Hadn't
posted for a while because I was working on a very, very important project.
Sadly, I’ve been told that the project has been terminated so I decided
to get caught up on this project.
The
eldest, henceforth known as Boy #1 or #1, and I just got back from a trip
"back home", a bit of information that provides me with a nice little
segue. I have been thinking of writing down some non-food-related ideas
and wasn't sure if I should create a separate blog or not and then realized
that the 2 or 3 (or 1) people who read this blog really don't care if I mix it
up a bit and throw down a lame attempt at a poem (my mastery
of haiku is uncanny) or a politically motivated rant.
So
please excuse the cloud of dust as some halfway complete thoughts are popping
into the space between my ears and I put them down on the screen..
It
makes complete and total sense for me to write this up backwards so here we
go..
Happy New Year? Hmm.. |
#1
found this very well done tag in the park right next to my parents house.
You’ve just gotta give credit where credit is due. This time around
I saw more "urban art" and a WHOLE lot more of potholes. A
portion of the roads with the least amount of potholes, the puertorrican toll
way system, were "leased" last year to Goldman Sachs
Infrastructure Partners and Abertis Infraestructuras
(Spanish multinational) for the next 40 years. I wonder how much
Fortuño pocketed on that one..
#1,
el viejo (my dad) and myself decided to have a nice lunch and went to Casa Lola.
According
to the website, the restaurant encapsulates Chef Robert Treviño's take on criollo cuisine. Hmm.. really? The menu combines Mexican and Cuban (Tamales de Ropa Vieja), Mexican and Puertorrican (Bacalataquito con Tuna Tartar Latino) and “updates” some Spanish classics (Pearl Cous Cous Paella de Mariscos).
I am ALL for mixing things up and re-making
dishes and do so myself all the time but to me, the menu suffers a bit when it’s
all over the board as it is in this case.
#1 got the Arepa Trío (Island flatbread
trio filled with garlic shrimp, stewed beef and seasoned crabmeat) served with the official dipping sauce of Puerto Rico - Mayoketchup (Mayonnaise and Ketchup, yessir!!) and a side
of Tostones. He really liked the shrimp
but did not like the beef or crabmeat. I
always related Arepas to Venezuelan cuisine so I’m not sure if I would refer to
them as “Island flatbread” but that’s just me. The tostones were perfectly fine except that
I loooove mine with a little rubbed garlic and oil on top.
From top to bottom: Shrimp, Beef and Crabmeat. |
Fry a plantain, smash it and fry it again.. GENIUS!! |
El viejo got himself the Pearl Cous Cous Seafood Paella and he said it
was really good (except for the pieces of chorizo but that’s just his anti-pork
stance talking) and he was full which is a miracle all unto itself.
Is it just me or does there seem to be a sprig of Italian Parsley on every plate? |
I decided to roll with the island breezes and got myself the Chuletón-ton
(Huge Pork Chop with roasted red bliss potatoes, onions, lime and a tomato
demi-glace). This one is going to get
the majority of criticisms but that’s just cause it’s the one I got. The pork chop was soooo hot when it came out
that I burned the roof of my mouth. The
skin on it was nice and crispy (some might say that it was a tad too crispy). The mélange of
potatoes, onions, carrots and chayote squash was a tad disappointing. The carrots and squash were borderline raw and
the mix had been tossed with too much seasoned vinegar. The demi was just what it was supposed to be..
flavorful and thick without being
overpowering.
I KNEW IT!!! More parsley!! |
Look at that crispy skin.. Dang it bobby!! |
#1 and myself, keepers of the
Sweet Tooth of Foretold Legends, split a Vanilla Tres Leches Cake somewhat
unevenly (he ate 80% while glaring at me as I ate my 20%) and this one was done
perfectly.
I’ve attached some pictures
that #1 took inside the restaurant and across the street from the location.
Listening to Don’t Do It by Sharon
Van Etten
You Should Have Been Nice To Me by Morri
1 comment:
Hmm que rico se ve todo y que nino tan precioso!!!
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