Secretos de mis Abuelos in Homestead a must visit for Puerto Rican cuisine

Five years ago, Felipe Crespo was sitting in the barber’s chair at Primo Cuts, a Puerto Rican barbershop across the street from his apartment. As a new resident of Pittsburgh pursuing his master’s degree at Duquesne University, he was also searching for authentic Boricua food.

After inquiring at the barbershop about a place to find Puerto Rican food, Crespo was surprised to learn there was none.

“I was like, ‘I’m just gonna make some. Do you guys want some?’ ” he said. The barbers, not confident in his culinary skills, challenged him to make complicated Puerto Rican dishes like pulled pork, beef stew, rice and peas, and red beans.

“All the things that I have to sit on the stove and prep beforehand,” Crespo said. “When I brought it to them, I just made 10 small plates. They called me back within 30 minutes and said, ‘Do you have more of that?’ I said, ‘No.’ Then they asked, ‘Well, are you making more tomorrow?’ I said, ‘No, but if you want me to, I’ll sell it to you guys this time.’ ”

One of the barbers was an administrator of the Latinos in Pittsburgh Facebook group. There, Crespo gained a lot of traction and community support through word of mouth, which allowed him to start a catering business that parlayed into a food truck.

Today, Crespo, 32, is the owner of Secretos de mis Abuelos on Eighth Avenue in Homestead, which opened earlier this year and is rapidly becoming a staple in the community. According to the Allegheny County Latinx Needs Assessment, the Hispanic population has grown by 80% from 2010 to 2020 — 34,325 people.

Some of the top sellers at the restaurant are rice and peas (arroz con gandules), red beans (habichuelas), slow-cooked pork (pernil), fried plantains (tostones) and mofongo, plantains mashed using a wooden pilón or mortar and pestle. One of Crespo’s favorite dishes to make and eat is churrasco, which is steak with chimichurri sauce.

When it comes to Puerto Rican food, the flavor is critical. The spices usually include cumin, oregano, garlic, onion and sofrito — a blend of cilantro, peppers, onions, adobo and sazón.

Jorge Amador, 25, hails from Honduras and is a chef at Secretos. On the day of a visit by a TribLive reporter, he was in the process of making pastelillos — flour dough stuffed with meat, similar to empanadas. He first learned to make them from his mom.

“When I came to this city two years ago, the Latin community was very small. When I found this place, it was as a customer because it reminded me of home,” Amador said.

When the opportunity came to share the passion of his culture, he was excited.

Crespo, who is from Chicago and also lived in Florida, has family all over Puerto Rico, particularly in Ponce, Vieques and Carolina. He said he goes back to Puerto Rico at least once a year.

Food, education, and love were always at the forefront for Crespo growing up. He learned to cook from his grandparents and mom.

“Growing up, it was rice, beans and meat always, some variation of plantains, something sweet, of course, and something fresh baked in the morning, like a pastry, coffee,” he said. “That is really when the family got together. Everyone was really doing their own thing or just grinding in their own world under the same roof. When it was time for food, everybody paused. That’s when we were able to talk and eat and nurture each other.”

When he’s cooking, he says it is nostalgic and empowering.

“A lot of Puerto Rican people know how to cook,” Crespo said.

He said his grandparents’ cooking was the best. The logo of Secretos represents Crespo’s bond with them. Resembling the Puerto Rican flag, it shows grandparents whispering little secrets to their grandson in the stars portion and the rest of the flag forming the shape of a table.

“They showed me the basics and then told me what their secret was, and I always loved that novelty. It made me feel like I was part of something exclusive,” Crespo said.

As he got older, Crespo started to experiment and added his own flavor to the recipes.

He credits his entrepreneurial spirit to being Puerto Rican, even though he says he has stumbled into being a chef.

“Being Puerto Rican has really set a different type of work ethic in me. Puerto Rican people are often disadvantaged due to the historical context behind Puerto Rico,” he said, referencing the colonization of the island and the constant fight for the territory to have economic and political advancement.

“But from that has come great ambition and integrity, determination and perseverance. It has definitely shaped my character a lot,” Crespo said.

The increase of the Latino population has helped business, and the community support is humbling for Crespo. He said the increase is a result of other Latin people having positive experiences in Pittsburgh.

“If you want any type of Latin person to be comfortable, they are going to look at the Latin population that is here so they feel more empowered in their own sense of community,” he said.

Doug Raible, Crespo’s business partner, is like a brother to him.

“Doug saw the potential of it more than just being a guy selling food on the street for a little bit of cash. He saw community building,” he said.

“I thought this would be really fun,” said Raible, 31. “I love the food and I really love the Latin community and the culture. But we also got along, I believe in him long term.”

Outside of the restaurant, Crespo still has a full plate. He will soon be a full-time medical student, and has two other entrepreneurial ventures. He is also an advocate for equal representation. Crespo was recently asked by Mayor Ed Gainey to represent Puerto Rico in the International Day Parade Downtown on Saturday at noon.

“I just want to enable other people, really. I want them to see my story, where I came from, and what I accomplished and see that they can do it too. There’s plenty of room at the table for all of us to have a seat,” Crespo said.