Cooking Good
An Afternoon in Loiza at La Terraza
Pionono. Pastelon. Different barrios in Puerto Rico have different names for the delicacy. And while, like the name, recipes vary, the common components are ground beef and peas, wrapped in a crust of fried sweet plantains. It was one of my father’s favorite foods growing up, and now, whenever I find myself in Area Metro, I have to make a trip to Paseo Pinones in Loiza to find me one.
Bacalaitos, empanadillas, alcapurrias, these make up just a portion of the staple of Puerto Rican cuisine know as fritura.
Loiza is special. It is down-home and authentic in a way that is becoming harder to find in the age of boutique eateries and bistros. When you arrive at Pinones, a strip of open-air restaurants and food stalls known for some of the best cooking on the island, a sign greets you: Welcome to Loiza. The Capital of Tradition.
Pionono!!!! Fritura is fried foods stuffed with meat or seafood that you eat with your hands. It's amazing and rarely does it get better than in Piñones.
As you enter, the smell of smoke and cooked meats fills your nostrils. You see the fires going beneath the big, black calderos. Families crowd together on the restaurant benches or sink balls at the pool tables. Children run back and forth from the lagoon that skirts the strip. It’s as unpretentious a place as you can find, anywhere on the island.
A hefty supply of firewood to supply the demand for pinchos, grilled meat skewers. At left, a woman attends to a hungry customer. Along with great food and great vibes, Loiza is the cradle of African culture on the island. The cuisine served here speaks to that as do the people who call it home
The Terraza is located at the far end of Pinones and I just can’t contain myself. I don’t stop at just a pionono. I order a bacalaito and an alcapurria, sit down and stuff my face.
Fried goodness.
Every bite is crispy deliciousness and the sea breeze rolling in across the lagoon provides relief from the heat, no beer necessary. For ten dollars I eat and end up so full that dinner is an afterthought. Loiza never lets me down. And the views not bad either.
The lagoon at Piñones