyone in terms of the type of food you might be hankering for on the day.

Mamajuana Cafe: 247 Dyckman Street

For the final trip on the tour, Collins walked next door to Mamajuana. After checking out the cuisine at the Inwood restaurant, Osorio led Collins on a walk through her neighborhood.

“And here, everyone is just so ebullient and full of life. It’s so effervescent and so remarkably different, and it seems eye-opening and liberating all at once," Collins said. "I love it.”

You can watch the trailer for the episode or actual episodes of "Roadfood" on its website.

This story was updated to include that Untapped New York was the first publication to report on the Upper Manhattan "Roadfood" episode.