Our food tour of Puerto Rico

We spent a week in Puerto Rico and ate to our heart's content. We spent the first few days in the coastal town of Fajardo, close to the El Yunque rainforest and the remaining time in the capital city of San Juan. 

Whole fried red snapper

For those who are not aware of the United States geography, Puerto Rico is an island in the Carribean sea and a territory of the US. Like many other islands in the Carribean, it has a culinary comparative advantage in seafood. Consequently, if you are a lover of fresh fish, like me, a trip to P.R. will be worthwhile. 

Octopus stuffed empanadas

In addition, Puerto Ricans, like most of us, enjoy their fried foods. We recommend the arepas (stuffed with seafood or otherwise) and fried whole fish.

Shrimp mofongo

One of my personal favorites that we had at Fajardo's Sal and Pimienta by the Sea was the fried whole red snapper with sides of your choice (salad or lightly flavored rice). Most places gave the option of having the fish stuffed with shellfish and we tried that version with conch in a creamy and flavorful sauce. The portion sizes were decent and priced at approximately $50-$60 a plate. One thing to be mindful of Fajardo is that some of their gourmet restaurants are open only on weekends, so you want to plan accordingly if you are there for its food. We wanted to visit the highly-recommended La Estacion for its barbecue fish but unfortunately it was closed on the days we were there. 

Most of the places we visited in San Juan were in the old town and a couple in the business district. One dish native to PR and ubiquitous in menus was the mofongo, a dish made from smashed green plantains lightly flavored with herbs and perhaps a sauce and usually served a choice of protein. While it was certainly edible and worth trying at least once, I would be lying if I said that I found the mildly spiced shrimp version we tried it at El Cayo appealing. While the rest of the food we tried there was just OK, the view of marina was a real gift and ideal for an evening to watch the sunset.  

 

Tuna tartare tacos with seaweed

 I would describe the food scene in the capital city of San Juan as more eclectic with a wider choice of cuisines, with easily accessible establishments ranging from short-order cafes to fine dining restaurants. We tried Spanish style tapas, Peruvian ceviche, Asian-Latin fusion, Mediterranean breakfast cafe (though Cafe Istanbul was rather disappointing and I would refrain from ordering their lamb omelet). 

 

One of my favorite dishes I tried in San Juan, and one that I thought was unique to the island were their fried arepas or empanadas, stuffed with a bean/veggie mix, chicken or seafood. It is hard to go wrong with food that is deep fried, but thankfully the quantities were not humongous like you tend to find in the mainland. 

Another unique experience can be found at Azalea, a Latin-Asian fusion restaurant where we tried tacos with fresh tuna tartare along with a coconut-based chicken curry served with sautéed veggies. While the curry wasn't exactly what I was craving after a week of non-Indian food, I still enjoyed the subtle flavors. 

Breakfast at choco-bar

We also visited the heavily hyped Lote 23, a food truck park that had a variety of choices and that I would recommend for a quick lunch if you happened to be in the city. We tried eggplant and chicken arepas and an impossible vegan burger. While certainly not cheap, they were OK. 

Finally, I wouldn't be doing justice to the city's food scene if I did not mention the Chocobar cafe, a brunch spot in the old town where every meal, savory or sweet, integrated chocolate in its flavor profile. We had an avocado toast with eggs, bacon and chocolate, along with my all-time favorite churros served with a decadent chocolate dipping sauce. 

All in all, the food was great, definitely pricier than the mainland but also scored higher in terms of taste and freshness. I especially recommend the seafood. Culturally, the experience felt like we were in another country, more so than one would feel in Canada. While the food we had was probably richer in calories than what we are used to, we were thankful for the abundant sunshine and walkable streets which allowed us to burn off some of the calories (or at least that's what we told ourselves while eating .... ha...ha.) .