Going On A Food Trip In San Juan Puerto Rico

Y our experience of a place       of cilantro onion, garlic,         would not be complete           pepper, and other seasonings and   without a taste of its          spices). Criolla cooking also      culinary offerings. In Puerto         features several manners of        Rico, its criolla dishes are a        cooking plantains. There's         must-try although international       tostones which is mashed green     and fusion cuisines are also          plantains, platanos which          served in a lot of restaurants.       slightly varies from tostones in   Dining options run the gamut from     cooking style, and mofongo which   upscale places to casual diners.      is a ball of crushed plantains     The capital, San Juan, offers a       mixed with meat or seafood that    wide and interesting variety of       were fried and flavored with       restaurants and is the perfect        seasonings such garlic and         place for the ultimate Puerto         tomato-based sauce.                Rican food experience.                                                                                         Being nestled in the abundant      Comida criolla or creole food         waters of the Caribbean, Puerto    refers to the local cuisine in        Rico certainly cannot do without   Puerto Rico. It's a melting pot       seafood cuisines. The tastiest     (no pun intended) of traditional      seafood dishes can be found in     Taino food, Spanish culinary          the coastal cities. The Caribbean  influence, and African cooking.       lobster is one of the premier      Some of the most popular criolla      catches in restaurants although    dishes are lechon asado (roasted      the dolphinfish and red snapper    pork), adobo (seasoning made of       are popular as well. The most      vinegar, paprika, oil, garlin,        well-known seafood specialty       and oregano), asopoa de pollo         however would probably be the      (stewed chicken), habichuelas         conch stuffed with tomato for a    (rice and red beans served with       fritter or served with a ceviche   meat), and sofrito (a sauce made      salad.                                                                   San Juan and other bigger cities   To further promote criolla            of Puerto Rico. Tourists who       cuisine to travelers, the             crave for international cuisines   government has created the            won't be disappointed as well.     Mesones Gastronomicos program. In     There are a lot of dining areas    this project, the 30                  in San Juan that serve Italian,    participating restaurants             French, Arabian, Mexican,          throughout the island will all        American, German, and Latin        serve traditional Puerto Rican        American dishes.                   fare. It doesn't mean though that                                        you can only taste authentic          Along with the sumptuous food,     criolla cooking in these dining       another major part of Puerto       places. Smaller restaurants that      Rican food is the beverage. This   offer native cuisines abound in       Caribbean island is also known     San Juan and the rest of Puerto       for its strong drinks, its         Rico.                                 national beverage being the rum.                                         There are about 20 different       Other upscale restaurants             varieties of rum here. Puerto      specialize in what is called the      Rican coffee also packs a strong   Nuevo Latino cuisine, a culinary      punch. It can be served as         style similar to criolla but          espresso, sweetened or with milk   predominantly uses fruits, fish,      which is known as cafe con leche.  and tubers as main ingredients        If you're looking for a milder     with tropical marinades and dark      drink, you can try coco frio       rum sauces as primary flavors.        which is served on a chilled       Most ingredients in Nuevo Latino      coconut and a selection of fresh   cooking are locally sourced so as     fruit juices.                      to maximize the fresh flavors of                                         the produce. Restaurants serving      Budget meals in Puerto Rico        this cuisine are mostly found in      usually range from $5 to $15       while higher end dining can go up     are usually black tie. Making a    to $35. Upscale restaurants often     reservation is recommended         require a dress code such as          especially from mid-November to    collared shirts for men and           April when tourists are usually    stylish apparel for women while       flocking to Puerto Rico.           the most expensive dining venues       About the Author Kristien Wilkinson is an online writer and contributor to http://www.sanjuan.com Published At: www.Isnare.com