Tio Caszos Puerto Rican Kitchen

Words by Angelina Feronti

“I’m not your typical New Yorker,” says Carlos Rivera, owner of Tio Caszos Puerto Rican Kitchen. An insurance adjuster by day, restaurant owner by night, father of four, self-proclaimed nerd, and jack of all trades, Carlos brings New York and Puerto Rico to his permanent pop-up alongside Café De L’Asie and ABE’s cafe inside Sailor & The Dock. And it all started with family.

An avid cook since age 13, Carlos found his way to the restaurant business after a decade of career changes in banking, insurance, and corporate layoffs that peaked during the pandemic. In 2022, his friend gave him a push cart after realizing selling hot dogs wasn’t as easy it seemed. Needing a change, Carlos was up for the challenge.

Born in Spanish Harlem and raised as the middle sibling of three boys in the South Bronx by a father who was a building superintendent on the Upper West Side, Carlos never felt accepted by New York’s Puerto Rican community growing up. But this didn’t stop him from diving into his culture through food at home. He started off as the designated grocery runner and later, at 13, Carlos learned from his mother how to cook staple dishes like rice and beans, stewed beans, and sofrito first. He continued learning from the women who raised him—his aunts, grandmother, and friends’ mothers, all of whom he credits. “I do everything as traditional as possible, with my spin on it,” Carlos says.

When Carlos moved to Oklahoma City in 1999 by way of a Greyhound ticket and a duffel bag, he knew of zero Puerto Rican restaurants. He felt the absence of Puerto Rican culture, but he was determined to change that. “Until someone better comes, I’m here.”

Carlos’ spin began with the limitations of the push cart, turning his creative gears to offer more than just American hot dogs. First parked at Scissortail Park for weekends and special events, his cart offered Boricua nachos made with plantain and yucca chips, Pasto Londo (Puerto Rican lasagna made with sweet plantains, meat, and cheese), and Carlos’ take on the New York-inspired chopped cheese, packed with flavorful, tomato-y picadillo instead of standard ground beef.

A couple of months after the hot dog cart took off, Carlos brought his entire family—his wife, youngest son, two daughters, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law—to work a Foodie Fest pop-up. Customers returned for fourth and fifth servings. Carlos knew his flavors left a lasting imprint with customers, and it was time to establish the restaurant he couldn’t find anywhere else in Oklahoma.

At his pop-up in Sailor & The Dock, his menu has expanded to include Boricua burritos, hand-pressed empanadas, arroz con gandules, and pernil plates, a signature Puerto Rican dish with nine hour slow-roasted pork. How he manages to slow-roast pork twice a week between two full-time jobs is a testament to his grit, which he credits to his father’s work ethic.

For his Puerto Rican customers, Carlos’ goal is to replicate the feeling of eating a meal at their grandparents’ house. So when a Puerto Rican customer stopped in one day, looked at the menu, and asked, with an air of suspicion, “Who taught you how to do that?” Carlos had to prove himself. After explaining that he makes everything in-house, from seasonings to sauces, the customer left and returned with her mother and father. To Carlos, the highest honor was a member of his community thinking his dishes were authentic enough for her parents.

After all, at the core of the Tio Caszos’ authenticity is family. Just as Carlos learned his recipes from the women who raised him, he passes on his love for cooking Puerto Rican food to his children, who help with everything from the register to food prep. Currently, his eldest son makes the sofrito.

It’s not an overstatement to say Tio Caszos wouldn’t exist without family. Carlos’s older brother, Daniel, a New York chef who owns and operates Father and Sons BBQ Kitchen, a fusion of St. Louis BBQ and Puerto Rican BBQ, often tells the story of a friend who urged him to go to culinary school. That friend was Carlos. Carlos admits that seeing his brother’s success made him want to start his own kitchen. While they’re both reluctant to reveal their influences, the power of family is undeniable.

Carlos reflects, “I used to think cooking wasn’t a viable career for me, but now you’re going to have to pry me out of this spot. I gave my brother his push to start, and in return, he gave me mine.”

Tio Caszos Puerto Rican Kitchen, 617 W. Sheridan Ave., Oklahoma City, (405) 673-6445, tiocaszosprkitchen.com, @tiocaszosprkitchen