Baked chicken – Restaurante Raices

Baked chicken Restaurante Raices
Baked chicken served with rice and beans and carrots. $8.95
Restaurante Raices, Old San Juan, PUERTO RICO

This chicken must have been marinating in a vat of soy sauce overnight because it was SO salty! And baked to the texture of a chew toy. This was part of our first meal in Puerto Rico so we were nervous that

Side salad Restaurante Raices
Complimentary side salad with lettuce, 1 tomato slice, a sprinkle of carrot gratings, and Thousand Island dressing. This salad is a perfect indicator of the quality of this restaurant. It’s sad.

Stray cat Old San Juan

Walking through Old San Juan, we found that there are stray cats EVERYWHERE! They even leave out food, water, and crates for them along the street and in the parks. We figured they must be sanctioned by the city for pest control.

Mofongo relleno de churrasco – Restaurante Raices

Mofongo relleno de churrasco Restaurante Raices

Mashed green plantains stuffed with skirt steak. $18.95
Restaurante Raices, Old San Juan, PUERTO RICO

Mofongo is a local dish of Puerto Rico that has been featured in many food shows including “No Reservations”. So of course I had to try it! I’m so disappointed that I tried it at this super sucky restaurant. The mashed plantains were ok, but I couldn’t get past the super hard and dry pieces of skirt steak. For $19 during lunch, you’d expect better quality.

Chimichurri Restaurante Raices
Chimichurri sauce for the steak. Even though the menu clearly states that this sauce is to accompany the mofongo, it never arrived so I had to wait another 15 minutes after requesting it. Totally lame!

Raices Fountain
Raices (Roots) Fountain along the Paseo de la Princesa. This beautiful fountain marks the start of the waterfront portion of the Paseo de la Princesa. Bring plenty of water if you plan on walking this path on a hot day because it dead ends, so you’ll have to walk the same way back.