moncheoPR

Jose Enrique REDUX

As I update the site and transfer all content to another host site, let's visit my favorite place in Puerto Rico: Jose Enrique, located in La Plazita in Santurce (Condado area) of San Juan.

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE chef Jose Enrique, his food, and his restaurant. He's super cool, super chill, cooks great, and I have always had superb food AND phenomenal service while there. So where am I going to take my friends to eat when they visit PR? None other than Jose's. Why? Because i want to, that's why! Oh and because of things like this:

Moncheo: Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

How did we end up at a hotel, eating at one of the largest Steakhouse chains in the USA? Good question. It wasn't expected, definitely not planned, but it did offer the opportunity to review the service and the food.

It had been a Sunday of going shopping with Abuela (grandma) and Pai (one of moncheos' dads). On our way to go eat a late lunch/early dinner, Pai's cousin, "Primo," called and invited us to join him for drinks and dinner at the Inter-Continental San Juan Resort & Casino in Isla Verde. This should be interesting...

Moncheo: El Caldero Sabroso

A few posts back we mentioned a place in Old San Juan we had been dying to go eat at called El Caldero Sabroso. Well, we hadn't mentioned the name per se, just the spot. Both times they had been closed. But to their credit, it was pretty late in the evening. It's located on 366 San Francisco Street, between O'Donnell & Tanca streets, and less than a block from Plaza Colón.

Moncheo: The Pink Skirt

When we lived in NYC it was always nice to know that when you're out late or feel like some Chicken Fingers or a Burger or a Salad (yeah, right) @ 3:02am you know there's a 24 hour place to go to and get some grub. Face it, working in restaurants makes you adapt your life to a different schedule than - let's say - 90% of the workforce. In the world. Yes, these are very scientific numbers. But yeah, that 9-5 gig is basically an urban legend in the restaurant world. Or at least a rare sight. Unless you're a bread baker. Even then it's pretty much the same crazy schedule, but flipped around.

Moncheo: Jose Enrique

We first visited Jose Enrique's spot in Santurce while out around La Plazita a few months ago. We had left the usual revolú (clustermess) of La Plazita @ Calle Canals and walked over to Jose Enrique's spot on the corner of Duffaut & Orbeta Streets. We knew we had found an awesome spot when we heard the groovy reggae beats coming from inside. We opened the doors and entered what has become one of our favorite places in Puerto Rico: Jose Enrique. That night we also had the luck and pleasure of meeting an extremely talented young man: DJ Velcro (Andrés). He was the artist responsible for the great beats playing and to which everyone was dancing to. As we got to know the people there we found out Jose Enrique was actually a restaurant. We met Jose that night as well, learned a little bit about his background and food, and vowed to come and try out his food. We're so glad we finally got the chance. Jose Enrique, the man and the restaurant, BOTH rock

 

Moncheo: Toro Salao

Toro Salao entered our radar after having eaten a pretty darn tasty Bacalao Croqueta (codfish croquette) they were selling during the SoFo Culinary Fest a week or so ago. (Toro Salao is one of the newest concepts from the OOF Restraurants family.) The croqueta was crisp on the outside, warm and gooey on the inside, and had really good bacalao flavor. We believe that if you can make a yummy croquette, chances are you can make more yumminess out of other things. Would our belief prove true or false when we visited Toro Salao for dinner? Let's find out.

Moncheo: La Casita Blanca

We've been hearing about this place for YEARS. Why we never visited before last week beats us. But we finally decided to go and can't believe we waited so long to do so!

Moncheo: J-Taste - Japanese in Old San Juan

Sorry. We can't sugar-coat the situation. And we won't. That's why we started moncheoPR - to eat around PR and write about it - a calzon quitao - as a reader mentioned the other day.

The current options for SUSHI in PR leave a lot to be desired. The situation is bleak and becoming grimmer. Freshness, especially in sashimi and raw fish options, as well as authenticity, are at times lacking in most places. It has gotten to the point where most of our friends are at the brink of not even attempting to eat Sushi ever again in PR. While others already decided they have given up on Sushi and pretty much all Asian options in PR. This saddens us, yet motivates moncheoPR to not give up on the search for good Sushi and other Asian food in Puerto Rico.

Moncheo: ¡Qué Pasta! (PR)

Ya varias personas me habian mencionado dos sitios en Plaza Las Americas que querian que visitara. moncheoPR decidió visitar uno de ellos esta semana antes de su visita a West Elm.

¡Qué Pasta! is on the 1st floor of Plaza, across from the JCPenney entrance. Right next to it is what I believe is its sister restaurant - Ponte Fresco - which is a classic "build-your-own-salad" joint. Don't know if they're related, but seems like it. Pa'lla iremos la próxima vez que nos de hambre mientras compramos.