Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
up sampling sweet pastries on the pleasant terrace here. In a setting that's more Viennese
than Caribbean, the Café Berlin serves fresh European-style food with a strong vegetarian/
vegan bias. Check out the veggie pizza, the tofu done any which way you want and don't
leave without ordering a manjito (a mango-flavored mojito). The sweet Teutonic desserts
are positively sinful and the fresh breads melt in your mouth.
La Fonda El Jibarito
PUERTO RICAN $
(280Sol;dishes$9-23; 11am-9pm)
Welcome to the neighborhood,
hermano
(brother).
El Jibarito is the kind of salt-of-the-earth, unpretentious place that you should reserve to
sample your first
mofongo
(mashed plantains) or
arroz con habichuelas
(rice and beans).
A favorite of local families, in-the-know tourists and passing
New York Times
journalists,
the meals are simple but hearty, with good pork and prawns, or plantains smashed, mashed
and fried just about any way you want. Pull up a seat and chow with the locals.
Barú
FUSION $$
( 150 San Sebastián; dishes $14-28; 6pm-midnight)
Very popular with foodies and
martini drinkers, trendy Barú mixes it up with the artful use of ingredients such as passion
fruit, mango and yams. Dishes include 'yuccafongo' (yucca made like a
mofongo
) with
shrimp, pork ribs with ginger tamarind sauce and risotto with shitakes and goat cheese.
La Madre
MEXICAN $$
( 351 San Francisco; mains $15-26; dinner)
Duck quesadilla with wild mushrooms
and guacamole? Tuna steak with refried beans?
¿Por qué no?
A sophisticated take on
'modern Mexican,' this hip new restaurant and lounge serves Mexican ingredients with a
gourmet twist, as well as delectable margaritas in a rainbow of flavors, including
parcha
(passion fruit), acerola (cherry) and tamarind. The sensory overload continues with tactile
frescos, Friday- and Saturday-night DJs, and the occasional wall-projected movie.
Tantra
INDIAN $$
( 356 Fortaleza; dishes $16-23; noon-1am; )
For purists, eating Masala Dosa in
Puerto Rico is probably about as incongruous as chomping on
mofongo
in Madras, but for
those willing to drop the cultural blinkers, Tantra's adventurous 'Indo-Latin fusion' cuisine
is actually rather authentic. It helps that the chef's from South India. It also helps that the
restaurant's Asian-inspired decor, which places exotic lampshades among carved Buddhas,
