Leli and Darcus Henry with daughter Leila at their new restaurant.
Olivia Gross Photo.
Plaintain cups with pork: a La Isla specialty.
Leli and Darcus Henry spent their Covid-19 quarantine wishing for a Hamden-based restaurant that served authentic, home-cooked Puerto Rican food. When they didn’t find one, they opened their own.
The restaurant is La Isla, located at 2779 Dixwell Ave. in Hamden. It officially opened July 7. It is a family operation, with Leli and Darcus’ two daughters, Niah and Shae, manning the front, and their 2‑year-old, Leila, parked in a high-chair in the back. The top cook, Vinoda Singh, is a veteran chef of 21 years, and a longtime family friend.
This is the family’s first restaurant. Leli’s parents moved to New Haven from Puerto Rico 47 years ago. Her father, Apolinario Cirino, was killed by police officers in New Haven when Leli was young, she said. After that, she was raised by her mother alone.
The recipes at La Isla are a mix of Leli’s and her mother’s. Her mother comes to the restaurant almost every other day, suggesting additions to the menu and enjoying the atmosphere.
Leli and Singh spent months developing the menu, and they figured out a technique to easily form the cups using a common kitchen tool, but maintain the method as a restaurant secret.
On a visit the other day, authenticity and comfort emanated from the tostones rellenos con pernil, or plantain cups with pork. This recipe is Leli’s own. The plantain cups are individually shaped each morning.
The cups are filled with tender pork, which has been delicately cooked for six hours. The accompanying yellow rice and beans are complex. The rice recipe took Leli four months (“in the lab”) to perfect.
Yellow rice is typically cooked with pork, but Darcus is a pescatarian and Leli wanted him to be able to try her cooking. Dozens of pots of rice later, Leli created a top-secret recipe that finally worked.
Chef Singh at work.
Leli prides herself on the plant-based options on the menu, like the yellow rice. They make vegetarian and vegan potato balls and green banana fritters, as well.
Everything is made to order. Singh said, “we pride ourselves on giving fresh food.”
The Henry family attends the Revival Church in Hamden. They said that Rev. Danny Bland subtly preached them into opening the restaurant. Right after the idea sparked in their minds, they heard him talk about bringing ideas into fruition and not waiting. The following sermons fell into perfect order, also, by telling them to weather through ups and downs and make adjustments necessary for success.
La Isla exterior, on Dixwell Avenue.
Business has been great so far at La Isla, according to Leli. Word is spreading fast, among regular customers and through catering orders.
Chef Singh makes fried plantains. First, she chops the plantains. Then, she deep fries them, smashes them, and fries them again. Lastly, she tosses them in a bowl with garlic powder.
Regular customer Emily Butler said she loves the place. “These are the best sweet plantains I’ve ever had.”
The family’s goal was to create a place to feed the community and bring greater cultural expansion to Hamden. They hope to one day add a paint-and-sip class on Sundays, or occasional bomba classes. Bomba dancing is also special to Leli. Traditionally, bomba drummers make a beat according to what the dancers are doing on the dance floor, opposite from common dance practices.
La Isla interior.
The decorations are leafy and relaxed. One wall has a mural painted by Leli’s cousin, with nods to Puerto Rican culture, including a Puerto Rican flag, a Loiza flag (the town that Leli’s family is from), and a Vijigante mask.
The mural.
“Putting this here serves many purposes. I want to make my parents proud and bring Puerto Rican cuisine to Hamden,” she said.
The restaurant is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 12 – 8 p.m. This past Thursday, Leli opened early because she noticed hungry people outside. “I wanted to make it so people knew when they walked in, this is family,” she said.
Leli said that honoring her parents was the core of opening this restaurant: “This is my way of giving them the better life they hoped for.”
The decorations are leafy and relaxed. One wall has a mural painted by Leli’s cousin, with nods to Puerto Rican culture, including a Puerto Rican flag, a Loiza flag (the town that Leli’s family is from), and a Vijigante mask.
"Tengo Puerto Rico en mi corazon"
("I have Puerto Rico in my heart")
My Bad.I hope they will have Coquito.