Tuesday, Feb 14, 2006
Well, er, the little White House. Well, um, La Casita Blanca. Hope that got your attention (and the NSA's...you listenin' fellas?)
Tomorrow we leave this island and fly back to the frozen north. We hear it will be in the 50's though so I guess we planned this trip just right: left before the blizzard; returned with moderating temperatures (as they like to say in the trade).
This being our last full day in Puerto Rico, we got tired of lying around doing nothing. Stacey and I decided to see some more local spots. I was intrigued by a restaurant called La Casita Blanca that our guest house host, Esteban, had told us about. It was in the neighborhood called El Barrio Obrero - the Worker's Barrio. "Why is it called that?" I wanted to know. "Well, it's always been a working class neighborhood and so they named it that to reflect its heritage. And it has a great Puerto Rican restaurant there. Even though it's in a regular neighborhood, all the politicans go there, including the Governor and the Mayor. They know good, home-cooked food when they eat it and that's the place to find it." Oh, OK. That sounded good. We were going to go there last night but when I called to make reservations they told me that during the week they close at 5 o'clock. So we ended up at the fancier (and expensiver) Ajili-Mojili instead.
Taking a taxi (a la The Ritz) would cost us at least 40 dollars round trip. That was a bit incongruous seeing that we were going to lunch in the Worker's Barrio at an inexpensive ristorante tÃpico. We decided to take our old friend, the A5 bus. The stop was right in front of the hotel. The bus came and it was packed to capacity, or so it seemed, with people on their way ... where? Nevertheless, we made our way on with another six people waiting with us, paid our 75 cents and asked to driver to please announce when we approaching Calle Tapia. From there we would walk uphill several blocks to the restaurant.
My friend, Gail, told me recently that when she was 18 and travelled to Puerto Rico she would board a bus and take it to the last stop. Didn't matter where it was going. That was how she got to meet people and seek out different places. And, indeed, the bus ride was a wonderful experience as the bus was filled with a fabulous melange of people: young, old, black, white, tourists, locals, etc. One thing we were thankful for though: it was air conditioned. A nice thing to have on a crowded bus in 85 degree weather.
The A5 arrives but it's so crowded that we debated boarding. We did, along with six others who had been waiting with us.
A fabulous mix of people on our crowded bus. So glad we avoided the taxi.
I thought for sure that the driver would not remember to announce our stop. I was wrong. We had a map and knew approximately where to get off (it was near our old guest house of several days ago and we knew the neighborhood ... sort of). I was wrong. Amidst all the crowding, the chaos, the entering and leaving, his voice rang out loud and clear: "Calle Tapia." I gave him a hearty "muchas gracias", upon leaving and reflected on just how gracious and friendly we have found the people of Puerto Rico to be. On second reflection, most people are nice everywhere you go - just be nice to them. They're always nice back.
We walked up hill through this working-class neighborhood. The houses were neat and taken care of. It was clear that wealthy peple did not live here. Not even what we would call "middle-class" in the States. But the houses were well taken care of and there was definitely a pride-of-ownership reflected in home after home as we walked along.
Finally we arrived at La Casita. This was an adorable place and we were immediately glad that we were having lunch here instead of eating $14 hamburgers at the Ritz's pool.
Our destination!
We waited for a few minutes in this front room before being seated on a side porch. There were several rooms, a garden and a terrace upstairs as well.
Waiting for us at our table were some cod fritters, garlic bread and two hot cups of homemade chicken soup (which I have come to love). A chalk-board menu was placed alongside our table and a nice, young waiter offered some translation (my Spanish is pretty good but not when it comes to the name of various dishes).
The Blogger gets some of his favorite Puerto Rican chicken soup (and it's on the house - gratis!)
A Valentine's Day toast at La Casita Blanca.
The lunch menu. Stacey had Salmonejo Juyes (a crab concoction that was out of this world). I had Camarones a la Criolla (Shrimp Creole) that was also very good. Served with beans, rice with squid, fried plantains, etc., etc., and Oy Vey!
Enjoying the good life at the Little White House.
We had a great lunch at La Casita Blanca. Better than that, the experience reinforced the old adage: when you travel you have get out and meet the people, else you're wasting your time. In other words, the beach, the pool, the hotel, great weather -- nice. Taking a bus with a hundred other San Juaneros and eating at one of their cherished restaurants -- priceless!••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
In my next post - Rachel's birthday party. Our last night in San Juan.
