La Dinastia

"The Upper West Side is home to some of the best Chino Latino food in NYC, and you’ll find the best of the best at La Dinastia. The chicharrones de pollo are light and crispy, served with a lemon for squeezing, and best dipped in a secret tangy green sauce, which is one of those secrets that everybody knows about. La Dinastia has been open since 1986, serving fried pork chops and rum-based nutcrackers to Upper West Siders. If this isn’t already your first stop after a day spent lounging in Central Park, it will be after your first visit." - bryan kim, willa moore, neha talreja, hannah albertine, will hartman

"It could be your neighbor, your dentist, or your Uber driver, but someone you’ve met grew up going to this Chino Latino spot, and loves their platter of boneless chicken cracklings, squeezed over with lemon and dipped in a not-so-secret green sauce. Inside, old framed photos of celebrity visitors line the walls, and large booths fill up with Upper West Siders who have been eating fried pork chops in this exact spot since it opened in 1986. Come for big plates of Chino Latino classics, rum-based nutcracker cocktails garnished with maraschino cherries, and a general feeling that the world isn’t completely f*cked after all. A lot has changed on 72nd Street, but La Dinastia remains." - sonal shah, bryan kim, neha talreja, willa moore, will hartman

"We would travel great distances and transfer trains at least three times for the boneless crackling chicken at La Dinastia, a Chino Latino spot that’s been open since 1986. These chicharrones de pollo are light and crispy, served with a lemon for squeezing, and best dipped in the secret tangy green sauce, which is one of those secrets that everybody knows about. This casual dining room is full of Upper West Siders who have been eating fried pork chops here since before you were born, and a few people who saw this place on social media and have since fallen hard for the chicken. There are large booths, old framed pictures of celebrity visitors, and rum-based nutcrackers, which quite literally go down like water." - Willa Moore

"The Dish: Boneless Chicken Cracklings  La Dinastia on the Upper West Side has a long menu of Chino Latino classics (glistening fried pork chops, ropa vieja on a bed of fried rice), but we always get the same thing. The boneless chicken cracklings are delicately crispy, and salty enough to keep you coming back until your plate’s empty. They come with your choice of side—we like the tostones or fried rice—and a lemon wedge for squeezing. People have been eating chicken here since 1986. If you haven’t been yet, get a move on. Ask for the not-so-secret green sauce, and order a rum-based Nutcracker, even at lunch." - bryan kim, sonal shah, willa moore, will hartman, molly fitzpatrick, neha talreja

"La Dinastia on the Upper West Side has a long menu of Chino Latino classics (glistening fried pork chops, ropa vieja on a bed of fried rice) but we always get the same thing: the boneless chicken cracklings, which are delicately crispy, and salty enough to keep you coming back until your plate’s empty. They come with your choice of side—we like the tostones or fried rice—and a lemon wedge for squeezing. Ask for the not-so-secret green sauce, and order a rum-based Nutcracker, even at lunch." - will hartman, willa moore, molly fitzpatrick