Eating Vegan in San Juan, Puerto Rico

I just got back from an inspiring trip to Puerto Rico and it was a remarkable place full of sand, water, history and culture. I had never been there before and so I wasn’t quite sure how the vegan dining would pan out, but armed with a shoulder bag of trail mix, I jumped off the plane hoping for the best. I should mention that my time there was limited to the city of San Juan and was only for 4 days, so this is more of a “weekenders guide” than a full exploration.

Overall, it seems that most traditional Puerto Rican food contains meat and seafood and/or is fried. Mofongo is a dish made of fried plantains and is often mixed with pork or other meats. I was able to find a vegan version at a couple of places and I liked it a lot. It’s fairly heavy and dense (not health food) and not sweet like you might think. Fortunately, English is wide-spoken, so I was able to double check ingredients pretty well.

I also tried “tostones”, which are fried green plantain patties. They were very good (kind of like a big french fry) and went great as a side dish with the local brews Medalla Light and Magna.

It was a little hard to find places to eat out, especially at local diner spots, but people were generally willing to accommodate me wherever I went. For specifically veg-friendly restaurants, Old San Juan is where it’s at. Old San Juan is the historic part of the city with areas over 400 years old. It’s a beautiful area and, probably due to tourism, vegan-friendly places are becoming much more common. I ate at two of them, Caficultura (see photo at the top) and Cafe Berlin. There were 5-6 vegan options at both places and the food and service was great. Two other restaurants that I wanted to try, but didn’t get to were Verde Mesa and St. Germain Bistro & Cafe. VegGuide and HappyCow also have great lists of places to visit.

One interesting thing about dining out in Puerto Rico is that things move at a much slower pace. I had a couple of dinners that should have taken 45 minutes in the States take about 2 hours in San Juan. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re in a hurry.

Also, I can’t go on without mentioning the greatest vegan jewel of Puerto Rico … the COFFEE. It’s amazing and is served very strong and in small amounts (6oz is normal). It’s the perfect way to start your day … and lunch … and afternoon … and after dinner …

I’d highly recommend a trip to Puerto Rico if you can ever swing it (I lucked out being there for work). It’s an easy trip within the United States (no passport needed) and there isn’t a language barrier. If you can’t get there soon, here are a couple of recipes you might try out!

Vegan Mofongo (Mashed Green Plantains) with Fried Tempeh
via: Vegan Ricans

Mashed Green Plantains (2 servings)
2 green plantains
1 cube of veggie stock
Add salt and ground pepper to taste
Smart Balance Omega oil (for deep frying)

Peel the plantains, cut them into 1 inch chunks, fry them in hot oil until golden, drain and dry the pieces on paper towels, crush the chunks with a flat bottomed bottle and add the veggie stock to taste, place the pieces in a ramekin or a small soup cup so you can shape them, fry the plantains balls to make them crispy outside and soft inside, do not overcooked them.

Criolla Sauce:
1/2 red pepper
1/2 green pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1/4 purple onion
1/4 white onion
2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
1/4 green onions
1/4 veggie buillon (w/sea salt and herbs)
1 cup organic plum tomato sauce
1/4 fresno chili pepper
salt and ground pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir them until the bottom gets brown not burned then reduce the sauce until a good consistency not too runny not too thick….
serve with your “mofongo”

Deep-Fried Tempeh:
1/2 pack of tempeh (soy cake)
cut them into 1 inch-strips, season with sea salt and pepper
fry them in hot oil (Smart balance omega oil)
drain and dry them on towels
voila’ ready to serve!!!

Tostones
Basically, you take a green plantain and cut it into cylinders. Then you fry them until they start to turn brown. Take them out, cover with a paper towel and let cool. Take a piece and smash it flat either with the bottom of a cup or plate and fry it again. You can read a better description (with photos) here and here.