Puerto Rico: Pt. II

After several days in Luquillo, we headed off to San Juan for our last night in Puerto Rico. We'd been to San Juan before, so weren't in a huge hurry. And we had heard that there was a highway in central Puerto Rico where you could get delicious pork, so we decided to take the scenic route, around the south-eastern end of the island, and then up the middle. After a few hair-raising turns, we found La Ruta de Lechon.

There are about a dozen lechonera in the main strip, with maybe five or six more scattered around. Since it was a Tuesday afternoon, there were very few if any people at any of them; however, in validation of our choice, Lechonera Los Pinos had a few customers. We both got a plate and dug into some of the best pork we've ever had. It was every bit as rich as the pig's head we had at Standard, but not nearly as greasy. The skin was beautiful, nice and crispy (though my wife disagreed, finding it a bit too hard). We ate every bite until we were stuffed.

That night, we went to Carli's, a jazz club in Old San Juan, and had a really good time. I had a half-rack of lamb, which was great. But what really made Carli's stand out was the ambiance. The jazz was great, and the waiter and bartender were as friendly as could be. Very great trip to Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico: Pt. I

You may have notice that I haven't updated this blog much over the past week. That's because I've been in Puerto Rico! There won't be detailed reviews of the places we went, since that's beyond the scope of this blog, but I figured you might be interested in a quick sketch of where all we went.

The first few days we spent in the small sea-side town of Luquillo, a surfing destination. We went to El Rincon Del Sabor on the recommendation of the hotel we stayed at. I ordered the red snapper filet, and my wife ordered the lobster mofongo, but also got the red snapper filet. The filet was doused in a heavy criollo sauce, but wasn't terrible, and my wife's mofongo side was the best mofongo we had on the trip. The shot of moonshine rum at the end was a nice touch, but in general, the service was overbearing.

The next night, we went to Sandy's Seafood, right up the street. This time, my wife actually received her lobster mofongo, and I got the whole red snapper in garlic sauce. The red snapper was great, and not at all overwhelmed by the sauce, and the lobster mofongo was very good. We loved the quiet ambience. The wine we got was quite good, though the sangria was a bit sweet for our tastes. Definitely better than El Rincon.

And if you're in Luquillo, you should stop by Boardriders, right on the beach. It's a great spot for a late afternoon beer; make sure you try Medalla, a Puerto Rican beer, and easily the best Caribbean lager I've ever had. The food is probably a bit more expensive than it needs to be, but the guava wings we had were delicious. After the wings, we didn't need much more food, so we went to a small cafe on the square for some delicious crepes. More on the Ruta de Lechon and San Juan tomorrow, once I have the pictures.