Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Today, the Muñoz legacy is still evident all over Puerto Rico, from the mausoleum
and museums of Barranquitas to the island's Aeropuerto Internacional de Luis
Muñoz Murín (LMM international airport), named in honor of its most celebrated
native son.
Sleeping & Eating
Hacienda Margarita
HOTEL $$
( 854-0414;Rte152,Km1.7,BarrioQuebradaGrande,SectorTresCaminos;r/ste
$119/210; )
Destroyed in a 1998 hurricane, Hacienda Margarita has risen from the
ruins with a modern two-story building housing 27 units, a pool, a restaurant and a bar (it
hosts live local music most Saturday nights). Rooms feature patios/balconies with views
of the surrounding mountains, tiled floors and those ubiquitous flowery bedspreads. Some
have rock walls and one has a Jacuzzi. Call the owners for directions, as you have to wind
your way through a housing subdivision to find the hotel.
Vaca Brava
STEAKS, BBQ $
( 857-2628; Km PR 9.3 771; mains $10-19; lunch & dinner Thu-Sun)
There's
a certain brazen spectacle to the pure carnage at Vaca Brava, an open-air restaurant that
serves
enormous
platters of steak, fish and chicken, many constructed in whimsical, carni-
vorous sculptures. This is a restaurant where gluttony is nearly mandatory. A tame choice
would be the
tendedero
(clothesline) - which strings together chicken, sirloin and house-
stuffed chorizo and comes sided with golden
tostones
and rice. If you want to test your
limits, try the half-stack of beef ribs, some 3ft tall, which seems rather like something out
of
The Flintstones
. Masochists should opt for the Vaca Acosta Challenge, an 8-pound plat-
ter of sirloin resting on a bed of French fries and soaked in mushroom sauce. Finish it and
you'll get it free, but note that previous winners can be counted on one hand (the travel
channel's
Man V Food
host Adam Richman was a recent loser). Sure, the unapologetic
gluttony is a bit shocking, but it brings a long line of locals, some who wait up to two hours.
Just don't end up in the hospital.
Heladería Los Próceres
ICE CREAM $
