Good morning! Welcome back to part three and our final San Juan post. After walking around for hours, we stopped for lunch. Before we went cruising, Kara tagged me with the task of finding us a lunch spot in San Juan. So, I did my best internetin’ research and settled on this place based on the stellar reviews.
It was super convenient b/c this place is located literally right across the street from the cruise ships, so it made a nice bookend to our exploration.
It’s quite easy to miss actually, nothing about this place stands out.
If we didn’t have our handy, dandy touristy maps…we might have missed it.
They didn’t have any inside seating available, which is a shame because it had air conditioning and it felt like a soothing blast straight from the tip of Mt. Everest…instead, we sat outside. But at least it was in the shade!
I had read great things about their mofongo. What is that? Well…it’s mashed up plantain heaven is what it is. So, without too much speculation, it’s safe to say that I ordered the mofongo, with chicken. You also get your choice of sauce – Criolla (chunky tomato mango) or Ajo (garlic). I chose the criolla sauce based on the server’s recommendation.
Now, with this place being a dive I wasn’t expecting much in terms of presentation…ummm….wrong…
BOOM!
Seriously! How good does that look?! Incredible right? So, you have the mofongo bowl, stuffed with chicken and a mango-like salsa (the Criolla sauce), the sauces you see on the plate are a chimichurri, and a balsamic glaze. This dish was a little pricier ($15) but 100% worth it. Flavors were vibrant, rich, and clean. And there’s something almost sinful about eating the mofongo. Like a friend banana bowl. OMG, I have to go back to Puerto Rico now….gah.
Okay, enough about that….Kara is a sucker for any sentence that combines the word “fish” and “taco”. So she ordered the fish tacos.
Her words? “Some of the best fish tacos she’s ever had”
Nothing fancy about them. Just executed to absolute perfection. Just the right balance of texture and flavor. All for the bargain price of $7.
We did NOT try their famous Mojitos (I know, I know), because we were hot, sticky, and dehydrated. The thought of alcohol was extremely unappealing at the moment. Fortunately, we have plans to go back to San Juan on a Disney Southern Caribbean cruise next year and you better believe we’re going back here! Because I love mojitos.
That’s it for San Juan! We loved it! Lots of culture, color, history, shopping. A traveller’s dream basically.
Next up on our Disney posts: Pretty sure it’s more food :p
That kind of presentation IS surprising considering the unimposing appearance of the restaurant itself. By the way, I clicked through the link to the Wikipedia article on mofongo, and I’ve decided they should use your photo rather than the one currently there, cause that one just looks unappetizing.