Day trip: PLAZA DEL MERCADO

Half a year after moving to Puerto Rico, I finally decided to check out the Plaza del Mercado in Santurce.  Built in 1910, the market used to have two floors with the ground floor used for offices and ticket sellers and the upper floor for vendors of produce and butchers.  In later years, the second floor was removed and what remains now is just the main floor with several fruit and vegetable stalls, mostly selling bananas, plantains, yucca, sweet potatoes, chilies and chinas, the local oranges and the extra-large light-green skinned local avocados.  There is also a stall with hats and cigars for sale and a tiny souvenir shop off to one corner.  The butcher is now located outside the Plaza on the adjacent strip of la placita (small plaza or town square).

At sunset, la placita becomes a lively hangout for locals and tourists with the nearby bars and restaurants lining the side streets open and set up tables outside and live music blaring onto the square.  Closer to midnight, the street becomes livelier when the locals and tourists start to relax after several rum concoctions and impromptu salsa dancing takes place.  We went late in the morning, explored a bit then had a lovely lunch at nearby Santaella, one of our favorite San Juan restaurants, and by 3:00 p.m. we were headed back home to Dorado.

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Plaza del Mercado
Santurce, Puerto Rico
*Open Mondays to Saturdays from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Sundays from 6:00 a.m. to 12 noon
*Bars and restaurants on La Placita open in the evenings till very late.

SANTAELLA

On a weekday evening we headed to San Juan where we were meeting up with some friends of friends for dinner at a newish restaurant which opened in mid-2011 in Santurce near the market.  Santaella is the well-designed space with rough concrete walls, funky string lights, antique tiled floors and a pocket tropical garden lining one wall.  Jose Santaella was a well-known gourmet caterer on the island before he ventured into the restaurant business and has many years of experience and training abroad.  He is also a well-recognized chef for his use of local ingredients and modern interpretation of Caribbean criolla cuisine.

After a half hour drive from Dorado where we meticulously followed our GPS's guiding voice, we made it to Calle Canals where we walked into a packed restaurant with several people waiting to be seated at the bar.  The friends we were meeting up with hadn't arrived yet so we sat at the bar and watched the crowd.  Soon after, N and A arrived and we were led to our table.  As this was our first time at Santaella, N decided to order several plates to share from the menu.

The starters were typical Caribbean deep-fried bites:  classic grouper fritters, flaky fish covered in a crispy batter with a roasted red pepper dip on the side, empanadas or turnovers filled with ground beef, bread-crumbed veal chops you just pick up and eat off the bone and an arugula salad.  We enjoyed all these with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.  The appetizers were quite good and despite the fact that all were deep-fried, none of them were oily.  We then shared a lentil salad topped with a round of goat's cheese which came with a mini-baguette.  The salad was delicious - creamy green lentils tossed in a honey mustard vinaigrette and perfectly complemented by the hunk of warm goat's cheese.

When we finished our main course, chef Santaella came over to say hello and asked us how our dinner was which was a nice touch.  We shared two desserts afterwards: a crispy layered Nutella-filled pancake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a fruit cobbler - baked peaches and strawberries with a dollop of thick sour cream.  The meal ended with fresh mint tea for everyone but A who had his usual espresso.  It was our first dinner out in the city, one of many more to come, and we were impressed with the lively atmosphere and sophisticated crowd at Santaella.  Wonder which restaurant we'll go to next?

P.D. May 28, 2012

We've been back to Santaella for dinner on a busy Friday evening and were still impressed with the efficient service and fantastic food.  It's a must-do restaurant in San Juan and has become our favorite.

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Santaella

219 Calle Canals

Plaza del Mercado Santurce

San Juan, PR 00907

Tel: +1 (787) 725-1611

*Open for lunch Monday to Friday 11:00a m-3:00 pm, Dinner Wednesday to Saturday 6:30-11:30 pm

*Valet parking offered but also two nearby self-park buildings