An Authentic Criolla Restaurant -- When you've had too many hotel meals or patronized too many first-class restaurants and want something authentic, head for El Jibarito, Calle del Sol 280 (tel. 787/725-8375), where locals flock for food like their mamas used to make.
Set within a residential section of Old San Juan that's a few blocks removed from the showcase-style tourist haunts, this is a bustling local restaurant that's known to virtually everyone in the Old City for its avid loyalty to the kind of cuisine that many sanjuaneros remember from their childhoods. Established as a testimonial to their rustic (jíbaro) backgrounds by Pedro and Aida Ruiz, it's a high-ceilinged, decent, and very clean enclave of brightly painted walls (mostly pinks and tones of green), paper napkins, solid porcelain, and completely unpretentious criolla cuisine. Menu items focus on rich, sometimes starchy, food that kept Puerto Rico alive throughout the early 20th century. Examples include fritters studded with pieces of seasoned pork, cube steak with onions, conch salad, oven-baked grouper, fried red snapper, chicken filets with garlic, and shrimp in garlic. A whopping portion of mofongo (chopped plantains with butter and seasonings) can be ordered as a folkloric side dish, and salad comes with every main course. Dessert might include a genuinely excellent wedge of coconut flan. Service is attentive, unpretentious, and extremely polite. Main courses cost $8 to $18 and are served daily from 10am to 9pm. American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard, and Visa are accepted.
Take a Strong Coffee Break -- A coffee break in Old San Juan might last an afternoon. Taza (cup) after taza of Puerto Rico's rich brew might make you desert Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee or Hawaiian Kona forever. By law, Puerto Rican coffeehouses must serve coffee made from homegrown beans, most often from the mountains in the center of the island. For years we've taken our espresso -- from early morning until our final "nightcap" -- at Cuatro Estaciones (no phone), a rather shady kiosk in bustling Plaza de Armas. You'll get a quick jolt from this tasty brew, which attracts local java heads day and night.
Picnic Fare & Where to Eat It -- Puerto Rico is usually ideal for picnicking year-round. The best place to fill a picnic basket is the Repostería Kassalta, a cafeteria/bakery/deli with lots of goodies. Puerto Rican families often come here to order delicacies for their Sunday outings. The best places for a picnic are Muñoz Marín Park, along Las Américas Expressway, west of Avenida Piñero, and the Botanical Gardens operated by the University of Puerto Rico in the Río Piedras section.
Eating Like a Sanjuanero -- To become a true sanjuanero, you've got to learn to love bacalaitos (codfish fritters) and alcapurrias (meat-stuffed plantain fritters). The best of these are found at little fast-food stands on the beaches of Piñones and Loiza, east of the resorts of Isla Verde and the airport. Here you'll find rows of ramshackle shacks where women cook up these delicacies in time-blackened cauldrons over open fires.
