Barrio Tours | South Providence, RI

My name is Ramon Morales Everyone knows me as “Johnny Chimi”

The Chimichurri burger (usually called Chimi burger, Dominican burger, or simply chimi) is a traditional snack-dish served in the Dominican Republic. It is also a popular dish in Argentina.

The burger itself is made from a ground pork or beef, and is sliced, grilled and served on special bread and garnished with garnished with the traditional Chimi Sauce and chopped cabbage. [In Argentina, salsa golf is also added.] This dish is made throughout the Dominican Republic and is usually sold on street stands. It's impossible to find a standard recipe because there isn't one. Each vendor has a different way to make this, and a faithful clientele that prefers his/her Chimi sandwich; flavors and ingredients can substantially vary the texture and taste of the chimichurri sauce.

In the Dominican Republic chimichurri is quite different than the Argentinian chimichurri or salsa golf sauce. It is a twist on the hamburger recipe popular in the United States, substituting cabbage for lettuce and adding herbs, spices, and various condiments to flavor the meat (sazón). The bread used is called pan de agua. The name translates into water bread and it has a texture and flavor similar to a small French bread and it is individually-sized. As with the hamburger, many twists are added to the basic recipe on a regional or sometimes individual basis. The chimichurri is traditionally sold out of panel trucks (aka Chimi Trucks) in the Dominican Republic and in New York City – Manhattan, Harlem and East Harlem. 

In Rhode Island, Chimi Trucks line Lower Broad Street (also known as La Broa'” by many of the locals) between Jilson Street in Washington Park neighborhood and Southward, to Thurber’s Avenue. You may sometimes find one or two going North, beyond that point. The trucks begin to set up around dinner time, or often at sunset and become a late-night snack to some of the locals & residents. They are their busiest during the weekends, on Friday and Saturday nights, but some are open for lunch.

Dominican Chimi Truck Glossary


  • Bollitos de Yuca: boiled, puréed yuca stuffed with seasoned chicken or other fillings.
  • Camarones: shrimp
  • Carne: meat, usually beef. Carne molida is ground beef
  • Cerdo or Pernil: pork
  • Chicharrones: skin-on, deep-fried pork belly
  • Chimi: a chimichurri sandwich, comprised of a soft bun (pan de agua) and a seasoned, grilled burger patty
  • Cuajito con Guineo: Puerto Rican stew with sliced beef ear (oréja) and green banana (madúro)
  • Fritura: fried stuff—meats, plantains, cow intestines
  • Quipes (Kipes): same as Middle Eastern kibbeh—bulgur
  • wheat stuffed with ground beef and fried
  • Pastelitos: also called empanadas, made of dough filled with ground beef, ham chicken and/or cheese.
  • Pierna: leg of lamb.
  • Pinchos: shish-kabob of chicken, pork or beef, marinated, then grilled with sazón or bbq sauce and served with a piece of bread.
  • Pollo: chicken
  • Queso: cheese
  • Sazón: seasoning added to enhance flavor, includes cilantro, garlic salt and achiote.
  • Tostónes: double-fried green plantains (plátanos).

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