Hey all,
I just got back from an incredible 9-day vacation in Puerto Rico. As I love sampling the local
cuisine where ever my travels take me, I thought that I'd share the culinary highlights.
The first three days were spent in a rented house in the rainforest of El Yunque. Most of the time
there I cooked, but we did venture out into the town for some eats. At a kiosk we picked up a lobster-
chicken empanadilla and a mixture of crab and ground beef that was encased with mashed yuca and
fried. Cheap and delicious! The fillings were highly flavored with adobo seasoning and onions.
Beware if you go to Puerto Rico: there are a ton of little fried offerings that are the makings of
addiction. It is definetly a different culture from the US; driving by, several restaurants boldly
advertise "carne frita". I can't imagine signs outside of US restaurants proclaiming "fried meat",
as sinful food seems to be almost taboo over here. We also tried some beef and chicken empanadillas
and "coco frio": ice-cold coconuts with the top hacked off and a straw stuck in allowing you to suck
out the coconut waters. We also went through a bottle of Ron de Barilito (sp?) gold run, which we
used to make mojitos. We were also able to pick some wild bananas, guayabanas, and limes.
Next, we went to Culebra, a small island off the coast of PR. This island is full of American ex-
patriots, so the food was sort of an American-Pureto Rican fusion. Highlights of the food included
fish and chips made with red snapper, pastelone de amarillos-- a Puerto Rican meat lasagne made with
sliced ripe plantains instead of noodles, pizza empanadillas, pizza topped with chorizo, guava
cheesecake, and flan de queso-- flan made with cream cheese. One item that I did NOT like was
something called mofongo.
ME: What's mofongo? WAITER: Um...I don't know how to explain it...
MF: Okay, I'll take one of those.
It turned out to be a heavy, bland, dry mixture of mashed plantains with chunks of fried pork skin.
Sounds good in theory, but does NOT work in practice. Blech.
The next day we ventured to Vieques, another island off the coast. We enjoyed coconut cookies,
tostones, and grilled red snapper. I got to try a shrimp empandilla, and my boyfriend had one made
with conch. Delish!
The rest of the trip was spent on the mainland. On our way driving to the Camuy Caverns, we stopped
at a street vendor. We had a conch salad: sliced conch, onions, and green bell peppers marinated in
a sort of vinaigrette, some landcrab-stuffed yuca, and a kingfish empanadilla. The vedor also
provided us with hot sauce that she had made herself, and a drink like lemonade made with grapefruit
instead of lemons. Driving by, it was not unusual to see whole pigs on spits roasting alongside the
road, or kiosks selling tropical fruit.
In San Juan, we had an early lunch at a wonderful restaurant called Tio Danny's. I had a salad
similar to the conch salad from earlier made instead with a type of cod, served with something
called vienda(sp?)-- an array of boiled root vegetables. This included plantains, yams, yuca, and a
root that I had never before heard of or seen called something like jaotia (I am almost certainly
spelling this wrong). It was naturally both salty and sweet and had a texture akin to winter squash.
My boyfriend had a very tender steak stuffed with olives, which reminded me of a Puerto Rican pot
roast. We then went to a bakery for desert. I had a confection of two pieces of puff pastry
sandwiching a thick, sweet milk custard, topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon, and a cafe con
leche. My boyfriend had a sweet bun that was topped with cream cheese.
The biggest surprise and stroke of luck was that it just happened to be the San Juan culinary
festival while we were staying! Restaurants set up booths outdoors and charged $5-$10 for entrees.
Here is a list of everything that I remember having: duck pate with cornichons; french fries with
bearnaise; shrimp and clam ceviche verde; escargot with a veal reduction; a basket of shredded,
fried plantains filled with skirt steak; octopus salad; conch salad; fried chicken; risotto with
shrimp, scallops, and salmon; chicken wraps with mango salsa; whitefish sushi; duck wontons;
chicken stuffed with prosciutto; raw tuna canapes over plantains; and much more that I can't
remember right now.
Just thought that I'd share my experience with all of you, and if anyone has a recipe for pastelon,
please share!
--Erica