Culinary Explosion in Puerto Rico
In early November, Alex and I spend two glorious days in the November warmth of San Juan, Puerto Rico visiting. There has been an amazing change in the restaurant scene since I lived there in 2000-2001. At that time there were very few fine restaurants and what they offered was pretty standard fare. Now, there is an explosion of adventurous and creative cooking in new (and some old) restaurants all over town -- Trois Cent Onze, Migas, Tropical, Ropa Vieja, Panza (not open yet), Kudeta, Sofia, Parrot Club, among many others. There also is a great expansion of wine offerings and very interesting wine lists with wines from all over the world. So, if you are in San Juan, look for Oregon wine at the major hotels and independent restaurants.
We made a side trip to the nearby island of Vieques and found several wonderful restaurants there, too (Uva, Bili, Media Luna). On Vieques I did one of my all-time favorite things: swimming at night in the warm bioluminescent bay with the folks from Island Adventures. Until recently most of Vieques was not visitable because it was a Navy bombing range. But the Navy has now left and, as they get things cleaned up, more and more places are opening up, especially the pristine beaches. We snorkeled at Red Beach and got a great taste of what must be awaiting at all the other beaches.