(or at least it was ... a few days ago!)
spoon food tours
First stop, a beach-front shack in the east-metro town of Piñones for fresh fish ceviche, tostones y coco bien friiio! They make their ceviche with fish straight from their oceanfront, fresh tomatoes, peppers and tons of lime juice - such refreshing flavors...I just needed something fried to keep me from feeling too vibrant. Luckily they came with tostones - fried green plantains that taste something like thick french fries - good with mayoketchup or as crackers to scoop ceviche onto.
Next, we headed back towards town to another locals spot, La Cueva del Mar (Cave of the Sea) on Loiza St. for fish tacos and another local drink - Don Q Rum and grapefruit juice (I love the simple recipes). The fish tacos had a crunchy cabbage slaw on them, again, with lots of lime juice and homemade mango hot-sauce on the side.
Side note: most local criollo cuisine uses tons of 'hot-sauces' on their dishes but they don't tend to be the straight pepper sauces that we often see on the mainland. In fact, many Caribbean sauces like this have fruit bases, like mango or guava, and then mix in peppers, onions and garlic to make a savory sauce for all sorts of dishes.
Last stop: dessert back in Viejo SJ! We went to the historic El Convento courtyard for tres leches cake, coconut flan and P.R. grown and roasted coffee!
It had been three hours of dining and we were stuffed...just in time for happy hour to begin... ;)