When I’d visit Puerto Rico as a kid, we mostly just ate at my grandparents’ house on the farm. They raised mangoes, bananas, oranges, guavas, chickens, avocados, spinach, and coffee and vegan food in puerto rico Food. We would eat what they grew and supplement it with a few local things, like the good white queso from the small dairy down the road and big loaves of airy white bread from the small paneria in town.
For dinner, my abuela made arroz con gandules, tostones, and pasteles cooked in banana leaves. Her cooking was a treat, and the food we ate at their place was better than anything you could buy on the island anyway.
Because if you wanted to eat healthy, fresh stuff in Puerto Rico back then, you couldn’t really get it at most puerto rican grocery stores ,restaurants or grocery stores. Thanks to decades of bad economic policy, a fertile island that should have been a self-sustaining mecca of agriculture and culinary tradition had become a wasteland of American chain restaurants, imported produce, and packaged convenience foods.
Even in the affluent, tourist-driven neighborhoods around San Juan, there were not a lot of puerto rican food new York restaurants to get excited about. You could eat at Pizza Hut or at home. In addition, if you were a vegetarian, good luck.
Thankfully, that is all changing. In the wake of the island’s descent into fiscal collapse, a small movement has been growing. On a recent trip to Isabela, Aguadilla, and Rincon on the west coast, we were excited about healthy food Puerto rico. We want to meet the people, who are working in organic farms, starting CSAs, and opening farm-to-table restaurants in Isabela Puerto rico and food trucks.
We ate well found much more diversity than we expected Peruvian, Thai, and even vegan Puerto Rican. While the island may have a way to go before it is a culinary destination, it is definitely not impossible to eat fresh any longer — especially if visitors to the island and locals continue, show their support for those who are paving the way. Here, are few of our favorite places doing just that.
JACK’S SHACK
This little truck makes a tasty post-surf lunch stop, especially thanks to its prime perch on the hill overlooking Domes Beach in Rincon near the lighthouse. The focus is on organic, healthy beach classics — grilled tuna tacos, homemade veggie burgers, acai bowls, gluten-free as well as healthy Puerto rico food and chocolate chip cookies. The picnic tables that surround the truck always packed, with good reason.
CLMDO
This may have been the most memorable meal we had during our time out west. Chef Wilson Davalos grew up in New York but returned to his native puerto rican food near me now to open this small, barebones restaurant a couple years ago, and he (and it) have been garnering praise ever since.
Located in an orange house just off the main square in Isabela restaurants, CLMDO features fresh but hearty dishes with a local slant, like slow-cooked pork ribs in gauva espresso sauce or chicken with smoked aioli and smashed chickpeas.
CARTA BUENA
We are somewhat obsessed with Carta Buena, an organic farm and food truck on a beautiful plot of land in Rincon. The menu features yummy breakfast, food of Puerto Rico and lunch dishes (acai fruit bowls, summer rolls, and gluten-free muffins) all made from ingredients grown on the farm or sourced locally from nearby growers. The smoothies and juices super well liked — try the Kermit, a beachy merge of coconut, lime, greens, pineapple, and papaya.
EL SION
We stumbled across this Peruvian food truck on our way back from surfing in Aguadilla and it immediately became our favorite lunch spot. We ended up returning at least three more times. The dished, which, based on the owner’s old family recipes, is incredible. Order anything that comes with papas huancaina (Peruvian potatoes in yellow chile cheese sauce) and be sure to try the homemade Puerto rico food breakfast food with hot sauce and the fresh tamarind juice.
TBC
The Breakfast Club started as a pop-up brunch spot at the bar Ola Lola’s near Shacks Beach, but it became such a hit that owners Courtney and Christine Parks decided to relocate to more permanent digs. Now housed in a former Waldorf School complete with a big grassy yard and a cute little lending library, TBC is the kind of place you will want to spend some time. You will have plenty of good stuff to eat and drink if you do so: Old Fashioneds, Micheladas, local-caught fish sandwiches, and omelettes with carmelized onions and cheese isabela restaurants.
