WPA records are great ways to study food history. WPA sources on the upper west side show African Americans and Latinos frequented some of the same restaurants in Harlem and Spanish Harlem. These eateries did their best business on weekends after the theatres and dance halls closed. Musicians and clubbers ordered pasteles or Puerto Rican–style tamales made from mashed green plantains, pork and or vegetables such as pepper, olives, and capers.
