The first thing you should know about Puerto Rico's pork highway is that it almost doesn't exist at all. This is hard to believe after seeing both Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern salivate so much they needed to rehydrate intravenously, but it's true.
In the city, there are Popeye's Chicken and Burger Kings as far as the eye can see. Wendy's, Applebee's, and Outback Steakhouse were no problem to find, same with high quality but non-Puerto Rican restaurants you can get back home(i.e. "should we get Mexican tonight, or Italian? Ooh, maybe sushi??") but local food places were nowhere to be found.
The coffee of Puerto Rico is supposed to be something of legend. It's so good, say the guide books, that it's almost impossible to buy off the island because the locals drink it all. Well in San Juan, we couldn't get Puerto Rican coffee - not because it was all taken, but because no one knew what they were serving.
Thankfully, we had a trusty steed we'd nicknamed Charlie. It was a Hyundai Brio that was capable of getting us out of the city, and back to the places where authentic food still existed. If you want to get to any authentic, local food - and especially the Pork Highway - you're going to need a set of wheels.
In general, to find the real deal you're going to have to get off the main highways and onto the serious mountain roads. If you're lost, have motion sickness, and have nearly driven off a mountain, you'll find some authentic food. Luckily, the Pork Highway is much easier to get to than other authentic foods.
Look on the map for the town of Guavate, but please realize that this isn't your goal. Your goal is the Pork Highway, and that is highway 184 that leads to Guavate. There are lechoneras (pork stands) all along highway 184.
Just take highway 52 to 184 and immediately after exiting 52 you'll be drenched in the smell of roasting pig. Just pull over at any building with a pig on a metal spit and you've found your place to have lunch.
Now that you've arrived at your destination, you just have to order up some pork. Tell them at the counter how many pounds you'd like, and they'll get you a wide assortment of different parts of the pig to enjoy. After that, just get a tall, cold refreshment, and enjoy.
In the city, there are Popeye's Chicken and Burger Kings as far as the eye can see. Wendy's, Applebee's, and Outback Steakhouse were no problem to find, same with high quality but non-Puerto Rican restaurants you can get back home(i.e. "should we get Mexican tonight, or Italian? Ooh, maybe sushi??") but local food places were nowhere to be found.
The coffee of Puerto Rico is supposed to be something of legend. It's so good, say the guide books, that it's almost impossible to buy off the island because the locals drink it all. Well in San Juan, we couldn't get Puerto Rican coffee - not because it was all taken, but because no one knew what they were serving.
Thankfully, we had a trusty steed we'd nicknamed Charlie. It was a Hyundai Brio that was capable of getting us out of the city, and back to the places where authentic food still existed. If you want to get to any authentic, local food - and especially the Pork Highway - you're going to need a set of wheels.
In general, to find the real deal you're going to have to get off the main highways and onto the serious mountain roads. If you're lost, have motion sickness, and have nearly driven off a mountain, you'll find some authentic food. Luckily, the Pork Highway is much easier to get to than other authentic foods.
Look on the map for the town of Guavate, but please realize that this isn't your goal. Your goal is the Pork Highway, and that is highway 184 that leads to Guavate. There are lechoneras (pork stands) all along highway 184.
Just take highway 52 to 184 and immediately after exiting 52 you'll be drenched in the smell of roasting pig. Just pull over at any building with a pig on a metal spit and you've found your place to have lunch.
Now that you've arrived at your destination, you just have to order up some pork. Tell them at the counter how many pounds you'd like, and they'll get you a wide assortment of different parts of the pig to enjoy. After that, just get a tall, cold refreshment, and enjoy.
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