A recent transplant to the Bangor area from New York City can’t wait to introduce locals to the Latin-Caribbean treats he’ll be serving at his new food truck.
New England Iron Pollo will begin serving marinated, flame-broiled chicken with an array of sides next month, from a food truck to be parked in downtown Bangor.
Owner Alberto Alcantara, a native of Queens, moved to Maine last year with his girlfriend and began to pursue a long dream of opening his own food business. After more than a decade in the food industry, he’s excited to offer his take on the Dominican and Latin-Caribbean food he grew up eating.
“The Latino flavor is my heritage,” he said. “I want people to be able to experience the flavors of our cuisine, and to show people here what food from the Dominican Republic, from Puerto Rico, from all across the Caribbean is like.”
The star of the New England Iron Pollo menu is Alcantara’s chicken, broiled in cast iron and marinated one of two ways: traditional Dominican marinade, or his sweet dulce pollo sauce, which is similar to a barbecue sauce, but with a unique flavor profile.
There will be an array of sides to accompany the chicken, including steak fries, yucca fries, coconut rice, sliced sweet plantains, corn on the cob and seasoned mashed potatoes. Alcantara will also offer his take on a Cuban sandwich made with chicken instead of pork, as well as sweet plantain empanadas stuffed with cheese, and his take on chicken and waffles, using churro dough instead of waffle batter.
Alcantara said it took him and his family a little while to get used to living in Maine instead of New York, but now he’s settled into life up north.
“The pace of life is very relaxed. And this is just the best place to raise a family,” he said. “We really want to be a good part of this community.”
To that end, Alcantara said he plans to use all compostable materials for his food and no plastic, and also wants to partner with local providers for much of his food — especially on chicken, which he is working on sourcing from local poultry farms.
“Maine used to have this huge poultry industry, and we want to honor that with the food we offer,” he said.
Alcantara said he hopes to begin serving the cast iron chicken and other meals in the first half of August. He’ll be parked several days a week at 30 Central St. in downtown Bangor, next to Central Street Farmhouse and the “Pocket Park.” For more information, like New England Iron Pollo on Facebook.
