McCoco’s Offers Tasty Caribbean Fare

McCoco’s Caribbean Restaurant. Photo taken Oct. 30, 2024 by Cari Taylor-Carlson.

I found McCoco’s Caribbean Restaurant in West Allis thanks to a tip from a friend who immigrated to Milwaukee from Colombia. This relatively new Caribbean-Puerto Rican-Dominican restaurant has a tasty selection of dishes that run the gamut from Miami Tacos to the traditional Puerto Rican Mofongo.

As soon as my companion and I were seated, a server brought a small complementary bowl of creamy chicken noodle soup filled with potato, carrots, pasta and chicken. My companion’s remark that it literally melted in her mouth summed up our reactions to this delicious and unexpected starter. It was also a fine introduction to the $8.95 lunch special available Tuesday to Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We checked the menu and noted that the price of the $8.95 MoFongo, for example, rose to $15.95 after 4:00. According to our server, the lunch entrée will be identical to the dinner entrée and the only difference is the price.

McFongo, a classic Puerto Rican dish, was a silo-like cylinder of cooked and smashed plantains that had been combined with crisp chicharrons and “secret” spices. Then they were formed into the tower that hinted of pork from the crushed chicharrons. At lunch you have your choice of protein: Fried Pork Shoulder, Pork Chops, Steak with Grilled Onions, Chicken Breast or McCoco’s Wings. The steak had a lot of good meaty flavor; the onions were lightly grilled, a shredded lettuce salad with a colorful dressing added a bright note to the plate, and two dipping sauces introduced more flavor if you wanted to dip the meat or sauce the tower.

The variety of sauces they offer at McCoco’s are not fancy but they are tasty and just right for whatever is on the plate. For example, with the steak they served a small dish of melted American cheese, most likely Velveeta, and a dish of something they call “mayoketchup.” This is a traditional Caribbean sauce and the combination of mayonnaise and ketchup that we were served was exactly what it was.

Another lunch special, the Pinchos Platter, was a chicken kabob served with sweet chili sauce, a spicy complement to the tender chicken on the kabob that also included red and green peppers, onion, and zucchini. The fried potatoes were fried wedges served with mayoketchup for dipping.

That sauce turned up again with the Empanadas, an appetizer that counted four to an order — Beef, Chicken, Pork and Cheese. Because the fillings were generous, there were enough empanadas for a meal, assuming you had enjoyed every drop of the complementary chicken soup.

The Tostones Platter is a gift to aficionados of Caribbean cuisine. The tostones, deep-fried and smashed plantains, tasted slightly salty and not a bit greasy, and when we dipped them in the mayoketchup, we tasted the heart of Latin American cuisine. Along with the tostones, there was a choice of Grilled Steak, Grilled Chicken Breast, Pork Chops, Fried Pork Shoulder, Wings or the juicy Pulled Pork. An outrageously huge serving of pulled pork tasted a little sweet and a little smoky. It was good as is, or you could sauce it, and you will likely have enough to take home for a sandwich later.

The Miami Tacos were flour tortillas filled with shredded chicken plus the usual shredded lettuce and chopped tomato. What set this entrée apart was the accompanying Bacon Rice. This is a Puerto Rican dish made with white rice and a lot of bacon that gave it a porky salty flavor. It was unique and delicious. Mango salsa, lime salsa verde and pico de gallo, along with sour cream were on the plate to add additional interest to the tacos. You can also order a Mexican Taco, shredded chicken in corn tortillas with onion and cilantro and, again, Bacon Rice.

Also, on the menu, there were more Dominican entrees such as Bandera Dominica, white rice, beans, salad, and a protein, and the Chaufan Platter, Asian-Dominican Rice with veggies and served with grilled steak. From Columbia there was McPaisa, a steak with white rice, sweet plantains, fried yucca, avocado, chicharron, fried egg and chorizo, and from Puerto Rico, the Gandules Platter, Puerto Rican Rice with a choice of protein.

McCoco’s has a full bar and what could be more perfect to accompany the Caribbean entrees than a Sangria. My companions and I enjoyed large glasses of sangria filled to the brim with minimal ice to dilute this refreshing and fruity drink.

On the wall, four large screens rotate tempting scenes of beach getaways to put you in the mood for some Caribbean cuisine and perhaps they will even tempt you to book a flight and head south where you can have a Sangria on the beach instead of in a restaurant on Greenfield Avenue in Milwaukee.

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• Location: 7420 W. Greenfield Ave.
• Phone: 414-509-5075
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mccocosrestaurants/

UPDATE: An earlier version article identified a different Colombia.

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