The True Meaning of Comfort Food
Some foods are comfort foods for different reasons.
The Latin dish of roast pork, rice and beans is one, and when you get it from JJ's2Go in the Poughkeepsie Plaza, sometimes it truly is food that comforts.
Tucked away in a corner of the mall, you’ll find Josephine Quiles ready to dish up breakfast or lunch.
JJ's2Go has a simple menu, roast pork, pork chops or chicken stew with rice, a daily special, a few varieties of empanadas and fried plantains salty or sweet.
I don’t know what she puts on the roast pork (and she’s not telling) but it’s delicious and when you get to the end/outside pieces, you could eat them forever!
Adding some of her homemade hot and/or garlicy mojo sauce to the rice takes it from good to great and I’m not the only one, Janet said “I could bathe in this stuff, it’s so good!”
But what makes this great find comfort food, is what Josephine does when she’s not behind the counter.
Recently, on a slow afternoon, she packed up pots of rice, pork and chicken and went out to Plattekill to meet up with her son, a fireman.
Several families had lost their homes in a fire so she brought them a hot (and delicious) meal.
She is now acting as a drop off point for anyone who want to donate items Puerto Rico and help in their recovery after Hurricane Maria devastated the island. (Click here to find out more on how you can donate.)
Taking care of people comes naturally to Josephine. She worked as an oncology nurse until a freak accident sidelined her nursing career.
But don’t think she’s turned her back on her patients. She’ll happily whip up something special for chemo patients who might not be able to tolerate certain foods.
Josephine has always cooked for her family, so adding another pot to the stove, just came naturally to her, but running a restaurant? That’s a totally new venture.
A little over a year ago, one of her sons found the corner spot in the mall and encouraged her “Mom do that, do that, do that” and she did.
With 4 sons and 14 grandkids, she should have plenty of help in the kitchen, chopping garlic and mixing up more of her secret hot sauce.
And the secret to her cooking? “Lots of love baby!”
JJ's2go Poughkeepsie Plaza (near the fountain) 2600 South Road Poughkeepsie, NY. Phone: 845-337-8725
