I’ve spent almost 16 years here in New York City now. It’s funny to think that when I first moved here, I thought I’d be here for 2-5 years and then leave. What the hell did I think I was going back to in San Francisco, anyway?

We came back to the South Bronx today for our annual pit stop since the pandemic at Lechonera La Pirana. We got an entire plate to go of Angel Jimenez’s famous Puerto Rican-style lechon (complete with crispy pork skin) for $20, plus I made sure we did not leave without a photo with Pookster, Angel, and his famous (and terrifying) machete. It’s been cute to see photos of Pookster with Angel and the machete over the years and see how the both of them have changed (and aged).

Given we were just a few blocks away from the popular Central American restaurant Seis Vecinos (which means “Six Neighborhoods” in Spanish), we finally had a sit-down meal here today after the last several visits when I’d wait in line at the lechon truck (in the hot sun, phew), and Chris would take Pookster to Seis Vecinos to pick up freshly made pupusas and our favorite Salvadoran-style horchata.

We have enjoyed endless delicious meals in New York across all five boroughs (and across the world), but I will say that this lunch we had at Seis Vecinos today was truly spectacular; even if we had never stopped at the lechon truck, this restaurant itself would have been worth the train ride up to South Bronx. We ordered a freshly blended papaya smoothie, passion fruit juice (both HUGE!), two pupusas (revuleta, which is a mix of chicharron, refried beans, and cheese, and cheese with loroco, the Salvadoran green herb we were introduced to last week while in El Salvador), and the fried fish filet, which was served with delicious refried beans, Salvadoran crumbly cheese, crema, a thick slice of avocado, maduros (fried sweet plantains), and two freshly grilled handmade corn tortillas.

The portions sizes for all the above were gigantic; all of these dishes are most definitely meant for sharing. The freshness was also extremely visible from the perfect ripeness and softness of the avocado to the rich fragrance of the masa used to make the thick corn tortillas. Another interesting thing about Salvadoran tortillas is that they are always made quite thicker than the average Mexican tortillas. The fish filet was very crispy and brown on the outside, with moist, flaky white fish on the inside, which Kaia happily devoured. We also loved the pupusas, both thick and gooey, also fragrant from the masa used to make the outside layer. The curtido that accompanied the pupusas was not too sour but pickled just enough to give some well-rounded tartness to the richness of the pupusa filling. In the end, we predictably had leftover food to take home.

We ended our meal with a thick slice of maracuya / passion fruit tres leches, which Kaia was extremely excited about, as she got to enjoy this Latin American treat twice during our trip two weeks ago. And we also got a Salvadoran horchata to go since we still weren’t over the delicious creaminess of this nutty drink.

The layout and space of the restaurant was also fun: the bar is long and spacious, and they have a great outdoor seating area (with covering) where we ate. It’s on a corner, so it benefits from that level of visibility. And much to Pookster’s excitement, we were sitting with a full-frontal view of the local fire station, where multiple fire trucks were coming in and out. One of Kaia’s favorite things right now is seeing and hearing sirens, whether they are on ambulances or fire trucks. She always knows the different types of vehicles and gets pumped up when she sees or hears the sirens going off. The fire station is what kept her excited and engaged for the full duration of our lunch, and she didn’t need to have any toys or temporary screen time to distract her thankfully.

There is something delicious pretty much everywhere in New York if you are willing to make the trek. These little gems are what make this city so special.