Papa Ningo: good food and festive

Paz Ochs' mother is from the Dominican Republic, so Ochs grew up eating Caribbean dishes such as pigeon peas and rice, and mofongo, a dish made with mashed plantains and pork cracklings.

Using her mom's cooking as a standard, Ochs has only good things to say about Papa Ningo & Fiesta, a restaurant in Shockoe Bottom serving Dominican food.

"It's like Mom's but only better -- it's all you can eat," said Ochs. Papa Ningo, she said, is one of her favorite restaurants.

The restaurant's luncheon buffet is $6.99. My first trip there was with a group of about 20 people, Ochs among them, and a special buffet had been prepared. There were at least five or six meat dishes, a couple of rice dishes, salads, plantain, a bean soup and vegetable dishes.

Curry, cilantro and garlic spiced up beef, pork and chicken stews, some with peppers and onions, and with each meat stirred into a flavorful gravy. The beef stew -- chunks of tender beef in a dark gravy-- was my favorite.

I filled my plate with a bit of just about everything. It was all tasty.

The server explained that everything is cooked fresh. For instance, the chicken was rubbed with lemon and marinated for a couple of hours before being cut up and cooked in various dishes. Some of the dishes on the buffet are not on the regular menu because of availability of ingredients and the cook's inclination that morning.

Another point the server made about Dominican food: Foods are spicy, but they are not spicy hot. My online research tells me that varies: It probably depends on the cook.

I went back to Papa Ningo & Fiesta to see what's on the lunch buffet on a typical day. There were at least three chicken dishes, yellow rice, a beef stew, a bean soup, plantain, spaghetti and meatballs, and a dish with greens and scrambled eggs.

Ochs raved about the restaurant's tropical-flavored milkshakes, which sell for $3 to $3.50, and my fellow diners who had the flan for dessert said it was good. The place has a huge bar for the nighttime revelers, and the colorful painted brick walls add to the festive feeling.

Contact Tammie Smith at (804) 649-6572 or .