Hotel food. I mostly hate it. Some of it is good, but to me, it is mostly over-priced and not very tasty. About four years ago, I happened to be in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and sat down for dinner, at a hotel restaurant. When the waitress brought me menu, having eaten there before, I noticed that a dish was missing. I called her back to the table and asked, “Where are the empanadas?”
I was staying at a resort hotel, on San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Isla Verde area, located along the beaches of the Island’s north coast. “I’m sorry sir, but we no longer carry them on the menu,” she answered.
“That’s too bad. They were okay,” I said and tossed the menu onto the table. The waitress laughed and then looked around. She leaned down and whispered in my ear, “You know señor if you want the best empanadillas on the island you should go to Piñones.”
“Piñones, huh? Can you recommend a restaurant in this Piñones?”
Again she laughed. “It’s not like eating here in the resort area. Just go, you will see what I mean. ”
I was hesitant to leave the tourist area. I had heard stories about some of the tougher areas in San Juan and I normally didn’t make it a habit to venture too far from the hotels. So, I said to her, “just bring me something that you think is good.”
“Senor,” she said, “the empanadillas are good. And they’re in Piñones. Sometimes, if you want good things, you have risk it and venture off the beaten path.”
Her words moved me. So I thanked her and left the restaurant and went to my rental car. I left the hotel and headed down Highway 187 toward Piñones.
The Piñones region is just east of San Juan and connects the larger San Juan metropolitan area with a small town called Loiza. It was later in the day and the setting sun behind me created a wonderful brilliance on the sandy beaches to my left. The surf was beginning to pick up and as waves crashed to shore the watery mist intermingled perfectly with the glow from the setting sun and created a remarkable vista. To my right, lining the other side of highway were plush mango groves and towering palm trees. It was a quiet, relaxing and comfortable evening drive. The scenery alone was worth trip. The hypnotic affect it had on me almost made me forget my original purpose for making the drive until I came upon a group of small stands and kiosks, lining both sides of the highway, many cooking food over open flames.
Good Things Can Sometimes Be Found Off The Beaten Path
I then understood what the waitress meant when she said the area wasn’t like the tourist district. I had my choice of eateries. They were everywhere and they were all serving deep fried Puerto Rican delicacies. I pulled over to take advantage of the fare and for the next 30 minutes I was treated to a barrage of mouth watering, deep fried dishes with names such as alcapurrias, bacalaítos, pasteles, and of course empanadas. I topped my meal off with a refreshing, non-alcoholic Piña Colada (although the proprietor did offer me a little rum!). And all of this cost me just ten bucks.
Sometimes fear stops us from being adventurous . We listen to words from others, and may find that their advice is nothing more than them passing their fears on to us. When this happens, we miss so much in life. In travel, the trip becomes nothing more than an itinerary nightmares. This doesn’t suggest that we should be irresponsible and replace common sense and safety with foolhardiness. What I am saying though, is that with the proper investigation, you will find a beautiful world that you may have been missing because of fear.
So the next time you are vacationing, try a little local flavor on for size. And if you happen to be in San Juan, visit those fine proprietors on along Highway 187 in Piñones, and try some of their deep-fried fare. You’ll be glad you did, because sometimes, good things can be found, off the beaten path.
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