Hornado

Ecuadorian Dream (El Negro de Oro)

El Negro de Oro, 1801 South Broad St, Hamilton, NJ
M-W 11AM - 9PM; Closed Th; F, 11AM - 9PM; Sa-Su, 10AM - 10PM
(609) 508-1083   Website    Google Maps

Gravitas:   Decor:   Cost:   Proximity:

El Negro de Oro (“Black Gold”) is the only Trenton restaurant we know that specializes in Ecuadorian cuisine, including such traditional dishes as:

  • Hornado (roast pork) — at El Negro it’s served with hominy corn, Maiz Tostado (toasted corn nuts), potato cake, and salad (see header image).
  • Seco de Chiuo — a rich, slow-braised goat stew.  Yummy, though bony (why is it that most goat stews seem to be made from the backbone?)goat stew
  • Guatita — the Ecuadorian “national dish”: a tripe stew
  • Chaulafan — fried rice made with shrimp, beef, pork, eggs, and chicken, flavored with soy sauce.

troutEl Negro’s menu also features a range of “Typical” dishes which are borrowed from other Latino cuisines, and an extensive seafood menu including Enceballado de Pescado (fish stew made with onions and cassava), Civiche de Cameraron (shrimp civiche), and a range of fish filets (Tilapia or trout), and fried whole fish

Service is friendly and competent.  The waitresses all seem to be reasonably fluent in English.

On my third trip to the restaurant, I ran into an Ecuadorian friend who clued me into something that’s not on the menu:  M-F, ask your waitress for the lunch special!  It provides a bowl of soup (home made chicken or lentil the day we were there), and your choice of several entrees, at a good price.

interiorThe decor is simple, but immaculately clean, and more presentable than most… we almost rated it 2-chairs.  Prices are reasonable, but  a buck or two more than the typical pricing in a Trenton Guatemalan joint.

Is the food better?  Maybe not.  It’s similar to Guatemalan in that it’s a lot of stewed or roasted meats, with minimal spice.  But it’s different and worth exploring more than once.

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Latino | Restaurants

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