Old San Juan dining

I present a couple of dishes from Puerto Rico.....



Cabrito "stew"




Chicken Mofongo

Mofongo is the National dish of Puerto Rico, it's typically fried, smashed plantains served with either beef, chicken or pork and a spicy or garlic sauce. The picture above came from Punte de Vista which is not much to look at, but highly recommended by the locals.  They also have 2 for 1 Mojitos during happy hour.  I suggest the coconut flavor.

 The Cabrito stew came from a restaurant in Old San Juan Inaru, which bills itself as the "Soul of Puerto Rican Cooking".  I don't know about any of that but I do know that this stew was the absolute best thing I ate during our time on the Island.  It was suck the goat bones good.  On thing, if you're looking for this get directions to Raices, which is a popular stop for all of the cruise ship traffic.  Don't eat at Raices however.  For one, the place is crowded and the food is touristy average, for two, if you want a seat you'll need to pay the hostess at least $10 to get seated.  The wife and I waited one hour for a seat, and watched several people in line behind us get seated prior to us because they palmed the hostess some cash.  While this is not an illegal practice, I find it to be discourteous and unprofessional, especially when the greeter all but looks at you as if to say "where's my money?"  Nope, go two doors down to the left and eat at Inaru.  The food is better, the service is better, and the atmosphere is better.  It's a win-win.

Finally,  Here's one shot from the fortifications in Old San Juan. More on this later....