Went to the Dominican Republic for the second time. I have to say the first time (in Punta Cana) was dissapointing for a foodie like me. It was my first experience at an all inclussive and I was quite saddened by the food choices. I came home disheartened, as holiday is not truly holiday unless you have some amazing food.

I am glad to say that the food in the Cabarete area of Dominican Republic was delicious. Pretty much every meal I had left me happy and satisfied.

 
                                         

The first lunch I had was at Onno's in Cabarete Beach, it's a little spot on the ocean which boasts free wi-fi. The best part was the Paella. This paella was light, the seafood was perfectly cooked and the spices were right on.

                             

Needless to say, it was easy to finish the whole thing.

                              

One word of warning to travelers, while pretty much everything in the Dominican is a steal (inexpensive food, beer and liquor) the wine is quite costly. Keep in mind that wine is to be kept at 56 degrees. "Wine shops" in DR do not properly store their wines, so I say stick to cerveza...and make sure to ask that your drinks do not have ice in them, it is still water and can still make you sick.

One of my favorite places in DR was Marabu, another restaurant right at the beach. This place reminded me immediately of South Beach with it's super simple and modern decor. Rich chocolate wood furniture accented by a white roof accent reminiscent of sails.

I visited Marabu on three occasions. Their pizza is fantastic. It is nothing like what you would get at Rays, this pizza is thin crust with fresh Mozzarella and beautiful basil. I was a little scared when I saw this prosciutto pizza come out, but as soon as I bit into it I was hooked.

                             

I ended up visiting Marabu three times in my visit. The second time I had the lasagna, a bit too much sauce, but definitely not something I could not work around. It was delicious.

                               

For my last visit, I went for a very beachy meal, I went with a Hawaiian Pizza, this was one of my favorites. Crunchy, sweet, salty and great with a beer.


                                

I recommend that visitors to Cabarete get a rental car. This will allow you to go off the beaten path to Playa Grande, Puerto Plata and find little gems such as El Choco. It is about 10 minutes from town and has delicious Typical Dominican food at true bargain prices.

                                

Sancocho is a typical Dominican dish. It is a creamy soup with chicken and beef. It came with rice and beans and was a welcome addition to my dining experience. They also serve this amazing Swiss chocolate mousse topped with coconut shavings that left my mouth in ecstasy. I'd go back in a heartbeat.


                            

Jose O'Shays is a definite stop for a drinks.

                           

They make a fantastic Pina Colada. I have never seen so much work go into making a drink. They take a full Pineapple, core it, put it in a blender, add all the ingredients and pur it right back into the pina colada. WOW.

                         

Celina's was another of my favorite spots on the beach. The place is family owned, and feels like home.

                         

I am a huge fan of open kitchens and the kitchen does not get any more open than here, it is wide open and you can see the ladies making your delicious lunch.

                           

I went with the Pollo al Cilantro. It had this amazing cream cilantro sauce. The portions would please any belly as they were not skimpy and again, the prices were great.

                            

If you love art, Miro is a must see. The walls are decorated in murals inspired by Miro. The decor is gorgeous, this is one of the prettier establishments in Cabarete.


                             

Luckily the food matches. They offer a more mediterranean menu that does not fail to please. The Morrocan Chicken was a crowd pleaser.

We ended up back in Old San Juan for dinner for our friend Dalma's Birthday (The woman with the best legs in the Island)...lol...We stopped at Dragonfly for 2nd Dinner.

Steamed Dumplings At Dragonfly - Old San Juan

We started off with some delicious steamed dumplings, the filling was delicious. I was definitely not expecting great Asian food - I mean it's Puerto Rico, boy, I was sadly mistaken.

Delish

Duck Nachos - Ducks & Nachos together - My dreams become reality

The next dish we got was Nachos, I bit into them and got the best surprise ever, It was duck. I love duck, sorry but Daffy and Donald would not last very long in my home. They are delicious and this was quite a wonderful surprise.

Plantain Roll

Who gets the last piece?

For the piece de resistance, we got a sushi roll topped with plantain, quite nice, but I would have cut down a little on the cream cheese. But, hey, we still ate it. Dragonfly is a very trendy cute place with lots of beautiful people, but when you go there, bring your AMEX, you will be paying pretty solid prices when you go there.

Cardamom Martini at Tantra - a Creation of Marco Morales - The Best Bartender Ever

Our next stop, although we could eat no more was at Tantra. I met my very good friend Marco there about 4 years ago. He was our bartender and makes the most wonderful drinks. Although he no longer works at Tantra, they allowed him behind the bar to prepare my favorite cocktail, the Cardamom Martini. It does not get any better than that. They have a phenomenal drink list (and a lot of the drinks were created by Marco). The food is fantastic (sorry no pictures of food with this one). I definitely put this on a foodie destination.

Entrance to Haciends Don Jose - Condado

Overpriced Mexican Food

Beautiful View

Ouch $30 for soup, sour cream not included (I might have to head down to Taco Bell)

Hmmmm, what can I say. I am latin. Latin food is the food of the common man, so why is it that the food at this place was so expensive. When I perused the menu, I figured I would be having the best Mexican food on the planet. Boy was I wrong. Not to say the food was bad, it was just overpriced for the quality. I paid $25 for fajitas that should have cost $13 at most. They do have a very nice salsa for the chips though, and a beautiful view. So if I were you, I would go there for drinks (which were reasonably priced) and skip out on the meal.

There will be one more Puerto Rico Entry...so keep your eyes peeled.

Puerto Rico might just be the culinary Mecca of the Caribbean. If you visit Old San Juan's Fortaleza Street, or Condado you will encounter too many restaurants to count. I just returned from PR on Monday (Birthday Trip) and will share with you some of my favorite (and least favorite) eats on the island.

The Bar at Angel Restaurante in Condado

Rice and Pork at Restaurante Angel

On my first day there, I decided to explore Condado. Condado is pretty close to Old San Juan and has some wonderful beaches and great casinos the El San Juan hotel has the best casino with an amazing nightlife...but anyway, I strayed. I walked down the street to Restaurante Angel, specializing in Puerto Rican Cuisine. My first meal at Restaurante Angel in Condado was quite good. I tried a dish that was a whole plantain, fried, and stuffed with meat and cheese. This "appetizer" was delicious and filled me up so I could only make room for my Pina Colada.  The restaurant was a great value as well, perhaps the only good value as San Juan tends to be as expensive as NYC when it comes to dining. I will definitely head to this place again on my next trip.

Lobster Ravioli in Cream Sauce - Waikiki Restaurant

Chicken Pita - Waikiki Restaurant

The next day I headed over to the Waikiki restaurant for brunch, also in Condado. I have to say I was not in love with my meal, although the rest of my party was. I had lobster ravioli. It was covered in a heavy cream sauce so thick that I could not even taste the seafood (thumbs down). My boyfriend had a Chicken Pita which he absolutely loved. However, the service was good so I might give them another try.

Entrance to Barrachina in Old San Juan

Pina Colada Plaque

Pina Colada - YUUUUUM

The same day we took a trip to Old San Juan and stumbled upon the birthplace of the Pina Colada, Barrachina and although I did not eat there, I had to stop and try one. It was delicious, it definitely makes a huge difference wheyou are using fresh coconut water and pineapple as opposed to the syrupy high fructose corn crap you get in the states. DEEELIIIISH...and got me a bit tipsy too. However, there seems to be a bit of controversy on the island about the real origins of the Pina Colada...so beware...

Oh, one other thing, Puerto Rican restaurants have great wine lists, every restaurant I visited had Sebastiani Pinot Noir, one of my faves...They had great lists with rieslings, sauv blancs, tempranillos, nothing could have made me happier.

Sign for the Parrot Club

Rice and Beans - Parrot Club

Open Face Arepa with Ropa Vieja - The Parrot Club (Delicious)

For an early lunch snack, we headed over to the Parrot Club (our second time there). I have to say, not dissappointed at all. We did a meal between the both of us, the arepa with ropa vieja. I am Colombian, so I LOOOOOOOVVVVVEEE arepas, they are this corn cake that you can have pretty much any time of day. They fused it with Ropa Vieja, a typical Cuban dish, it was pretty much perfection on a plate. It also came with rice and beans that were really good. I guess there is a reason I have been to the parrot club on two occasions out of three.

Barlovent  - Outside bar and Dining

Meat and Cheese Plate - Bar Lovent

All Gone - Bar Lovent

We ended the night by meeting our friend at Barlovent. We had gone there for drinks before and were not at all ready to eat until we saw a meat and cheese plate come out. It looked so scrumptious and smelled so good we had to order. It was AMAZING. Many places do a meat and cheese plate ( normally an over rated and over priced app), but at Barlovent I was not dissapointed. The chorizo was delightful and the mozzarella they used - wow. This is definitely a place I will visit again.

I will continue my Puerto Rico Dining story on the next blog, hope I made you hungry.