El Buen Samaritano

Frommer's Review

Only the most experimental foreign tourists would venture in here, despite the fact that it provides lots of insights into the subculture of this thriving inner-city neighborhood. In fact, we have included this authentic little eatery to answer the often-posed question "Where do the locals dine?" It stands adjacent to the back door of city hall, near the corner of Calle San Justo, on one of our favorite "backwater" streets of the historic Old Town. Almost no English is spoken; it's as Creole and ethnic as anything on the island, and it contains no more than four well-scrubbed tables in a setting Hemingway would have praised. All the food is predictably filling and starchy, including roast pork with yellow rice and beans and filet of red snapper in pungent tomato sauce. The menu, which depends largely on what was available in the market that morning, is recited lethargically by a member of the family who owns the joint. Except during the midday crush, no one will mind if you opt for just a cup of thick Puerto Rican coffee, a beer, or a soda.

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