Vegan day 166: Don Coqui
I can hear just about every Puerto Rican friend I know saying.. “what the hell are you doing trying to eat vegan in a Puerto Rican restaurant?” .. “We don’t do vegan.. everything revolves around meat!”
Many cultures think and are probably correct in thinking that their meals and celebrations are built upon the culinary design of meat and animal products. I think for sure that Americans with their Standard American Diet (SAD) take that concept to an even more extreme level- forgetting to balance everything out, omitting fresh health vegetables and practicing OVER INDULGENCE on the processed part of that. MASS factory farming of animals is not what many cultures started with – many many years ago. In any case, within all cultures many have found ways to balance out the animal products, eat more plant based and even become vegetarians or vegans. There are many books on Latin vegetarian cooking even one of my favorites: VIVA VEGAN by Terry Hope Romero.
I could have survived very happily eating VEGAN in a Puerto Rican restaurant! Let’s be real.. yucca, potatoes, corn, tortilla, arepas, fresh vegetables, beans, maduros, tostones, avocado, guacamole … oh my.. really?.. the list goes on and on!!!!!
What did they have to offer? The one thing I hate most
… a mound of white rice!
Honestly, they gave me enough rice to feed 2 whole families of four. That’s such a waste of so-called food! AND I SAID NO RICE! Wait.. it wasn’t just rice.. it was rice with a few microwaved pieces of zucchini topped with some canned peas! My friends who weren’t hysterically laughing at me.. slowly passed me beautiful pieces of grilled zucchini and squash that they were served as side dishes on their regular choices of “food”. I guess I was throwing out some energy even though I was trying to keep my cool.
ok so .. quick story!
It’s my darling friend’s birthday! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.. nor do I care about the party price per person. I would pay whatever the amount to sit there, socialize and eat nothing. Anyway, I call ahead.. because why not? I am pretty much a vegan blogger at this point! I ask about vegetarian options or maybe I even said the V WORD.. VEGAN! lol The woman who answered the phone said “oh we do this wonderful vegetarian dish with peas, zucchini, squash and so on.” She says, “I’m VEGAN and I eat it all the time.” WHAT A LIAR!!!!!!! I knew it when she said it.. I have that 6th sense sometimes. I knew she was just saying that and uses that line every time a pain-in-the-ass vegetarian or vegan like myself calls lol. I do know I’m high maintenance – just for the record! No need to make up stories- just say NO- we cannot help you out!
No respectable vegan would be happy with that dish unless they LOVE RICE– MOUNDS OF IT!!!! Paella would have been better. A more creative paella I should say. Actually Don Coqui… for such an otherwise fabulous place.. here are some recommendations for your future veggie friends who want to go for the amazing music, energy and vibe:
No respectable vegan would be happy with that dish unless they LOVE RICE– MOUNDS OF IT!!!! Paella would have been better. A more creative paella I should say. Actually Don Coqui… for such an otherwise fabulous place.. here are some recommendations for your future veggie friends who want to go for the amazing music, energy and vibe:
- Maduros, yucca, red beans- side of guacamole
- Kidney Beans, corn on the cob, sliced zucchini and squash
- Ensalada with black beans, corn and avocado
- Tostones, mango salsa, beans and vegetable
- Potato, peas, carrots and mixed beans
It actually looks good in the picture. One mix with a fork and all those vegetables got lost in the rice. I don’t eat white rice or white rice made yellow with MSG flavorings or colorings. I couldn’t even eat the vegetables because the rice was literally stuck to each piece.. hmmm… butter?
I can get bitchy when not fed properly lol. However, I must and will admit that the place is amazing- DON COQUI has a great energy! This is a well-organized party and event machine. They have a huge dance floor, a salsa band, lots of servers, great atmosphere, plenty of bars, loud music, lots of festivity– the only thing missing was someone cutting a wedding cake. Actually- it’s a great place for a wedding!
…hmmm to the boyfriend of my darling close birthday friend.. when are we going to hear wedding bells?
Disclaimer: The information given here is for educational purposes only. You should not use this to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.
Disclaimer: The information given here is for educational purposes only. You should not use this to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.
[Thursday June 14th 2012 blog]
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