by Stett Holbrook

photography by Judi Swinks

Ray Pabon's grandmother did more than just teach him to cook Puerto Rican food. The recipes he gleaned while watching her chop vegetables and stir pots connected him to the soul of his island roots and fed his growing interest in Puerto Rico's history and culture.  _
Pabon brought his grandmother's recipes to Oakland's Fruitvale District in November, opening Sofrito with his younger brother Ali Luna. The restaurant's name is a good one: Sofrito is an onion-chili pepper-garlic-herb-and-spice mixture that forms the foundation of the island's simple but hearty stews and other dishes. It's the soul of Puerto Rican cooking-without it Puerto Rican food would be like the island itself without salsa music and sunshine.
Sofrito the restaurant evokes the heart of Puerto Rican cooking. Family snapshots and nationalist art hang on the walls. Members of Oakland's Puerto Rican community treat the restaurant as a kind of community center. And, while lively Latin music plays, Pabon and Luna cook the food they grew up eating.
Pabon, 32, was raised by women-his mother, grandmother and various "aunties." As a result, he spent a lot of time in the kitchen. The rule was if you weren't helping, you had to leave, and Pabon wanted to help.
"I was always in there when something was happening," he says.
When he was about 18, he developed a strong interest in the history of Puerto Rico. As his interest in the commonwealth grew, he realized the fried plantains, red beans and rice and hearty stews he watched his grandmother cook were a direct link to the island's past. The salt cod and plantains that are now staples of Puerto Rican cooking are a legacy of Spanish slave traders who brought the slow-to-spoil foods to the island to keep their property alive. Also introduced by the Spanish were the pork dishes that now define the cuisine. Seafood, corn and root dishes are contributions from the island's indigenous peoples.
"She was keeping part of the culture alive," Pabon says of his grandmother's cooking. "This is way more serious than just really good platanos. It's a way of life ... It's a lot bigger than just food."
For years, Pabon worked at Whole Foods Market while playing music on the side as the MC in a 10-piece reggae-salsa-hip hop-soul band called Agua Libre. He and his brother, who is also a musician in a traditional Puerto Rican band, worked as caterers, making Puerto Rican food for special events and for a stall at the Berkeley Farmers' Market. Customers at the market kept asking when the brothers were going to open a restaurant. So, after years of working for someone else, the two finally decided to go into business for themselves and opened Sofrito.
While International Boulevard is a long way from the food-reverent Berkeley Farmers Market, Pabon says his experience there influenced his decision to use free-range chicken and organic beans in his cooking.
Puerto Rican food is simple but immensely satisfying. It's Caribbean comfort food. Rice and beans and fried plantains (sweet or savory) are the staples of every meal. Main dishes are rich and slow cooked and pulse with the flavor of sofrito.
"That's what gives our food its personality," says Pabon.
Sofrito's menu changes every day and features three dishes. For $7.95 you get your choice of one main dish and a choice of either white rice and beans (arroz blanco con habichuelas rojas) or red rice and pigeon peas (arroz con gandules) and fried plantains or a green salad. My favorite is the white rice and beans-big, pinto-sized beans in a rich, pork-infused broth.
For side dishes, I wanted to try the bacalaitos (codfish fritters, $2), but the restaurant was out each time I visited. Instead, I settled for the crispy empanadas (chicken stuffed pastries, $2).
From the list of main dishes, I liked pernil (pepper-flecked, slow-roasted pork). The meat is crackly and caramelized outside and still moist inside. It's a bit like carnitas, the Mexican version of roasted pork.
Ensalada de bacalao is probably the lightest dish on the menu. Flakes of faintly salted cod are tossed with sliced onions, carrots, hard-boiled egg and potatoes in a light vinaigrette. Although the meat is a bit tough, I liked the bistec encebollado, too, a thick cut of beef stewed with plenty of garlic and onions. Also good is pollo guisado, stewed chicken cooked long and slow with carrots, green olives and potatoes.
It's the kind of comforting dish you could imagine your grandmother making for you, if you're lucky enough to have a Puerto Rican grandmother. If you don't, Sofrito is the next best thing.  _

SOFRITO. Puerto Rican. Serves lunch and dinner 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Saturday and
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. 3541 International Blvd., (510) 533-3840.