View from an Old San Juan Lunch Counter

MATTHEW0 COMMENTSFROM THE LUNCH BOX, REVIEWS

Feb 21

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Café Manolín

407 San Francisco Street

San Juan, PR 00901

787-722-5205

My COMIDA CRIOLLA lunch was a cholesterolly-compromising, pulmonarily-dangerous experience. However, having chosen to live on the edge by renting a bike to get myself all the way in from Condado to Old San Juan, I found that I hadn’t put myself at as much risk as I had thought. By the time I’d biked all that way, a significant portion up TEDDY ROOSEVELT’S “SAN JUAN HILL,” I realized that eating a fried lechón plate with tostones and ensalada was the least of my health worries.

The Best Little Lunch Counter in Old San Juan

What thrilled that this joint had locally grown Puerto Rican O.J. Made from some seriously ugly fruit, the juice was out of this world. Almost bitter, like Sevilla jus de naranja, but sweet enough that 20 oz. was beyond plenty. And sheesh! I grew up with a dad who juiced oranges for all us kids, and made us eat all the pulp every morning. This is the house of plenty.

The hot sauce was clearly made in-house and not served from a clean bottle–after several more meals in PR, I realized that this was something of a “thing.” Each house here has its own hot sauce, as each ABUELA apparently has her own special take on “sofrito” A COOKING BASE that most PR dishes stem from. It was out of this world, making the deep-fried meat so much more palatable for this gringo. The whole meal was a pleasure because I knew I had to cycle back to Condado about three or more miles.

Just because, I decided to try the pistachio cake. Constantia was pleased I’d ordered this bundt cake, which is probably a house speciality. She smiled and in perfect English (though, Spanish was the language of the restaurant) said, “Enjoy, señor.”

It was a glutenous, heavenly treat with an icing I remember from childhood…I remember my mother used to have a name for that icing. What the hell was it? At any rate, this place thrives on the unique extras. Bags of PR oranges sit on the ground waiting to be juiced, bundt cakes sit in plastic covered containers, hot sauce sits unmarked and unannounced. But their flair makes the specialness of the place. It’s been operating since 1929, so it cannot be that bad, right?!