Montrealers have been flying to Punta Cana for decades without ever eating Dominican food, a gap chef Juan Silverio hears about constantly at Orégano, one of a small handful of Dominican kitchens in the city. His Papineau dining room makes the case with yellow walls, merengue and salsa on the speakers, and a spread of Dominican references running from Presidente bottles to Vladimir Guerrero in an Expos uniform. The cooking holds to cocina criolla: sancocho heavy with yucca, yam and plantain, chicharrón and house longaniza, la bandera in its several variations. Silverio points to the chivo guisado, goat stewed until it slides off the bone and served in cast iron, as the plate that travels furthest. His mofongo breaks from the standard version with a coconut milk sauce, a habit picked up over years in Thai and Japanese kitchens.