This East Oakland spot serves a mood-lifting meal that we’re compelled to relive again and again. Puerto Rican Street Cuisine, naturally, is all about stellar Puerto Rican comfort dishes, like heaps of deeply spiced pollo encebollado and slow-cooked pernil sitting next to white rice covered with stewed pink beans and pumpkin squash, accompanied by the starchy wonder that is a whole sweet plantain stuffed with ground beef, onions, and cheese. Formerly a liquor-store takeout counter called Borinquen Soul, this 23rd Street location continues to keep things focused on all things to-go. But, if you absolutely can't wait to tear into a melty empanada, there are a few tables out front for an impromptu gobble-down session.