“When La Caridad goes, I go” I told myself. But Caridad will never close. So, while my wife scrolled house listings in the land beyond, and our three daughters dreamed of their own rooms, puppies, and personal space I had less urgency.  The anchor of the upper west side still held true. Big Nick’s Joint, gone. Williams BAR-B-Q, gone. Golden’s Stationery, gone. Here a bank, there a Duane Reade, everywhere a Starbuck’s. La Caridad remained and so did I in NYC.  

La Caridad is my childhood. Going out to eat in the summer with my father and brother.

Scaping $6 from various pockets in high school for an aluminum takeout container of yellow rice and black beans. La Caridad is my adulting workplace “about me.” When asked the what are you now question, I would use the familiarity of Chino-Latino restaurants and La Caridad. In my kindergarten teacher tone to the confused, “that is Chinese-Cuban, I am Chinese-Jamaican on my dad’s side.” Swap the ropa vieja for brown-stew chicken, keep the maduros/plantains.  

Though I had moved from my childhood UWS to Brooklyn, I would find a way to conduct my own personal inspection once a year to confirm La Caridad was still there holding down the corner of W78^th and Broadway. Grumpy waiters, check. Signed Knicks pics, check. Vertical stainless-steel rice and bean drawers check. Full belly lunch special for less than $15, check. No need to move to Jersey yet, check.

La Caridad did close in July 2020. It rightly received its obituaries: West Side Rag, NY Mag the NY Times.

I real them all, and then duly considered life in Jersey. I could see the upside of a house, breathing space and bathrooms. A score of open houses across 2021 and an offer on a two-story Georgian built in 1920 with FIVE! bathrooms later we remain in Brooklyn.

The Instagram algorithm, caring and kind, sensed the chuleta-sized hole in my heart and led me to La Dinastia, an appropriately old school UWS Chino-Latino spot I must have walked by plenty of times but never gave even a glance to. La Dinastia has great IG content, alternating between the history of Chino-Latino restaurants in NYC and beauty shots of chicken crackling with green sauce. Jaeki Cho’s Righteous Eats vouched for it, so that makes it a real one. Did I have to be faithful to a memory? Was my anchor more than just La Caridad but the spirit and flavor of Chino-Latino? Can an anchor for homeness have hashtags?

Why yes, yes it can. When I went to La Dinastia the first time, I went solo. I needed space to process it all. And what if the food didn’t live up to the posts? It did and does. It wasn’t La Caridad but something uniquely its own, full of flavor (them chuleas tho!) and comfort minus the grumpy tio waiters. As soon as I could, I brought my daughters there, so they could taste some of the NYC I knew. I was needlessly nervous about their reaction They loved it and asked why I had been gatekeeping the Chino Latinoness and the green sauce.

A father has few true triumphs, this was one of them.

I was content with my new anchor. Though miles from our apartment in Brooklyn, it was my spiritual living room. A place for a satisfying and comfortable catch up with friends. So imagine my confusion when I saw a sign that said “Coming Soon La Caridad” on the other side of W72 street from La Dinastia. The return of the Jedi? And even if the force was with this new creation, could La Caridad still be La Caridad on W72 street. One of the pleasures of eating there was facing the large windows looking out onto Broadway and watching the world walk by. La Caridad on Broadway was a balcony with a view and great black beans. What would be the deal with this storefront looking spot?

I walked into the new La Caridad, “La Caridad 72,” once after it reopened. It didn’t make sense to me. It was modern, clean, uncluttered aaaaaand friendly. And the kitchen was in the back, out of sight and sound. How can food taste good when you can’t hear shouting over the clanging wok? I knew I had to go. I didn’t go alone though. I took one of my daughters, letting her know we were getting Chino-Latino, but it might not hit the same.

La Caridad 72 isn’t like the old version, the new manager is way too welcoming as a host. There are pics of Knicks, anchored by Jeremy Lin. I didn’t see any pics of NY anchors. No Ernie Anastos. No Sal Marciano. Are you still an UWS restaurant without a signed headshot of Ernie? There is a pic of Rubén Blades tho. Rubén Blades said the old La Caridad had the best black beans in the city.

This new fangled La Caridad is like the open-floor plan construction Jersey homes we viewed. There is plenty of personal space, great lighting, and checkout that bathroom. The old La Caridad is like a rush-hour 1 train, which made for misery if the table next to you got their food first. I often ended up second guessing my order based on whatever landed next to me right under my nose. What is that – garlic shrimp?!

At the new Caridad I return to my standby order, the biste saltado with yellow rice and black beans. This new La Caridad still has some tasty creamy black beans. My daughter had the boneless chicken crackling and green sauce with ham, pork, and shrimp fried rice. My daughter was crispy green sauce happy.

I now have a dilemma on W72 street. I don’t know which spot I am headed to next time I’m in the neighborhood. I am happy knowing both are there. Hopefully when my daughters are adults one of them will be standing. And for now I have an abundance of choices. Maybe next time on W72 street I’ll just go for the Pastrami Queen or Charles Pan Fried Chicken instead. I wonder if pastrami goes with green sauce.