Viva La Puerto Rico

By Chef Brian

Last year Joe and I had the opportunity to travel to Puerto Rico for their annual culinary festival, Saborea. They had to twist our arms. GE Monogram is the sponsor of the event which annually draws thousands of people from all over to sample Puerto Rico’s pork-centric cuisine. Now they do have many other wonderful culinary delights, but let’s just say that if their love of pork, and Joe’s and my love of pork were to arm wrestle, I’d give the nod to my new friends. And that hurts a little.

The plan was to attend the festival to experience the food and culture, then do a cooking demonstration on Saturday. The food at the festival was great and I think our demo went well too but we really got to experience Puerto Rico the following day. Sunday was a day to ourselves and we took full advantage of where we were. A trip to El Yunque, Puerto Rico’s rainforest, was spectacular with several stops along the way to sample the food from various roadside vendors. What I really wanted though, was lechon, aka pork. Roasted. On a spit. I found it in Guavate. A small area just south of San Juan, Guavate is famous for lechon. On weekends, the road is packed with cars, both driving and parked on the side, all with people vying to find a spot at one of the many roadside lechoneras. Take your pick as I imagine they are all bueno. Stand in line. For me the length of the line is in direct proportion to how good the lechon is. Grab some rice and enjoy. Next time I find myself heading to Puerto Rico I have been told by my wife and kids that it is a family trip as they have only looked on in disgust at the litany of photos I sent to them of the wonderful times I had in the “Rich Port.”