We scurried around Puerto Rico to try the local best: beachside pools, kioskos in Loiza, pastries in Miramar, coffee cafes, deli sandwiches that also sold pigeon pea miso… mind blown, piña coladas at the Barracina, Pira Rum PR, and Mezzanine (more to come on that over at Delish), and some art whimsy. I always want to relax on a vacation, but I also love to find these little gems that get you excited to travel too.

For when you go

Stay: La Concha Resort

I can’t say enough good things about this hotel. We had a plunge pool on our balcony. WHAT. And it came with an endless view of the Atlantic blue. The poolside service led to pina coladas and multiple tostones. I barely left to sit on the beach right before me. Nice restaurants, hotel service, breakfast in room service, all of the above!

AQA Oceanfront

We wanted to try one of the restaurants in the hotel, and AQA generously hosted us on a very quiet Sunday night. I reccomend everything we ate, but these things really stood out as the musts.

Eat this:

Crispy Porchetta: you go to Puerto Rico, you might as well bring your appetite for pork. As Dillon called it, the crispy “pork cinnamon roll” with mojo verde was a must. Whenever I think of porchetta, my brain goes Italian coo coo, so I had to try it the Puerto Rican way.

Whole Red Snapper: before you leave the island, you have to devour an entire red snapper. This one came with coconut rice, papaya relish, salsa verde, and some eyeballs we wouldn’t dare pluck. Not our thing, but no judgments to you!

Pineapple Pie à La Mode: forever and always an a la mode girl, so we had to try a pineapple version. I definitely thought we were getting lattice pie, but this was more like cobbler. Tender crumb and very light on the pineapple front, which I prefer!

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Piñones~ The Kioskos in Loiza

I urge you to explore the outer bounds of San Juan when you visit Puerto Rico. The Kioskos are the food gems of the island, where you’ll find the local food in its most modest form. You’ll find lots of fried options like bacalaítos (fried bacala fritters), tostones (double-fried green plantains), and alcapurrias (mashed green plantain stuffed with crab or meat), as well as mofongo, arozz con jueyes, oysters on the half shell, and grilled meat.

Eat this:

Pinchos: grilled BBQ chicken kebabs served with a piece of the local bread, pan sabao, to soak up the juices. The bread is similar to what you’d use for a cubano or media noche sandwich; it’s soft, plush, and elongated.

Arroz con Jueyes: rice with blue crab is a staple in Loiza and a must if you can eat shellfish. If you’re lucky, it comes with crackly tostones, which are my freaking fave.

Empanadillas: Half the size of your face, decorated with dancing bubbles hot from the fryer, deeply golden. The empanada pollo I had was so juicy and delightful that I want to believe they’re all like that. Every stall should have them like that.

Hilda

eat this:

For the deli and provision seekers looking for the perfect beach sammie. This quaint market is lined with imported provisions like fishwife, Fly by Jing, and Cob, as well as local products like pigeon pea miso! Miso is one of my favorite ingredients to cook with, so I have to find that here fast.

Unzanahoria Bahn Mi: green curry mayo, roasted veggies, picinillo, cilantro all on the crunchiest bread (the type that scratches the roof of your mouth most pleasantly, IYKYK). Also, we were ready for an all-veggie anything after a couple of days of straight pork.

La Senora Piccante: broccoli taleggio, chili jam was described to me as a grilled cheese, and I can say it’s even better. Gobs of taleggio snuck out the side of the sandwich with the perfect balance of

Pinky’s

eat this:

Mallorca Egg Sandwich: Dillon’s a big breakfast sandwich guy, so I had to take a lovely colleague and friend, Speshyl Smith up on her recc. She said to get the Mallorca breakfast sandwich, and THAT we did. The Mallorca is an enriched sweet bread on the island, often dusted with powdered sugar and displayed solo in pastry cases. Make it into a breakfast sandwich, and you’ve basically got a French Monte Cristo.

Lucia Pattisserie

eat this:

Bakery culture on the island is gaining attention. Many are leaning on Puerto Rican roots while fusing with other cuisines. But ingredient sourcing has affected bakers on the island because of restrictions around importing. Some bakeries have had to make their own ingredients, like the team at Lucia Pattisserie.

But, let me tell you! This is the Puerto Rican- French fusion spot is worth the walk from downtown Condado.

Tropical Earl: I’d trade a sweat-saturated shirt for a tropical Earl and strawberries and cream pastry every day. The tropical Earl was a fresh passion fruit lemonade with Earl Grey syrup, and it was awesome. So many crunchy passion fruit seeds to my chill sweet sips.

Strawberries and Cream: The strawberry pastry was typical of French design, a rectangular laminated pastry lined with fresh berry compote, decorated with a whipped cream ribbon, edible flowers, and balsamic. Everything was right about this pastry.

Local honey croissant: perfectly chewy, crispy, salty, and honey sweet. Anything “local” is always a draw in, so well worth trying.

Espana Bakery:

eat this:

Guava and Quesito: I guarantee almost any neighborhood bakery you’d visit will have the guava and quesito option. It’s a sweet and sticky puff pastry frilled with guava and creamy cheese. Don’t hate me for saying but it’s like the original toaster strudel.

Coconut Thumbprint and Pineapple: if you love a coconut macaroon, then this is your jam. You have to really love coconut to get into this tacky cookie, but it’s a local favorite, so always worth trying to say you did.

Tembleque: Puerto Rican coconut pudding: Similar in texture to a Spanish flan but straight coconut in flavor, this pudding is a popular dessert. Also something you must try when visiting, and they come in little cups, making the perfect portion.

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Shop: Just B Cuz

A pink stucco boutique with a cafe attached screams my visit, so we had to go. I met the most lovely woman, Ingrid, who works for the owner and artist MÓNSE. The artist makes leatherback journals and paints envelopes, among many other intricate things, and sells them at her shop in Miramar.