The country’s food scene begins with whole roasted pig.
So what is a lechonera? It is exactly what Cindy Price wrote in the New York Times, “A party with a pig.” How could it not be a party when you’ve got whole roasted pig and music?
For Puerto Ricans, a day trip to Guavate is a family affair. So, I packed our family into our rented Wrangler to head to cooler temps for a two-hour roadtrip south of San Juan. The ride was scenic and winding but the anticipation of the food—let’s just say it was airing on the side of warrior-like. After winding roads through the rain forest we were on what the locals call La Ruta de Lechón (Roast Pork Highway).
A handful of Spanish club songs, and one toddler nap later, we arrived at Lechonera Los Pinos, where Anthony Bourdain indulged for an episode of “No Reservations” on the Travel Channel. The restaurant was the busiest on the road, with live music, and a line-up spilling into the parking lot. Thank goodness, I thought to myself, this gives me enough time to figure out what I was going to order. However, in true Puerto Rican fashion the wait time was much longer, which forced me to meander over for a couple of cold Medallas—a local beer—while my husband patiently waited in line taking photos of whole pigs roasting on a spit.
Again, waiting, I met a woman from San Juan who corrected my pronunciation of Medalla, where the double-L sounds like the letter J. While I took note, I gave the typical tourist spiel and added that I was on the hunt for the best food in Puerto Rico. She reassured me that I was at the right place. Looking around she said, “It doesn’t look like much.” And yes, she was right. The place looked like a public park shelter. The kitchen was pretty much outside, with a couple of guys manning the pigs on the spit, and a couple of others taking orders behind a counter like at a food court. But there was a stage, and a live band, and diners—plenty of them—happy and carefree, cleaning their plates.
When I finally got my beer, I said my thanks and the lady bid her well-wishes. My husband was pretty much done ordering: 4 lbs of lechon, pigeon peas and rice, blood sausage, and plantains. I know, the order sounds kind of ridiculous, but to our defense we were also feeding two small mouths. The skin on the lechon was as crisp as the topping on crème brûlée. And the meat was so tender and succulent that my mouth is watering right now just writing about it. And the sides were the perfect complement to this pork goodness.
I looked around again, now feeling self-conscious about scarfing down all this food, but everyone else was doing the same. No apologies needed, I was doing it right. The children were dancing to the live music, as we ordered another round of Medallas, and we ate, took breaks for air, and ate. There was no concept of time. No worries. It poured for a few minutes and the wind changed direction giving us the much needed cool down spray on this humid day. Price was absolutely right when she wrote that a lechonera is a party with a pig. This was the way to enjoy a meal. This was the way to enjoy life. And these Puerto Ricans have always been doing it this way.
