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Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern in Puerto Rico

Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern in Puerto Rico

A couple of months ago the Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern visited the island of Puerto Rico to film an episode for the current series.

On June 9, 2009 at 10pm EST you can see Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern in Puerto Rico on the Travel Channel.

On his tour of Puerto Rico Andrew, discovers the flavors and history of the island; ‘from the deep-fried treats brought in by Africans to the roasted pork made popular by the Spanish’.

So where did Andrew go on his culinary tour of Puerto Rico?

Old San Juan
Here he visited one of the oldest bakeries on the island and one that is popular with locals and a MUST for any one visiting Old San Juan; La Bombanera. Here he tried a local favorite Mallorcas (a Spanish pastry) and Cocas which are similar to pizza, with vegetables and sardines.

While in Old San Juan, Andrew is joined by his friend and chef Wilo Benet. They tour Old San Juan on Segways annd enjoy a Tripleta. A sandwich made with ham, chicken and beef with mayo, ketchup, fries and lettuce and tomato

Rio Piedras
At Plaza del Mercado de Rio Piedras he meets chef Maira Isabel and checks out the local market where he tries: Mavi , a drink made from sugar and tree bark, Corazon, a fibrous fruit with a creamy flavor and Caimitos (star apple)

Guavate Area
Bizzare Foods with Andrew Zimmern would not be complete without tasting some Pork and Puerto Rico did not disappoint. In the Guavate area (home of the lechon) the show stopped off at El Rancho Original, where Andrew tried some of the local favorites: Roasted Pork, Roasted Pig Ears, Roasted Pig Tail, Roasted Pig Leg, Roasted Pig Nose.

San Lorenzo
Here they stop at a food stand and sample some Rabbit, more Roasted Pork and some White Rice with Salt Pork

Arecibo
At El Nuevo Guayabo he samples some Ceti Empanadas, which are tiny fish mixed with corn, plantains and pumpkin

Lares
The small town of Lares is known locally for it’s Ice Cream shop. As well as regular flavors the shop also sells some strange flavors. In Lares Andrew tries several including Sesame Seed Ice Cream, Cod Fish Ice Cream, Garlic Ice Cream, Corn Ice Cream and Sea Grape Ice Cream

Pinones
Pinones is located just east of San Juan and here Andrew samples some Mofongo from one of the roadside Kiosks

Toro Negro National Forest
After hiking in the rainforest the show stops at a local families house where Andrew samples a home cooked meal that includes: Gandinga (a stew made with pig heart, liver, kidneys and lungs), some Guinea Fowl, some Deep-Fried Pork and some Morcilla (blood sausage)

Pikayo Restaurant
At Pikayo Chef Wilo Benet serves up his own take on Puerto Rican cusine with dishes such as Pigs Feet Stew and Alcapurria with Land Crab

So don’t forget to set your DVR for 10pm EST on the Travel Channel. Here’s a quick clip

Resources: Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern

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27 Responses

  1. looks cool. i guess i wouldnt think of our food as bizarre but i guess the typical american might. Tony Bourdain already did a show here so we’ll have to see this one and see who did better

    1. Hi Cris

      The show was REALLY good in my opinion and even better than the Bourdain episode.

      Hope you get chance to see it

  2. Comment by Springfield Girl.On June 9 you visited Puerto Rico. You went to San Lorenzo.What part of San Lorenzo you went to. I know is in route 181

    1. Hi Iris, I have not been able to find the place that Andrew visited in San Lorenzo. I will keep looking and if I find it, will let you know

  3. Hi, I WILL LIKE TO KNOW THE EXACT LOCATION OF EL NUEVO GUAYABO IN ARECIBO. THANK YOU!!!

    1. Hi Liliam.

      I don’t have the address and it was not listed on the Bizarre Foods website. If you are planning on going to Arecibo, you should be able to find by asking when you get there. another option is to contact Bizarre Foods via there website

  4. While eating in a small restaurant in Menomonie Wisconsin on July 7,2009. Andrew and his family came in. The wait staff was informed to keep his presence quiet as he was not working this day. I found him and his wife to be very rude people. The children that were with them were allowed to run around the restaurant without any shoes on and without any guidance from the adults at the table. One of the waitresses informed them that she watched his show and really enjoyed it. I found them to be very rude. There were only about 10 people in the restaurant at this time and they should have realized that without fans Andrew is nothing. I fully understand that they may have wanted privacy but to handle the wait staff the way they did was very rude. THey should be ashamed of themselves. I will never watch the show and I will explain to everyone that I know how rude they were when they visited our nice town.

  5. Rest. El Guayabo @ Arecibo

    Tipo: Criolla

    Ambiente: Casual

    123 Main St Barrio Jarielito
    Arecibo, PR

    TelĂƒÂ©fono: 787.879.5172

    V a D, 9:30aa a 6pm

    Precio: $

    Valet: No

    Parking: No

    Barra: No

    NiĂƒÂ±os: SĂƒÂ­

    Tarjeta de CrĂƒÂ©dito: SĂƒÂ­

  6. We loved the show so much that my children now want to go and find the spots that Andrew went to. We’re set to go on March 24th. What town was he in when he jumped into the pool at the end of a waterfall in the forest? Looks like a great adventure! Can’t wait!!!!

  7. I loved it. My wife and me will be moving to Puerto rico. We went to Guavate but not the other spots on the show. But believe us we will go to the others to. Keep up the outstanding show.

  8. Listen, this episose was very well documented. It surely made me proud. Great job! I missed the food, people, family since I currently reside in Virginia. I watched the show yesterday (01/13) and I today purchased plane tickets for the whole family. Defenitely heading to Guavate to eat some lechon. Mofongo is on the list. Well for now i just have to work on lossing a few pounds because as soon as I step foot in the Island nothing is going to stop us.

  9. Anyone know where they were when they were on a mountain or cliff? It was very green and he had a heaping plate that had I think a lot of gandules. The woman he was with said, even native Ricans don’t know about that place.

    1. Hi, were you able to find out where the place was, that Andrew visited in the mountians? I thought that was beautiful.

      1. My Family owns the place they went to in San Lorenzo… Its called “El Cerro de Nandy” and its located in Jagual Puerto Rico which is a a little section of San Lorenzo… However it is off the beaten path and in order to get up their you must use a 4×4 vehicle or polaris, horse, helicopter ect… regular vehicles will not make it up the mountain…

        1. That’s cool. It definitely looked like a great drive in the right type of car that is.

          1. I think tel is 939-630-2297

            You can find it listed on Sal.pr website and also yelp.com

            Seems to be open Fri – Sun

    2. I do agree with the fact that there are folks in PR that lived there all of their lifes and have never been to Plaza Las Americas shopping mall. My own father and mother who lives in the metro area dont know about many of this Kinds of “holes in the wall”. The place that they went to is a common place attended by folks who have Jeeps i.e. 4X4 kind of vehicles. Other than that, Puerto Rico has many little places that are very good eateries and are not very well know by the almost 4 million plus habitants….. Puerto Rico is very unique and what makes it unique is the people, culture and their love for good food.

  10. Again, I have told many folks who are planning to visit Puerto Rico to check this episode. Andrew’s program is one of the best on the food network. Great episode Andrew. Puerto Rico has much more to offer. Many visitors concentrate their stay only within the touristy area of Old San Suan, Isla Verde, etc… If you really want to experience the true taste of PR, rent a jeep and hit the road. Puertorricans are more than happy to share their own favotire places to eat finger and traditional food. You can always go to McDonnalds in CONUS. đŸ™‚ Just a thought. Have a great day…. and dare to eat something different. Now that I think about it, I would not eat crikets like Andrew but perhaps I will try sometime “gallina de palo” . Some people say it tastes like chicken. Again, have fun……

  11. It’s a shame what the corporate invasion of North America has done to the island and it’s citizens. Many puerto ricans are trying to lose there culture instead of embrace it. Puerto ricans were very united as a people but now american influence has the people waningt to seperate themselves by class and color more than any other time in history. We are losing our cultural identity at an astonishingly fast rate.
    I can say this though. This is the first time, a media show has given america a true sample of a BEAUTIFUL dying culture in puerto rico…. I hope it is a beginning step that enlightens my people to wake up from its cultural sleep… Thank you Andrew Zimmern for respecting and showing love to our culture. You are a rare breed.
    Our own latin media wouldn’t know how to make a show as educational and enriching as this Bizarre Foods episode.

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