I know this may sound corny but it still fascinates me that I can be sipping on a mango daiquiri , enjoying balmy breezes, sunshine and temperatures somewhere around 85 degrees, listening to the Caribbean Sea lapping its waves against the shoreline in one moment and then less than 24 hours later, wham! The snowstorm of 2010 has arrived in NYC with snowfalls ranging around 10 inches and a balmy temperature of 32 degrees. Yes, yes, there was airplane travel in between those two experiences and yes, I understand the aerodynamics of flying but still...it all seems so surreal to me.
Back to those mango daiquiris....they can be found at an amazing little restaurant called Tranquilidad del Mar in the town of Patillas on the island of Puerto Rico. I've never had a mango daiquiri that came served with whipped cream on top (as a matter of fact when it was first brought to the table I thought, "Whipped cream in a daiquiri? What?!) but my goodness, try it...you'll definitely like it. This open-air restaurant not only has amazing drinks but the food from the mofongo (mashed plaintain with garlic that tastes yummy but the garlic content could most assuredly ward off vampires) to the red snapper to the asopao (a stew made of rice, veggies and seafood or meat) is worth the drive. It is definitely off the tourist path but that is part of its charm as well.
See, I used to live in Puerto Rico (a long time ago) in the heart of the Condado area in San Juan. I think Condado is best known to most tourists with its abundance of hotels, casinos and eateries, its beach and proximity to Old San Juan. Condado is resplendid with all of those things but what it is not any longer is the real Puerto Rico. Starbucks, Outback Steakhouse, Chili's have all made their presence known to the point where the culture and flavor and heart of Puerto Rico is nowhere to be found in this area. I couldn't wait to get far, far away from that which I avoid at home. It made me sad to see that there are more McDonald's and Burger King's than there are places like Tranquilidad del Mar. My trip down memory lane resulted in a lot "It's so over-commercialized" comments. There's an old song whose lyrics go like this...."They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.....". You get the idea. Paradise can still be found and I don't know about you but in my view of paradise there is no Starbucks or Church's Fried Chicken.
Thankfully we can escape. There's a rental car and a very dodgy map....and some directions to our friend Raymond's parents house . If you should ever head down to the Southeast region of Puerto Rico know that there are two route 3's. One is seemingly a blue major highway route 3 and the other is a black-and-white-more-like-a -county-route 3. Why these two roads simply couldn't have distinctly seperate numbers I will never understand. There are other numbers other than 3 to be used! But lets move beyond the mystery of the two route 3's.... Wait, lets not move beyond that point quite yet because I still need to vent. A drive from San Juan to Patillas that should not have taken more than an hour and 30 minutes took about 3 hours and led us to Calle sin salida (a street without an exit...a dead end) and pharmaceutical factories (where we must have looked very much lost because the security guard came out to ask if he could be of help) and towns all around Patillas such as Arroyo and Guayaba and Maunabo....everywhere but Raymond's house.
Oh, Mom just called and said I have to come up to her place and see the snowman she has built. No, not inside her apartment but out on her fire escape. Told you it is snowing here.....I'll continue this a little later.
Back to those mango daiquiris....they can be found at an amazing little restaurant called Tranquilidad del Mar in the town of Patillas on the island of Puerto Rico. I've never had a mango daiquiri that came served with whipped cream on top (as a matter of fact when it was first brought to the table I thought, "Whipped cream in a daiquiri? What?!) but my goodness, try it...you'll definitely like it. This open-air restaurant not only has amazing drinks but the food from the mofongo (mashed plaintain with garlic that tastes yummy but the garlic content could most assuredly ward off vampires) to the red snapper to the asopao (a stew made of rice, veggies and seafood or meat) is worth the drive. It is definitely off the tourist path but that is part of its charm as well.
See, I used to live in Puerto Rico (a long time ago) in the heart of the Condado area in San Juan. I think Condado is best known to most tourists with its abundance of hotels, casinos and eateries, its beach and proximity to Old San Juan. Condado is resplendid with all of those things but what it is not any longer is the real Puerto Rico. Starbucks, Outback Steakhouse, Chili's have all made their presence known to the point where the culture and flavor and heart of Puerto Rico is nowhere to be found in this area. I couldn't wait to get far, far away from that which I avoid at home. It made me sad to see that there are more McDonald's and Burger King's than there are places like Tranquilidad del Mar. My trip down memory lane resulted in a lot "It's so over-commercialized" comments. There's an old song whose lyrics go like this...."They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.....". You get the idea. Paradise can still be found and I don't know about you but in my view of paradise there is no Starbucks or Church's Fried Chicken.
Thankfully we can escape. There's a rental car and a very dodgy map....and some directions to our friend Raymond's parents house . If you should ever head down to the Southeast region of Puerto Rico know that there are two route 3's. One is seemingly a blue major highway route 3 and the other is a black-and-white-more-like-a -county-route 3. Why these two roads simply couldn't have distinctly seperate numbers I will never understand. There are other numbers other than 3 to be used! But lets move beyond the mystery of the two route 3's.... Wait, lets not move beyond that point quite yet because I still need to vent. A drive from San Juan to Patillas that should not have taken more than an hour and 30 minutes took about 3 hours and led us to Calle sin salida (a street without an exit...a dead end) and pharmaceutical factories (where we must have looked very much lost because the security guard came out to ask if he could be of help) and towns all around Patillas such as Arroyo and Guayaba and Maunabo....everywhere but Raymond's house.
Oh, Mom just called and said I have to come up to her place and see the snowman she has built. No, not inside her apartment but out on her fire escape. Told you it is snowing here.....I'll continue this a little later.
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