Mother’s Day is just around the corner and of course, we all want to find that perfect gift for the most important woman in our lives. With that perfect gift, nothing goes better than a perfect meal. Here we have plenty of options that would be the ideal complement to a flawless Mother’s Day.
Puerto Rico has many things to offer, amazing beaches, beautiful people and of course, delicious food. Our first recommendation is Café el Punto, which is located in Calle Fortaleza in Old San Juan. This little restaurant is owned by a lovely couple, local Desiree and her sorta-rican husband from Chile, Alejandro. They both are committed to locally source fresh ingredients. There you can try the delicious alcapurria, which is a local fritter. You can have this delicious fritter with pique (local speak for hot sauce) which is made there and the owner’s own recipe. While you enjoy your delicious alcapurria, you can marvel at the many Vejigante masks. These crazy, colorful and sometimes scary masks.
We started with salty, now let’s get mom some sweets. Casa Cortés ChocoBar is the perfect place to get some chocolate related sweets that everybody (specially mom) is going to love! Located in Calle San Francisco, this lovely restaurant has a display with artisanal chocolates that have different fillings and cacao percentages. The Cortés family has been cultivating cocoa since the 1920’s. Recently one of the Cortés brothers, Eduardo, embarked on a project to harvest locally in parts of the west coast of PR. This family, besides being chocolate lovers, are die hard lovers of fine art. In the upper stories of the restaurant is a gallery that holds the families’ personal Caribbean art collection. So, go on, eat a chocolate and take mom to see some beautiful art!
This lovely piece of Dutch/French paradise not only has some dazzling beaches, but they also have some very dedicated cheese lovers. Amsterdam Cheese and Liquor Store, a family owned operation since 2013. The main cheese in the shop, is Gouda cheese, a Dutch yellow cheese made from cow’s milk. And when getting a cheese in this store, you can rest assured that you are buying a quality cheese. Family patriarch Michael Roger is an old pro at importing goods from the Netherlands. The Amsterdam Cheese and Liquor Store is a little piece of Holland in the middle of the Caribbean. A must if you are visiting the island, hey, and mom is going to love the perfect pairing of cheese and wine.
Now, you can’t say you visited the Caribbean without having some creole food. For that, you have to visit Sky’s the Limit. Creole cuisine basically is a fusion or combo of 3 regions: African, Amerindian and European. The restaurant is run by husband and wife team Emille and Jacqueline, and it’s been in business since 2003. We recommend this restaurant not only because of the food, but because of the philosophy of the owner’s: all is made from scratch and plenty of love. So, tap on your adventurous side, eat some exotic creole food and share some love with mom.
In the beautiful St. Thomas we got a very special spot for you. Our next restaurant recommendation, the Side Street Pub. This spot is now owned by Chuck and Kim who moved here just a short time ago from the U.S. They decided to take a chance on a new life in the Caribbean, and they bought the pub online before even visiting the island. The risk pay off, and they couldn’t be happier. To reflect their newfound happiness in life, they created this insanely delicious cocktail: The Painkiller. That’s pretty much the tropics in one glass. It’s something you don’t want to miss.
Our last recommendation? Glady’s Café, which is named after Glady’s herself. Here you can have some great curry, that believe it or not is a typical part of the local cuisine. Think of the Caribbean as a huge mixing pot of deliciousness, that have a touch of many different countries around the world. Common ingredients you’ll find on all the islands include: rice, beans, cassava (root vegetable), sweet potato, cilantro, coconut and yes, the before mentioned curry.
If you are here, visiting one of our three lovely locations, you’ll have a great spot to dine, celebrate and shower mom with all the love, food and drinks she deserves. Happy Mother’s Day!
If you are interest in taking your mom to a fun and knowledgable tour with more tastings we suggest experiencing our tours in…
San Juan, St Martin & St Thomas
We have many choices to offer during this special occasion!
Best,
Flavors Team
