Rice & Beans

Participated in the August 2009 and May 2010 Taste the World events, and participating in the 2010 Taste the World coupon book.

Opened in April 2009

Rosa Guzman, owner
247 North Queen Street
Lancaster, PA 17603
717-509-9880
MTuWTh 9am-8pm; FSa 9am-9pm

To try on your first visit: Rice and beans, of course! Owner Rosa Guzman named the restaurant to "let everybody know what's special here." The most popular dish is the one being served as part of Taste the World, a yellow rice with some beans and roast pork.

Guzman grew up in the Dominican Republic, but the front of Rice and Beans' menu declares that it is a Latin kitchen. Indeed, there are Puerto Rican specialties such as mafongo, Cuban sandwiches and a brown rice popular in Cuban cuisine. Dessert is tres leches, a rich Mexican three milk cake, as well as flan.

Growing up, she liked the traditional white rice and stewed chicken - but not the beans that were always served with it. "They tried to force me to eat beans," she remembers. But now, she says, "I like it. Now I prefer rice and beans, but no meat."

Guzman, who moved to Lancaster from New York 12 years ago, has decades of experience in restaurants. "It's my passion. I enjoy it," she says. "I like to talk to the customers and say hi to you and call customers by name." And she especially likes for people to enjoy her cooking. "I feel happy when somebody says wonderful. It's something I love."

She created the restaurant to feel like a family place. "It's very comfortable and you feel like it's your home," she says.

To do: Find the Dominican Republic on a map and name the country that shares an island with it. Extra credit: What's the capital city?

written by Marla Pierson Lester; photos by Matthew Lester Photography