104 replies to this topic

[thereuare]

I try to avoid restaurant hotels whenever possible, especially if there is local fare to be had (which isn't typically local to me).

Buffet Brunch is an exception to that rule, which i hear the Caribe Hilton has a great one on Sundays, but i don't see the need i stuffing myself before the cruise so we'll probably just stop off at a local bakery or something similar.

I'll bypass the triple miles for the $65 rate i got

Edited by thereuare, 05 August 2003 - 08:59 PM.

[thereuare]

As a follow-up, we ended up going to La Casita Blanca which was exactly what i was looking for. Here's a review i wrote, along with some pics:

Got in a taxi van at the hotel and when the bellman asked where we were going, we replied “La Casita Blanca” and he smiled, looked at us with a look of disbelief, and asked “How’d you hear about that place?!?” I told him the internet and he commented that it truly is a world wide web. He said the food was great there and we would enjoy our meals… I knew at this point we were in for something great. The entire menu (11 items) was shown to us on a blackboard, and after my dad ordered a lasagna-type dish the waiter, while still standing there with the blackboard, began to erase it from the menu… he got the last one! The place was quite ‘eclectic’ and had a real home feeling, which includes a tree growing out of the floor and thru the porch. Before ordering we were brought fried conch, and although I dislike non-shellfish, these tasted just like potato chips and were great. This was followed by garlic bread, which was even better. I had the shrimp Creole and it was pretty good, the rice and beans on the side were great, and the monfongo was a little dry for my taste (but it’s an acquired taste I’m told). I tasted my dad’s lasagna-type dish which was (IMO) the best dish of the evening; my wife’s “steak with onions” was also tasted which was very good but the texture/color of the steak didn’t look as brown as it should be (maybe just my pre-conceived perception that one couldn’t get a good steak on the island of Puerto Rico).

When I returned from the bathroom a man at a nearby table stopped me and said, “Forgive me for being forward, but I know how I got here… but how do you know about this place?” I once again told him of my internet friends and egullet. He was from the Bronx but vacations twice a year in Puerto Rico and was there that nite with some locals. We had some rice pudding for dessert, which was also excellent (and I’m not a dessert person). A complimentary shot of a sambuca-like liquor is also served, but I think this put me over the top and I actually got a little sick from it (in conjunction with the over-eating). Price was extremely reasonable… 5 main dishes and 2 sides was $68, including a 15% tip included in the bill since we were a large party, but we left a bit more. This restaurant was exactly what I was looking for and gave us a great experience of eating ‘local, home cooking, fare’. Highly recommended, but be forewarned that it is an outdoor seating atmosphere and there is no air conditioning.

This is what the place looks like:


My meal:


Near hotel, man shucking oysters on the street:

[Jason Perlow]

Majorly cool.

[Miguel Gierbolini]

Glad you liked it.
I think that what you were served prior
to dinner were "bacalaitos" which are cod fritters.
The after dinner drink is a "chichaito"--I think-- which is an anise based liqueur. Both are a staple at La Casita Blanca.

[Sweet Willie]

I try to avoid restaurant hotels whenever possible, especially if there is local fare to be had (which isn't typically local to me).

I'll bypass the triple miles for the $65 rate i got 

fully agree, points be damned in those two situations, they are not worth missing out or spending the much extra $ to get (unless your company is paying the bill).

[Damian]

Just on the beaches point. The El San Juan is on Isla Verde beach and is not in Condado. The Isla Verde beach is perfectly fine, I lived on it for two years and swam there several times a week. The beach at Ocean Park, just down from Condado, is also an excellent beach. The beach where the Ritz is also fine, as are the beaches in Pinones.

However, all of my friends, gringos and puertorriquenos alike, who lived in Condado would invariably avoid the beaches there and walk down to Ocean Park instead. One of the main reasons is the overflow sewer effluent pipe that occasionally spews out nasty brown goop about 500 yards down from the Marriott Beach in front of the Condado Del Mar Condo - seen it do so myself on more than one occasion. The Marriott beach itself is OK, I suppose, but bookending it are two notoriously nasty beaches - seen the syringes myself, too - that no one ever really goes to, especially at night. Not sure wha the new development at the site of the former La Concha and Hotel Condado will do in terms of beaches.

Shugga, you didn't miss anything by not dining at the Empresa's outdoor patio at the point at the far eastern end of Isla Verde, it's nothing special for food at all. Decent place to chill with a beer though.

[Saydee]

There's this pastry shop in Old San Juan (whose name escapes me right now) that I remember as being very good. When she was in better health, my grandmother used to go there all the time to pick up breads and desserts. It's got a fairly established reputation, so if you ask any of the locals they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Also, if you head to Old San Juan or Luquillo Beach (the beach I remember most from my childhood visits), make sure you pick up the coco helados, or coconut ices, that the vendors sell out of carts. A little piece of heaven, for sure!

[Damian]

The pastry shop is La Bombonera on Calle San Fransisco towards the bottom of Old San Juan.

Great place to sit at the counter for cafe con leche and a mallorca. The downhome comidas criollas are pretty good too.

[ral]

Dear original poster ['stinker'],

As I'm leaving for a stay at the Mariott Stellaris in two weeks, any comments to report?

Thanks,
-ral

[Saydee]

Ah, thank you Damian! La Bombonera, how the heck could I forget?;)

[Miguel Gierbolini]

Re: Marriott. Probably too late but anyhow: Condado area is nice to walk even late at night. The beach at the Marriott is, I think, not the most desirable and there is supposed to be a strong current there. Week-end nights are hopping in the hotel lobby with lots of locals going out for a night out. Martino's in the Diamond Palace has a very (or had) a pretty good Caesar Salad.

Edited by Miguel Gierbolini, 13 October 2003 - 10:33 AM.

[ral]

Thanks Michael. Just got back and read your note.
In case anyone else checks this out for info., here's a rundown of my 5 day stay in PR:

Mariott was lovely. Beach was super - waves were light and wonderful. The beach area is small, but not crowded and the attendants practically run you down with chairs if you stand still for two seconds to pick your spot [I mean that in a good way - they're very attentive].
Pool area is great. At first I thought it was wierd that it's only 4 feet deep at it's deepest point, but it really wasn't a bad thing. The water slide is a blast.
Ate at both the Cafe [lovely salads] and the Tuscany restaurant [high-ish prices, but good food].

Had my birthday dinner at Ajili Mojili which was WONDERFUL. The staff was great - the waiter recommended things to everyone and it turned out fabulous. The atmosphere is lovely, and the view of the bay was grand. Food was delicious.

We also ate at Ropa Vieja which was right down the street. A bit more eclectic - I think it's Carribean and South American cuisine. Although the service was terrible, we weren't in a rush and the food was great. Be sure to order the chocolate creme brulee if you go - it's a dream!

The other nice restaurant we sampled was Urdin, right in the same are. It has more of a trendy local cuisine. Wonderful decor, good service, and great food as well.

The only disappointment was Il Bombannero [not sure that's the exact name], the diner style restaurant in Old San Juan. The food was bland and the deserts were limited, but the waiter was nice and I did enjoy my merringue desert.

I'd go back to this island in a second!

Edited by ral, 15 October 2003 - 08:04 AM.

[Miguel Gierbolini]

Yes, Ropa Vieja is a new restaurant which may or may not explain the bad service. Never been. La Bombonera in my own quite humble opinion is supremely overrated.
I am glad you got to go to Ajili Mojili. I think they had an asopao festival when you were here. Now they have a fricasse festivale. Chicken, Veal Goat, etc.

[Sweet Willie]

I'd go back to this island in a second!

I think PR is the most under appreciated island in the Caribbean.

Also if anyone is going to PR, make sure to get out of San Juan. I love San Juan, but you'll miss out on a special different side to PR if all you see is San Juan.

[Rich Pawlak]

Best hotel in San Juan is the Caribe Hilton because it has a private beach -- and I believe the only one which does. I can't stress enough how important that is. Supposedly it is also where the Pina Colada was invented, because they list it on all their literature -- irregardless it has one fo the nicest hotel bars I have ever seen and their Pina Colada is outstanding. The property recently underwent a 60 million dollar renovation -- it was a wonderful hotel when we went several years ago, I can only imagine it now.

The Marriott properties are nice though.

Several hotels have their own beaches in PR, like both the Hyatt Dorado and Hyatt Cerromar on the north shore, from which I've just returned.

The Pina Colada was created at the Hotel El San Juan, and there is a placque at the grand, chadeliered bar there that notes that historic fact.

Two other terrific restaurants on the island:

AquaViva, a few doors down on Calle Forteleza from Parrot Club (and owned by the same group), hip, groovy, vibe, with exceptional modern twists on some PR classics, with a kitchen dinette look in aqua and white and some spectacular neon jellyfish lamps dangling from the ceiling (aguaviva=jellyfish).

Metropol, in Isla Verde, across from the Hotel El San Juan, with genteel waiters, classic PR home cooking and nice patio ambience.

I will post greater detail about our dining shortly.

Edited by Rich Pawlak, 20 November 2003 - 08:41 AM.

[Bux]

Best hotel in San Juan is the Caribe Hilton because it has a private beach -- and I believe the only one which does. I can't stress enough how important that is. Supposedly it is also where the Pina Colada was invented, because they list it on all their literature -- irregardless it has one fo the nicest hotel bars I have ever seen and their Pina Colada is outstanding. The property recently underwent a 60 million dollar renovation -- it was a wonderful hotel when we went several years ago, I can only imagine it now.

The Marriott properties are nice though.

Several hotels have their own beaches in PR, like both the Hyatt Dorado and Hyatt Cerromar on the north shore, from which I've just returned.

True, but I believe Jason's reference was to San Juan. I don't recall any other hotel in San Juan having a private beach.

[Bux]

We recently spent a few days in San Juan. It was not a particularly happy occasion as we went to be with family and attend the funeral of cousin of Mrs. B who met with an untimely and violent death at the hands or armed robbers. We haven't been back down there for a good many years and our visits have been few since my mother-in-law passed on. As evidenced by my post above, I took a quick look in the forum before we rushed down and we didn't have time to make any reservations before we left, nor did we know what our schedule might be. My comments are on a rather helter skelter choice of restaurants.

I should also note that our trip started on its own disaster. Mrs. B had wanted to check out a new inexpensive small hotel in Old San Juan for use by her clients. It looked good on the web and both the web site and industry online booking service noted, free parking and city view for the rooms. Old San Juan can be a bitch to drive in and out of at certain times of day, but since we weren't going for the beach and a location convenient to bars and restaurants would be nice, staying Old San Juan with a place to park would be just great, so we booked a double at the Hotel Plaza de Armas. We arrived and were told the hotel is free of any parking space or facility and were shown to an air-conditioned room without a single window. We were offered a suite with a window at a much higher price than the one at which we reserved. So there we were in San Juan in February without a room. Mrs. B had already passed up the chance to reserve a decent hotel room at a travel agent's discount in order to check this place out. The only good news was that Mrs. B hadn't ever sent a client to the hotel based on the promises of its web site and that I have the opportunity to warn readers of eGullet.com

To make a long story short, we opted for a room at the Excelsior in Miramar, a place we've used before when we were in an emergency taking care of family business mode as opposed to vacation mode. These kind of trips can wreck hell on a budget. At some point before we made our final hotel reservation and before we were able to contact my brother-in-law who was at a meeting, I was searching Condado for a place where we could get Cuban sandwich or some sort of snack like that as well as keeping an eye out for a cybercafe. Somehow we managed to get on Loiza Street and I spotted La Tasca de Yiyo and recognized the name from an eGullet post and decided to stop and give it a try

The service was very friendly as I've come to expect in places with down home cooking. Here they featured precooked specials of the day. The food was tasty, but not so special. Arroz con pollo was baked chicken with yellow rice on the side rather than the preparation I've come to think of by that name. An avocado salad however, had real taste, as did most of the avocados we had down there. You don't usually find avocados with that much flavor in NYC. Otherwise there's not much for me to say about the place. You used to be able to depend on even better food in local joints all over town or maybe my memories are from a time when I was less discerning about Puerto Rican food. There were different specials every day of the week. Admittedly, Wednesday's list was not the most interesting of menus.

Still, for $5.95 it was all I could expect, but I wouldn't go more than a block or two out of my way for what we had. Maybe Thursday's menu is sufficiently better. It looked more interesting.

The afore mentioned brother-in-law hadn't been to Ajili Mojili but said he'd heard good things and told us there was valet parking and that we didn't need reservations. There was valet parking and it looked as it our information sources were improving. There was also a forty minute wait for a table. Fortunately by now we were checked into a hotel and adjusting to Caribbean time. Two seats at the bar were most welcome after our morning's logistical problems and a long afternoon at the wake. Two strong rum and sodas didn't make the world a more just place, but they helped us cope with it as it is. By the time our table was ready, we were ready for and upscale version of "Puerto Rican food as the Moms of Puerto Rico cooked it," as Sweet Willie described the food. By and large however, that's not what we found on the menu. This didn't seem the same place likely to have an asopao festival, or a chicken or goat fricasse festival as Miguel Gierbolini described either.

Upscale places in Puerto Rico can be just as friendly and unpretentious as at down home places. Unfortunately friendly is not the same as professional. Service was rough. Mains arrived while our appetizer was only half eaten. They were out of the first two wines we ordered. At that point however, the manager arrived to apologize and help us select something in stock. He appeared to know the list and made good suggestions at a reasonable price.

We expected a riff on traditional PR food, but found nouvelle latino fusion that didn't cut it for us. Food was a bit weird to our taste and bland. Everything needed zip--maybe a touch of ... ajili mojili. I would have liked to ask for some pique, but it seemed insulting as the place tried to pass itself off as a chef driven restaurant. Tuna with sweet puree (prunes?) and mashed tuber was just a mismatch. The churrasco was less wrong, but the yucca fries (frozen?) were half baked and the salsa too sweet. The mofongo appetizer--mofongo cups filled with bacon were much more successful. With some beers--and some pique--they would have been worth the stop at the bar.

We were disappointed. Later conversations with locals indicated the place had changed hands and personality when it moved recently. Maybe the explains the discrepancy between what we expected and what we found. Too bad we got that local view after we ate there.

Pikayo
Casita Blanca and
Tasca El Pescador to follow

[AmyH]

Has anyone stayed at the El Convento in Old San Juan -- Mrs. B? We are spending only one night after a week at the Bitter End in the BVI and want to stay in Old San Juan to explore the city. I have a reservation at El Convento but just read some very mixed reviews. Obviously based on Bux' experience the Plaza des Armas is right out. Any other suggestions of where to stay? And Bux, can you give us a sneak peek of your feelings on the other two restaurants you ate at? Are they "thumbs up" or down?
Thanks

[CarrotStick]

I've not stayed at El Convento, but friends of mine did a few years ago and thought it was superb. I have stayed at the Wyndham Old San Juan (right across from the cruise ship piers) and it was nice as well. You could easily walk from the Wyndham to all the sights in Old SJ- and go eat at La Bombanera. Yummy.

[Bux]

Pikayo is a beautiful place, located inside the new Museo de Artes de PR, but I wish the restaurant was up to its decor and location. Service was not up to fine dining standard. Appetizers arrived before the wine. The recitation of specials was too long to remember and recited without emphasis. This unplanned and stressful trip was already enough of a budget breaker that we just went ahead and ordered a special without asking the price. That's never a good habit. In this case the special was obscenely priced at more than twice the price of the average main courses. I half expected that and it was one of the reasons I opted not to order the foie gras recommended to us by someone we knew who was also eating there that night. The Caribbean lobster tail might have actually been worth the price if it was perfectly cooked. It wasn't. I would have traded the whole tail for one or two medallions from Blue Hill in NY where a tasting menu runs the same price as the single dish. Huge portions of less than absolutely perfect food are a turn off for us. I'm told this is the best restaurant in San Juan and I've no doubt it is. There's a fair amount of finesse and refinement in the cooking and the recipes, but without a local tradition of haute cuisine in a town where restaurants are driven by tourism that's not gastronomic, this is probably already a better restaurant than the market drives.

[Interestingly enough, we had a few conversations with locals on days after our dinner and what I felt was pretty much confirmed. Opinion seems to be that the quality of the cooking has declined as the ambience has gone upscale. The new location in the Museo de Arte is a place to see and be seen and the design and decor get more attention than the food.]

The kitchen can turn out very good food. My sea bass was exceptionally well cooked and the dish itself was well conceived. Our appetizers while nice, just weren't up to the level of cooking we expected. The salmorejo alcapurrias were very nice, but not special and the garlic mayonnaise just seemed commercial--out of a bottle and doctored with garlic. The same sauce appeared on top of the lobster ginger "pegao." "Pegao," the rice that sticks to the pot, was here, a rice cake that was too thick and too dry and which overwhelmed the delicate lobster. I expected a thinner crisp rice disk. Something more like a blini.

I found the wine list a bit curious. The whites were dominated by California chardonnays and I assumed that's what the chef felt went best with his food. I'm unfamiliar with California Chardonnays, haven't liked most of what I've had and never moved on to the better ones. I asked the waiter if I could get some help with the wines and he replied that his favorite wine was one of the two albariños, but that people know chardonnays, so that's what stocked. I didn't know how to process the information that implied this could be a restaurant that could cater to me if it wasn't catering to to its market. I'm a fan of albariño wines. Their discovery has been instrumental in my developing an interest in Spanish wines in general.

There was a strange, at least to me, $2 charge per person for water, but you did get all the Fiji water you could drink and a 15% service charge added to bill, with space for additional tip clearly marked as "extra tip."

I can't remember what I thought of La Casita Blanca the first time I was taken there. I'm sure I wasn't impressed by the disposable cups for beer and water or the unmatched vinyl tablecloths. The menu of unfamiliar stews and Puerto Rican home cooking couldn't have been all that enticing either. Over the years, I've learned to love and respect the home cooking--and restaurant meals in Puerto Rico haven't hurt my appreciation for Borinquen home cooking either--and lunch at La Casita Blanca has become one of the more rewarding parts of a trip to San Juan.

We go for Lunch as we're told dinner is the same food, reheated, although most of it is stewed or braised and may be okay hours later, if they're not sold out of the dish I want. This is a really popular local place and best visited with a native. The dishes of the day are all listed in Spanish on a blackboard and if you're not both fluent in Spanish and acquainted with the local cuisine, many of the dishes may be a mystery.

It's a very down home place. They've expanded, San Juan has become more urban and chickens are no longer running around in the neighborhood, but there seems to have been no deterioration in quality or service, nor have the prices gone upscale. Three of us ate for $55--complimentary bacalito fritos, three main courses, five beers, two coffees and 20% tip.

We arrived at about two o'clock and the place was packed. The gate was locked and they wouldn't let us in because they said they couldn't handle any more customers. We offered to wait at the bar, but there was no longer a bar, so we stood outside. Our determination was appreciated and a waiter returned with three fruit drinks with rum on the house to "alleviate our wait."

Our choices were representative of the menu--Patitas de cerdo con garbanzos, Fricasse de cabrito and Salmorejo de jueyes (pig's feet with chickpeas, goat stew and a stew of land crab meat) and came with a choice of rice and beans or tostones. The fiery house "pique," is usually for sale by the bottle. Unfortunately didn't have any for sale at the time.

This is not what I'd really call a destination restaurant, but I don't know if one can eat better food in town, and certainly not better at twice the price. It's just good home made typical food or maybe traditional food. I wonder if it's as typical today as it used to be.

We skipped dinner after that lunch and had some wine and snacks with friends in the evening. One of them, who's in NY a lot and who knows his food, suggested we try Tasca El Pescador for lunch the next day before we left the island. This was part of a three part recommendation in response to our tales of the meals we'd had and our inquiry as to where we could get some good morcilla to take home. Across the street from the Plaza Del Mercado (just off the Calle Canal exit from the Espresso Baldorioty de Castro) and catty corner to El Pescador was a butcher shop where we might get some home made morcilla. The market itself was a colorful covered tropical fruit and produce market and for good measure, there was a good fish restaurant run by an-bullfighter from Spain.

We started with really good appetizers--buñuelos de bacalao, ensalada de carucho (conch) and avocado--were enough to whet our appetite for more food, or should I say my appetite. It was a very early lunch and appetizers were enough for Mrs. B. The recommendation was for the fresh fish and the waiter said the salmonettes were local and fresh. Regrettably, I forgot that fish are generally way overcooked in simple places and that was the case here. I'd return, but maybe to try the arroz con calamares or zarzuela de mariscos as well as explore more of the appetizers.

There's a menu on the table and a handwritten sheet, with today's dishes and prices, is presented. I noticed mofongo and arañitas on other tables, but not on the menu, so it pays to ask about those standards.

Prices were reasonable. This is a down home place, but upscale from La Casita Blanca. $12 for the fried fish with tostones or rice and beans and a forgettable salad. The appetizers were five to seven dollars. There was a small but nice selection of wines, all Spanish and equally divided between red and white--five albarinos, including one in half bottle size--at good prices.

Flan de queso was sticky and too sweet. I'd skip desserts next time. All in all it seems a find. A look at the market and the block of bars around were reminders of a earlier time in San Juan. We bought some "pique" from a vendor in the market. We just couldn't pass up the reused rum bottles, some with the original labels still on. I made sure to screw the tops on tightly before asking the lady to pack the bottles in a plastic bag for the plane.

[Mrs. B]

Has anyone stayed at the El Convento in Old San Juan -- Mrs. B?  We are spending only one night after a week at the Bitter End in the BVI and want to stay in Old San Juan to explore the city.  I have a reservation at El Convento but just read some very mixed reviews. 

A couple of years ago we visited El Convento, did not stay there. Just a month ago I sent a client there and they loved it. They liked the accommodations, the location They also mentioned that the staff was very friendly and helpful and that the hotel included several unexpected ammenities in the room, like bottled water at no charge. Don't know the date of the bad or mixed reviews you read but since the hotel was taken over to be represented by Small Luxury Hotels they need to comply with stringent qualifications. I am sure you will love it.

[Devotay]

Howdy all,

Just learned that the folks at Bacardi are sending me on a junket to San Juan to taste some of their aged rums. I've got 4 days & 3 nights (1/17-20) in the San Juan area. Where should I eat?

I'm after genuine Puertoriqueno cuisine, but that can be fancy or simple street food. Authenticity is the key - no McIsland food.

Thanks for your input.

[bilrus]

I've never felt more authentic than eating at the food shacks at Luquillo Beach about 45 minutes or an hour east of San Juan near the entrance to El Yunque.

Considerably less rustic, but a favorite I've been to four times in two visits to San Juan is the Parrot Club in Old San Juan.

[Devotay]

Thanks Bilrus, I'll look into those.

I just found out I'm staying at the Intercontinental at 5961 Isla Verde Avenue. What's that close to?

[9lives]

The Intercontinental is on a stretch of beach with a few big hotels.. the El San Juan is next door. Definitely check out the lobby bar and casino...gorgeous, "old world" feel. Dining options are the Palm and Mortons or Ruth Chris. I'd skip those unless you're craving a steak. I think the food in the big hotels is generally mediocre..but there is a bar at the top of the ESJ that makes a great guacamole..spectacular view.

Mi Casita is in a small shopping center nearby..easy walk..basically across th estreet from your hotel..reasonable and good local food. It came recommended by our cab driver. There's also a little bar/restaurant up the beach..take a left from your hotel..looking at the water..few doors from the Water Club..(another great roof bar)a "local beer after the beach" type of place, but surprisingly good food.

Metropole is often mentioned for good Cuban/ PR food...but locals recommended Mi Casita over it.

Old San Juan is a 10-15 min cab ride..but well worth a trip. Try to take some time and wander around. El Morro is worth a look. We ate in a good restaurant in Hotel El Convento..heard good things about both Parrot Club and Dragonfly..but we never got to them..next trip.

Edited by 9lives, 06 January 2006 - 06:43 PM.

[drunkenmonkey]

definitely check out old san juan

dishes to try:

mofongo (mashed green plantain) with your choice of meats carrucho (conch) is a good local, but chicken, beef, pork are common.

alcapurrias - puerto rican empanadas - are an excellent street food - also many fillings are available.

have fun

[bilrus]

Old San Juan is a 10-15 min cab ride..but well worth a trip. Try to take some time and wander around. El Morro is worth a look. We ate in a good restaurant in Hotel El Convento..heard good things about both Parrot Club and Dragonfly..but we never got to them..next trip.

Drangonfly is fun and is probably the best "fusion" place I've tried anywhere. It is "Carrib-asian" but it works there. It is almost directly across the street from Parrot Club (with teh same owners) on Calle Fortaleza.

I ate at El Picoteo in the El Convento - don't know if that is the one you're referring to. I don't think it is their main restaurant, but is a pretty nice tapas bar in the courtyard of very cool old hotel near the cathedral in old San Juan.

[9lives]

Yes..El Picoteco is where we ate.

Looks like there are quite a few dining options in the hotel..

http://www.elconvent...ing/index.shtml

[nibbs]

Well, here’s a summary of the places that my wife and I visited in San Juan this past weekend. I’ll try to keep it short. I'll fail.

Before I go too far, I'd like to thank the eGullet community for all the tips and reviews on restaurants in San Juan. I read them all and jammed them into one document before we left so that I would have something to go on. So thanks to everyone who contributed. Miguel Gierbolini and Damien’s recommendations from the Restaurant Recommendations in Puerto Rico? thread were particularly helpful and accurate. Also, much thanks to Oscar who was studying in the Convento hotel and recommended some places to visit.

We left on Thursday afternoon, arrived in San Juan, picked up a rental car, and drove to the Old San Juan area. Guidebooks be damned - we were going to drive down the cobbly narrow streets of OSJ and pray for parking. We found a parking space within three blocks of the hotel (El Convento). Since it was already 3 p.m., and my wife is pregnant, and I don't have a death wish, we grabbed a snack in the hotel.

El Picoteo is the tapas bar in El Convento. I had read good opinions of it on eGullet and elsewhere. So we decided to give it a shot (thus disobeying the first law of travel eating - never eat in the hotel). We ordered three dishes - the grilled calamari, the meatballs in almond sauce, and some empanada-style dish that was filled with lobster. And a mojito for me.

The only thing I would (and did) order again would be the mojito - It was excellent (but for $7.50, it damn well better be). As for the food - The lobster epanada was OK; But really, were talking about a HotPocket here. More precisely, four $2.50 HotPockets. The grilled calamari was also OK - it seemed fresh and included plenty of garlic and spices. Nothing special. The meatballs, however, were special because the sauce was rancid. Why is it that some people aren't able to taste rancid nuts? I mean, it is the most awful taste to exit a kitchen. It was pretty clear that some of whatever almonds were used to make the sauce were past their prime. The hotel was nice, but we would be eating elsewhere for the remainder of our vacation. No more unsatisfying $50 snacks.

That evening we found our way to Baru, which is about four blocks from the hotel, or a little longer if you follow our guidebook map (Note to LonelyPlanet: You’ve got Baru on the wrong block. By like 3 streets.) This is another tapas place that was mentioned highly by some other eGullet reviewers. We enjoyed the food here. We ordered some plantain chips that came with a bean salsa that was slightly sweet ($10). This was followed by a beef carpaccio that was excellent ($16). And to finish off we had shrimp skewers with a yucca mofongo ($23). Meanwhile I continued to drink mojitos ($7), which were about the same as at the hotel – Awesome.

The next morning we made our way to the local bakery/diner that seems to be universally recommended – La Bombonera (even though it was in the LonelyPlanet guidebook). I didn’t find the mallorca pastries to be too compelling (not that they were bad – just not Krispy Kreme good or anything) - but the coffee was excellent, the fruit salad fresh, and atmosphere was pleasant. I would definitely return - and we did. Three days in a row. So here’s my advice if you go:

Walk in the door, look to your right, and pick a pastry. They will all be somewhat smaller than what you would expect from a European bakery. My favorite was the sugar donut - chewy and delicious. Tell the nice woman who gets your pastries that you would like them for here. Try out your Spanish if you want (para aqui, I think). She'll put them on a plate and you can walk in and take a table. When the waiter comes, order coffee and expect that it will come with milk. Maybe order a mallorca if you’re into that kind of thing. When the coffee arrives, try to put some sugar in your coffee. Keep shaking. Keep shaking. No, no – bang the bottom. Hmmm… Give up and unscrew the lid and use your spoon.

We had several dishes during the three visits - our favorites were the fruit salad, the fresh squeezed orange juice, and the breakfast sandwiches. My bacon, egg and cheese on the last day was especially delicious. The best description I can give on the sandwiches is that they are like a crust-out Panini. The fries that came with the sandwich were the best I’d had in months. Maybe ever. Perfect diner fries. Heinz on the table to boot. Large breakfast for two cost about $15 and is worth every penny. This is superior roadfood – on a really narrow road.

Speaking of roadfood, the next day we drove over to Pinones. This is an area of beachside snack shacks and fritter huts just east of San Juan. We passed most of the shacks and eventually tried to turn around and go back. That's when I jammed the rental Suzuki into the beach sand and promptly got stuck. A big thank you to the six construction workers who stopped to help push us out. I was getting tired of digging and starting to really miss my Subaru Baja. Welcome to Puerto Rico indeed.

We finally got back to the shacks and just walked around, pointed at stuff, and ate it. I think we had a crab epanada (which at $1.50, was 2x the size and taste of the lobster ones from the hotel). We also had a bacalaito (bah-kah-la-E-to? I think), which looks like a potato chip on steroids but is really a codfish fritter. It is not at all similar to a clam fritter like you would get in Rhode Island – It is big and flat. But it was delicious. We also got some virgin Pina Colada drinks that were great. It seemed like we were eating Puerto Rican county fair food; It was delicious, perfect to hold us over until dinner, and cost about $12 total – And that’s with $5 of cold virgin Pina Colada goodness.

For dinner, I wanted to try traditional Puerto Rican food. My first choice was La Casita Blanca, but we were advised that we could get similar quality at half the price at El Jibarito in Old San Juan. I have mixed feelings about El Jibarito. On the one hand, I got an entire fried red snapper for $16. It was fresh and delicious. My wife and I cleaned those bones bare. On the other hand, this was partly because my wife grouper was not so fresh and delicious. The opposite occurred with respect to our side dishes – her rice was delicious, while my mofongo was dry and inedible. I should have ordered the tostones (sp?). I must say that this was not a good introduction to mofongo. To top it off, as I was finishing my meal, the waiter was offering some kind of special house hot sauce to the other tables of tourists (cruisers, no less!) before their entrées even arrived. I sure could have used that with my fish… It’s not that I wouldn’t go back to El Jibarito, but I'd try to hit La Casita Blanca first. And I’ve never even been there.

One of the things that I most wanted to experience in Puerto Rico was to visit a lechonera. This is a restaurant where they serve roast pork off of a spit. Living in North Carolina (and knowing my way around a pork shoulder or two), I was naturally curious. I can't say exactly what the usual preparation is - Although I've heard things like 'marinated in sour orange juice and garlic'. We had heard that the Guyavate region was well known for its many lechoneras. We were also advised to drive a little past the ones that you see right when you get off the highway.
So we got off the highway (52?) and headed east. There were some lechoneras immediately on the right, and they sure looked good enough to me - But we kept driving, staying on the most windy-hilly-roller-coaster of a road I think I've ever been on. There were times that I thought the cheap Suziki rental car would not be equal to the task. I highly recommend this road if you have some kids along for the ride. They'll love it.

Once we got to mile (km?) marker 29 (about 5 minutes off the highway), there on the right was Mueller's Lechonera. No, not kidding. A German name for pork in the lush Puerto Rican hills. Open-air place with tables outside and the guest of honor visibly roasting out front. The pig was smaller than what we in NC are used to (I'm guessing - There was pretty much only a head and some shoulder left on the spit). For $13.25, my wife and I got rice, 2 fried plantain things, a pound of pork and a nice view.

The pork came with skin that was actually thin enough to eat - And fabulous. Some of the pieces of pork had more zing (salt and pepper, seemed like), while others had a great charcoal flavor from the spit. The serving of rice was as large as a paper plate can handle - It was very good, as was the plantain type food item. There was what I believe was some pique near the counter which went well with the pork. It's a little windy of you sit outside, so take care that your plate doesn't blow into your lap - I speak from experience. The only thing I regret is not tipping the kid who brought our food (Do you tip if you order at the counter? I don't in the US, but maybe I should have given him a buck...).

There are those of us whose most vivid memory of high school Spanish was the 'D+' we got in it. Luckily for us, here (and on the rest of the island, with the exception of Pinones), this was not an issue - English was understood and spoken. We were there around 3 on a Saturday, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. If HollyEats ever makes it to Puerto Rico, no doubt La Bombonera, Muellers and Pinones would be required stops.

The last place we tried was The Parrot Club in OSJ - We needed just a snack to sleep on after the porkfest of that afternoon. We had heard some yea's and nay's from fellow tourists, but the crabcake was recommended. So of course we ordered it. And didn't really care for it. I'll admit that it had plenty of crab in it, but there was really nothing compelling about the texture or flavor. The bacalaitos (sp? - with cool crab salad) were a much more refined version than the ones we had in Pinones. Smaller flat fritters that matched well with the crab salad - They were spectacular and disappeared quickly. Drinks were good, although the mojito was probably the least spectacular I had during our visit. We overtipped after being undercharged by 1 drink.

And that’s about it. Our rental was banged by someone overnight (via fist, not vehicle – Unless someone made it onto the sidewalk). Maybe we took someone’s spot? We figured sure we were going to regret not taking the insurance. When my wife showed the small dent to the guy at Budget, he looked at it and sort of shrugged. The words he used were ‘Here’s your receipt’ – But his expression was just the same as the guys who pushed us out of the sand – Welcome to Puerto Rico. We’ll be back.

[annapin]

My husband and I will be coming to San Juan, PR from November 3 to November 6. This will overlap with my husband's birthday. I would love to take him out for a special dinner. It should be something authentic to PR with a decent atmosphere. I am flexible on price but don't want to break the bank (not more than $200 including drinks). Is there anything special people could recommend?