#14: The restoring power of rotting
#14: The restoring power of rotting
our San Juan trip and green lasagna conspiracies
San Juan highlights
After a recent trip to San Juan, PR, I now understand the millennial-and-up urge to go somewhere warm in the winter months. Piña coladas and seafood on the beach actually help with the whole “feeling something” issue in the last few weeks of winter.
Other than a rainforest and snorkel tour, we mostly sampled coffee shops and rotted on the beach. Our hotel, which offers free yoga and a daily vegan breakfast (neither of which we decided to accept), was only two blocks away from Ocean Park. Perfect to watch serious paddle ball training sessions and dogs waddle along the shore.
In between rotting and caffeinating, we of course ate very well.
Here’s a roundup of my favorite spots in a little more detail - also take a gander at my highlights on my Instagram to save any spots for your next trip!
Dinner at Cocina al Fondo is pure magic.
The restaurant is rooted in locally sourced ingredients from the island, and expands on what we might consider Puerto Rican cuisine. It’s no surprise that the kitchen is led by James Beard award winner, Chef Natalia Vallejo. Chef Vallejo earned the award for Best Chef South and is the first Puerto Rican to have ever won the award.
So much care is strung through each dish. The food is vibrant, the service is stellar, and the execution is effortless.
Here’s what we ate:
Pulpo a la parrilla - Grilled octopus over a roasted pepper sauce topped with fried onions. The dish blends tender charred octopus, crispy and sweet fried onions, and a savory sauce into a dreamy bite.
Chicharrones de pollo - Fried chicken wings are served with a traditional sauce mixed with ketchup and mayo, topped with shredded carrots, and side kicked by tostones. The way that fried chicken skin shattered at the first bite could bring me to tears. The tostones were also my favorite version that we tried on the trip - fried and crispy on the outside, but still fluffy on the inside
Whole fried snapper - Just an absolute showstopper. Fried whole until crispy and then lightly doused in an herb and caper sauce with rice and more tostones. I think about that sauce so often it’s troubling.
Chocolate ganache tart - Probably one step over the edge but somehow justifiable with a light dollop of coconut ice cream and chopped almonds.
Dinner service feels like you’re eating in someone’s home. Service can be a little slow (we also went on Valentines Day), but I will forgive them all for one specific dish: the buñuelos with chorizo and taro in a divine chorizo sauce. Little flavor bombs anchored by savory chorizo bits, sauce, and filling. We also shared alcapurrias, which are stuffed breads with pork. I had an a-okay swordfish but Will’s goat stew was deeply flavorful after hours of simmering.
Society would be better as a whole if we could all eat mofongo and pinchos by the beach while listening to Drake.
On our drive back from our rainforest tour, our guide had us stop for lunch at the beach in Luquillo which hosts a strip of 60+(!) kiosks. Rellena’o is one of the kiosks serving modern mofongo combos. Mofongo typically combines mashed yuca or plantain with a protein into one molded mound. BUT this kiosk serves a deconstructed mountain of your carb, protein, and little crunchies, letting you appreciate each component on its own, all in one cohesive bite.
While waiting for mofongo, I was lured by the enchanting smell of a pinchos stand serving grilled skewers. I simply couldn’t pass on the opportunity for a barbecue chicken skewer, mofongo, and a lemonade. A match made in heaven followed by a walk along the beach before making our way back to our comical strip mall drop off point in San Juan.
This was kind of a random one I’ll be honest. It’s in a corporate business area but the food was fantastic. You order your dishes and then pick your drinks from a wall of floor-to-ceiling fridges by their kitchen. We ordered cod fritters (fancy fish sticks), grilled pulpo, and a mixed ceviche with white fish, octopus, and shrimp. All super fresh and just a cute vibe to split a bottle of wine and snack for a few hours.
Last but not least, we have to honor the taco spot that we visited twice on our trip. The al pastor was simply to die for. It’s prepared similarly in Mexico City, with pork shoulder marinating overnight in guajillo and ancho peppers. It’s then slow roasted on their vertical spit with an open flame, and served thinly sliced. The al fresco dining in the low 80s is bearable with a frozen watermelon margarita and a generous bowl of guac to share. If you have room, get the churros.
Elevated dining, literally
I would be remiss if I didn’t give a special shoutout to the absolutely buck wild dining experience that we bore witness to from our hotel room balcony. You can anticipate your hotel being located near a night club, maybe some lousy neighbors, or a construction zone. This dining experience was not on my bingo card.
Imagine enjoying a three course meal while suspended a hundred feet in the air by a giant crane. Also imagine paying a minimum of $125 for the experience overall. The setup is a rigged platform with chairs that look like they belong to professional online gamers with a functioning kitchen in the center.
Entertainment includes a DJ set with something for everyone, which provided immaculate vibes every night when we returned from dinner.
I wish the business well and manifest zero lawsuits for them in the future.
Green lasagna for late winter? Groundbreaking.
With the mob wife aesthetic on the rise, we didn’t stand a chance against Big Lasagna. The vehicle for red sauce and cheese has held a tight reign over food media since the fall. I think it started with Wishbone Kitchen’s lasagna soup, and many other recipe developers jumped on the trend.
As always, recipe developers on Instagram took things a little too far, propelling this layered pasta casserole into the same universe of Dr. Seuss. Suddenly, green lasagna took over my feed.
I have my theories as to how we got here. In mid-January, viral recipe developer Pierce Abernathy made a version of Rolo’s green lasagna dish. Rolo’s is a famous restaurant in NYC that Jeremy Allen White later flagged as his favorite spot in an interview in early March. Rolo’s is specifically known for their two-layer, woodfire-charred lasagna dish served up green and crunchy.
On February 2, Molly Baz and Andy Baraghani further influenced the movement with their wacky collab resulting in a green lasagna with potatoes and mortadella. I’m sure the meetings throughout the recipe development process focused on how we can make casseroles cute again - queue the green sauce. This move felt reminiscent of cavolo nero pasta sauce’s moment in recent years, beckoning recipes for bright green pasta sauce in late winter and early spring.
On February 22, recipe developer @justines.table ripped a green lasagna for the olive oil brand, Brightland. So, by the time Jeremy dropped Rolo’s in March, we were already riding the green lasagna train.
Maybe this is only a few instances and I’m taking this too far myself. But what else is a girl to do other than speculate wildly?
Wow. I totally missed the green lasagna wave. Thanks for bringing me up to speed!
Green Lasagna Conspiracy of 2024 is astounding