I’ve been wanting to try Puerto Rican food for a minute. I have a friend who’s from Puerto Rico, and I’ve been enamored by the culture. My dad decided that it would be good to take me out to try some Puerto Rican food. It would be my first time eating it, so that became our next adventure. My dad, Nicole, and I went out to a Puerto Rican restaurant on a Sunday afternoon.

For the appetizer, we order beef empanadas. They were really good. I could’ve had more of them. We then got a chicken appetizer, which had a good flavor. It reminded me of the chicken my aunt makes for dinner sometimes. For the main meal, I ordered a mofongo con camarones (mofongo with shrimp), which had garlic sauce on top. It was interesting, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. I didn’t really care for the mashed plantains. However, it did remind me of mashed potatoes. I did like the shrimp and thought that was good.

Do I regret trying the mofongo? Not at all. It felt really good to try something new. I loved that I got to taste one of the main Puerto Rican dishes. I think the reason I didn’t care for it was because of the plantains. I’m not really a fan of plantains. However, I still got the mofongo, because I wanted to get the cultural experience. Next time I go out for Puerto Rican food, I’m going to get something different. I know there’s a dish that I would enjoy.

Have you ever tried Puerto Rican cuisine?