McDonald's Prices

My morning usually starts with a quick stop at McDonald's for my morning Coke and an egg McMuffin, usually $4.36 (tax) at my neighborhood McD's. That's $2.48 for the sandwich and $1.59 for my medium coke. This week I did my usual stop and it was $4.37, now my sandwich is $2.49. Inflation I thought, the economy, everyone has to make a penny.

Today I went to the McDonald's in my old neighborhood and surprise!, my regular meal was $4.04, my sandwich was $2.19 at my old McDonald's. That's a 30 cents difference, and the restaurants are 4 miles apart! Granted, it is not worth it for me to drive every morning to my old neighborhood to save 30 cents, and I understand the difference between franchise owned vs. corporate owned, but 30 cents it's a little steep. I'm just saying...

Where not to eat while in Old San Juan, PR

On recent blogs I’ve been letting you know about one of my favorite restaurants in Old San Juan, Raices. Now I am going to let you now were not to eat while in Old San Juan.

During a recent visit I had the opportunity to eat at Marisqueria Atlantica (Atlantic Seafood) #7 Calle Lugo Vinas, Puerta de Tierra, Old San Juan. The restaurant has been in this location longer than I can remember, however, this was my first visit. Marisqueria Atlantica has an old style “steakhouse” feel to it, but it is a seafood restaurant. The waiting staff is all male, which in this day and age it’s inconceivable; I don’t care what asinine law or statute the Puerto Rican government has created to exempt this establishment from not observing EEOC rules.

We ordered oysters, paella, fish and steak; yes someone ordered steak at a seafood restaurant, but that’s another blog. The oysters were not fresh, the cocktail sauce was bitter, and the Tabasco sauce was vinegary. In reality you can get better oysters from a cart on the side of the road in Boqueron, PR. The paella had good flavor, but it was mostly rice and no seafood, and the rice was under cooked. I can’t tell you were to get good paella in PR, but Miami has several places that you can get paella at a much reasonable price. The fish was good and fresh; the steak, well I don’t think my dogs would have eaten it. So overall the service, which was awful, and the food quality do not justify the price range of most dishes. When visiting PR and craving seafood, take a drive to where the fresh seafood is, places like Cabo Rojo, Aguadilla, Salinas, Ponce, Fajardo, and stay away of Marisqueria Atlantica.

However, if a friend insists on taking you there, take the ride and once you are there walk to El Hamburger, which is another local institution, you will enjoy it.

My tweep petpal @JimmyTerrorist

@JimmyTerrorist is a Boston Terrier and one of my Twitter tweeps, you can follow "him" on twitter.com/JimmyTerrorist Jimmy also has his own webpage at: http://www.dogster.com/dogs/633940 and he will tell you that "bitches love him" and I love him too. Jimmy amuses my days with his 'terrorist drive by' updates, his disdain for squirrels and "nakkid homanz" followers on Twitter, and his endless need to pee, dig and beg for cookies. He is also very sweet and will shower you with *snorts and smoochies*

Jimmy's use of the English language is quite creative and he has many petpals and "hoomanz" followers on Twitter. I imagine that Jimmy's human soul is a teenager that has a great respect for his/her mom who is a Veterinarian. But maybe I am wrong.

Like Jimmy's human soul there are many in Twitter, people that take the time and have the creativity to see life through their pets mind and point of view and share it with the world. They are able to capture the essence of their Boston Terrier soul's and express it in words.

I've had three Boston Terriers; Max, Megan and Molly and I see a little bit of each of them in @JimmyTerrorist and his updates warm my soul.

Mojitos and more...

My search for good mojitos has led me to learn a bit more about the Mojito History and I found its history as refreshing as the drink. Whether it originated from pirates, slaves, or at La Bodeguita del Medio, today we have a refreshing cocktail that entices even those that are not avid drinkers. Well it also entices those that were avid drinkers too, Ernest Hemingway was a big fan of the drink.

In October 2008 I was on one of my weekend trips to PR and a good friend took me to dinner at Raices in Old San Juan, that's where it all started for me. I looked at the menu and I saw they had a drink called Mojito Enamorao' (Mojito in Love), my first thought was "leave it to my fellow puerto ricans to alter a well known Cuban Drink", I asked the waiter what exactly was a Mojito Enamorao and he explained to me that it had Passion fruit juice in it. It made perfect sense to me, and since I love passion fruit juice, I decided to try it. It was utterly delicious, and from that day on I've been hooked. Upon my return to Miami I decided to drink Mojitos every time I have the chance. Thus far I have found good Mojitos in quite a few places; Mojito's Restaurant at the Dolphin Mall is a good start for newbies, the traditional Mojito is very good and you get to keep the souvenir glass if you wish, since the drink is so big you probably only have one. They have a variety of Mojitos but I prefer the traditional version.

I was pleasantly surprised that Bucca di Beppo a family style Italian Restaurant has a really good Lemon Basil Mojito. Bucca is a nationwide chain the drink appears to be standard in their menu but I can only attest for the bartenders in Davie and Miami Lakes, FL.

Dan Marino's Restaurant at Sunset Place as well as Jake's the Gastropub both in South Miami have pretty good Mojitos, but I have to do further research on that as I have a theory that it depends on the bartender. I will keep you posted...

Raices Old San Juan

I recently returned from another trip to PR, as usual one of my stops was at Raices in Old San Juan and once again I was not disappointed. During my trip I was with some friends from FL, meeting some friends that were traveling from TX, and some of my high school friends. My goal was to introduce them to Raices fabulous Mojito Enamorao (passion fruit mojito), by far the best passion fruit mojito in PR and in the US. I particularly enjoy my mojito in a cacharrita (tin can), which goes against all bar-tending rules but it really adds to the ambiance of " puerto rican countryside" (campo) that Raices exudes. Its hard to stay on your seat when the waitresses and waiters come around with their panderos and sing to the rhythm of plena, which also add a little bit of "cultural spice" to the place.

The food excellent as usual, we ordered the Festival Tipico as appetizer since our mission this time was mainly to concentrate on the mojitos. However, I can recommend the Tornado, Chuletas Khan Khan (pork chops) and the mofongo, and the plantain soup. In reading some of the postings in Trip Advisor someone commented that chuletas khan khan where fried. Seriously, that's what chuletas are all about. I suggest that when looking at the menu and deciding what to eat, ask the waiters and waitresses for ideas.

I was very happy to learn that they are expanding their location, this will help with the long wait. I had the opportunity to have a private tour of the expansion and believe me it going to be awesome. I can wait to be back and introduce more friends to Raices Mojito Enamorao and the great food, service and ambiance the place has to offer.

Tullah and Molly update

Tullah and Molly are getting along great and they are absolutely funny together! Here are some pictures to document their progress. There has been significant improvement, they play together, even when I am watching them, once in a while I find them sleeping together on a throw rug. Something have stayed the same, Molly still rules at fetching, it is obvious Tullah was built for comfort not speed. I guess in that sense she's just like her owner!

Mojitos: why the fascination??

After a nice evening with friends and following their encouragement I have decided to share my quest for good Mojitos with the world. I am not sure when or where my fascination with this tropical drink started, after all I've never been a rum drinker.

Actually I really used to dislike rum, maybe because I learned to make a mean rum and coke by age five, not by choice but because that was my father's drink of choice and he always asked me to fix them for him. Growing up in Puerto Rico you are exposed to rum, you get used to the smell of the sugar cane, driving through Arecibo and Camuy by the Palo Viejo, Ron Llave and Ron Granado distillery, or the small Barrilito destillery in my hometown of Bayamon, or the view of Bacardi in Catano, and the king of all Puerto Rican rums Ron Don Q from Ponce, PR and the Serralles family. Growing up in Puerto Rico you learn to be loyal to the Pina Colada, but even with the large number of Cubans in the island, I never heard of Mojitos.

Even after living in Miami for many years, I never heard of Mojitos until the late 90's at a family gathering, an even then I did not try it, because I didn't like rum!!

I think Mojito's became popular in Miami, with the advent of trendy South Beach, maybe it was the movie The Mambo Kings, maybe it was the Estefan's they made everything trendy and the opened Lario's Cuban Restaurant is South Beach, I am not sure and it really does not matter.

What matters is how, when, and why the Mojito has become my drink of choice, and it all started with a caipirinha, who knew! A good friend introduced me to Caipirinhas, the official cocktail of Brazil, with cachaca, sugar and lime. I loved it, and she mentioned that basically the Caipirinha was the Brazilian version of a Mojito, seriously she said that. In reality, it is not the Brazilian version of the Mojito, but it did peaked my curiosity about the Cuban drink.