Incredibly Cheap Eats--Lechon

El Bohio Restaurant #3 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, has an awning blazoned with the word "lechonera,"--meaning a place that specializes in crackly-skinned roast pig. And indeed, hefty hunks of burnished pork sit in the window, alongside blood sausage, pastelitos (like empanadas) and fried potato fritters.

The menu is encyclopedic and although there are some Dominican and American dishes, it's heaviest on the Puerto Rican classics. There are four different kinds of mofongo, and dozens of stews, such as goat, oxtail, bacalao, pork feet and tripe.

But the lechon is really why you're here, and you can get the piggy in a lunch special for $6, which includes rice with pigeon peas and maduros (ripe plantains sautéed until caramelized). You can also buy lechon on its own for $7 a pound.

The pig is soft and garlicky and is served with a slab of salty, crunchy skin. We also tried the roast chicken lunch plate for $6. The chicken is a bit dry, but also sports awesomely crisp skin.

If you want to feed a crowd cheaply, El Bohio offers some good package deals: For $24.95 you get a pound of lechon, three steaks with onions, a large rice, beans, salad and a liter of soda. For $22.95 you get a whole roast chicken, three pork chops, rice, beans, salad and a liter of soda.

El Bohio Restaurant #3
4523 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn
718-686-0079