Reflections on the food

Rice and beans--arroz and habichuelas--is a staple of the the Puerto Rican diet,and so is fried food. Vegetables and fruit--not plentiful. Plaintains are used in preparing many dishes. Coffee is an important part of life, and much business is conducted over a cup of coffee. Mojitos are the drink, made with rum and freshly muddled mint.

People tend to eat later in the evening here, and eating is more relaxed. In restaurants, it was not rushed. Servers were not in a hurry to turn over the tables to more customers.

There was much variety available with food from other cultures, so we did find our fruits and veggies. Domincan, Cuban, Mexican, Argentine, Italian, Chinese--we found all these options for mealtimes. Plus, McDonald's, Dominoes Pizza, Starbucks--all are here, as on the mainland.

Two of the best meals I had were found in the neighborhood around the university. One was at the food stand by the supermarket on Tuesday night, and the second one was when three of us ate dinner made by the family who owned the small mini-market across the street from the back gates of the school. We had met the family on Tuesday evening. She made mongo, a Dominican dish using mashed plaintain, and it was delicious.