VALDOSTA — Oscar Burgos has brought Puerto Rican cuisine to town.

Burgos and his father-in-law, Anthony Alicea, recently opened Rico Rico Latin Restaurant, the only Puerto Rican restaurant in Valdosta.

He said his father-in-law previously owned a restaurant in Puerto Rico. Other members of his family are still running a restaurant in Puerto Rico.

The inside walls of Rico Rico are painted with the colors of the Puerto Rican flag: red and blue, with a single white star.

Burgos and his wife painted the restaurant. They have also painted the paintings which hang on one wall of the restaurant.

He said they plan to hang the works of other local artists on the walls and allow them to sell their paintings.

Asked the difference between Puerto Rican dishes and other Latin dishes, Burgos said: “There’s no way I can explain the difference. You have to taste it. It’s the spices. One flavor will take over sometimes.”

Rico Rico offers traditional Puerto Rican cuisine: sandwiches and Caribbean and Latin American dishes.

“It’s what we eat everyday in Puerto Rico,” Burgos said.

Some of the popular dishes served at Rico Rico include mofongo, plantains, empanadas, mamposteco and crazy fries.

Empanadas are crusted pastries stuffed with meat, cheese and other ingredients. Plantains are fried bananas.

Mofongo is smashed plantains with bacon inside. Mamposteco is a mount of rice made with spices and plantains and meat in the center. 

The tripleta is a sandwich containing ham, chicken and beefsteak with a chimichurri sauce on top.

Burgos said he expects the crazy fries will be a big hit with college students.

“It’s like Texas cheese fries on steroids,” he said.

The crazy fries include the meats from the tripleta sandwich and a selection of sauces.

Rico Rico also offers soft drinks popular in Puerto Rico such as Malta India and Coco Rico.

Coco Rico is a coconut-flavored soft drink. Malta India is similar to root beer with strong malt flavor.

Burgos described Malta India as “the Dr. Pepper of Puerto Rico.”

He said the dishes are designed to feed two people in most cases.

Burgos sees Valdosta as an open opportunity for new businesses. 

“That’s an opportunity. The best place to start is now before it gets filled up,” he said.

He said Rico Rico plans to offer flex pay as a payment option for college students given how close the restaurant is to Valdosta State University.

Burgos is also an active-duty service member.

Rico Rico Latin Food is located at 607 Baytree Road, Suite C., next to Ashley Street Station.

The business is open 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and can be contacted by phone at (229) 262-2020.