La Ó Pizza & Tapas

Walking through the beautiful cobblestone streets, one often stumbles upon a gem of a restaurant and thanks the pre-Colonial gods for the culinary magic one is about to partake in.

But that didn’t happen to me- nope… not at allnot this time! This time, Eduardo, my friend and manager of La O set me up to do a classic “H. Luiz Gastro Tour” with the ne restaurant.

Eduardo knew that I would be in town and that I would be passing through Old San Juan at some point- as I often do. When I travel to Puerto Rico, I stay in San Juan- either in Carolina or San Juan (the Condado Area). Both Towns are located about 20 minutes from Viejo San Juan.

I just had enough time to do a mini-Gastro Tour sandwiched between two events I already had going on in Viejo San Juan. I was given a menu and was asked what I would like. I responded that my Gastro-Tour doesn’t work like that. The chef usually brings out 5 small sampling dishes of beef, chicken, seafood, vegan and dessert tastings. The goal is that we want travelers, “bride & grooms to be” and those celebrating special events to see just what the Chef can do and what can the restaurant offer.

“Nooooo- that’s not how this works.”

Then they said that they were not setup to cater weddings and that they do not cater at hotels for events AND didn’t I say that I was pressed for time and so I suggest a mini-Gastro Tour? Well, if they were going to put it that way, then yes- I guess!

Finally, we decided to just let the Chef come up with what he believed were the best dishes the restaurant has to offer. I begged them to please portion size because I didn’t want to get too full, just give me a sampling size. They responded with “Of Course!” The very next day, out came the PLATTERS!

As soon as I sat down, I was kindly asked which cocktail would I like. Cocktail? What did he mean?

“It’s early. Actually, it’s 1pm,” I said.

“Oh- then Sangria it is.” And he scurried away.

He returned with a goblet of classic Sangria. It was not too sweet and you can taste the fruit that was blended so well with the notes of the red wine. It was delicious! I liked the dehydrated lime slice too. It reminded me of my Christmas tree, jajajaja!

The octopus (pulpo) was nothing but perfection. The tamarind glaze underneath complimented the herbs that were grilled right into the pulpo. A squeeze of lime later, I was Heaven.

The texture was like butter, pulpo can be rubbery when overcooked, but not this glorious piece of seafood. It may have been the best thing I’ve eaten on this media trip to Puerto Rico. These beautiful croquettes are mushroom caps stuffed with a smokey chorizo and gorgonzola cheese. Underneath, was a bed of crisp onion bits and on top, that delicious cilantro-garlic aioli.

I normally comment that how on these Gastro-Tours, they serve large amounts of foods, even if I over-state that it should be small sample servings. However, I wish they sent me more of these stuffed mushrooms.

This beautiful piece of grouper was grilled with herbs and a butter glasse- so delicious! The grilled grouper is served atop of their saffron risotto and a tangy tamarind drizzle on the side of the plate. This heavenly dish is a winner!

I was so happy to see the Lamb ribs. I have a thing with lamb chops- I tend to order them whenever I see them. This time, they magically appeared!.

The beautifully cooked lamb ribs were served with rosemary and garlic on a cloud of well seasoned whipped potatoes. The drizzle of sauce on the side of the plate should be bottled ASAP.

The Garlic Shrimp were really out of this world. They were served with a not tooheavy cilantro and garlic aioli.

Underneath, their very tasty homemade pita rounds- so light and crisp!

These shrimp tapas are a must-have! When I return to Puerto Rico soon, no doubt I will venture to Viejo San Juanthese shrimp alone are enough to make me return to La O’.