Get Your Buen Provecho Ready!
I swear this post is about Puerto Rican food, but allow me to spin you a quick little tale first.
In case you didn’t know this, buen provecho is Spanish for bon appetit. Sidenote: isn’t it weird that there is no English phrase for this? As if we’re so lazy that we can’t even come up with “enjoy your meal” or something? I digress.
The point is, buen provecho is something that Spanish speakers say whenever anyone is eating. Actually, while I was living in Argentina, I was almost annoyed by it, because every time I so much as ate a carrot stick at my desk, 10 people would pass by and say “buen provecho!” Ok, sorry, I’m going on tangents again, but I swear, this ties into a story.
While having a drink with one of Pedro’s former college professors (who is not Puerto Rican) she recalled a time when she said buen provecho to a group of Latinos about to eat. An Argentine woman at the table got oddly offended, claiming that saying such a thing was vulgar as it just drew unnecessary attention to eating and bodily functions.
That girl was loca
I have never met an Argentine in my life that was offended by the phrase buen provecho. Pedro, his little brother, Carmelo, and I found this so humorous that we made it a point to say buen provecho as often as possible for the rest of the trip. So much that, right before Carmelo and I chowed down on the infamous papas supreme, he looked at me and said “Rease, get your buen provecho ready!”
That sentence was too great to be used only once. So now, as I create a photo essay of traditional Puerto Rican foods for your viewing pleasure, I would like to you ask you to:
Get your buen provecho ready!
I’d like to note that I left alcapurrias, pinchos, and mofongo off the list since they already got their very own articles.
First up, pescado
Seeing as Puerto Rico is an island, the pescado (fish) is delightfully fresh and absolutely incredible.
Colirubia – yellow tail
I honestly can’t remember what kind of fish this was, but it was tasty!
Camarones enchilados – Shrimp
Next up, tostones
I freaking love tostones. Fried plantains? Yes, please! Anyway you fry them up, I am sure to love them.
Batidas
No better way to take advantage of all the fresh fruit on the island than to make a refreshing smoothie out of it! Of course, other countries and cultures drink smoothies, but I still feel this deserves a spot in this post because smoothie stands are everywhere, and the fresh fruit makes them amazing.
Habichuelas
Habichuelas are beans in Puerto Rico (more on all the other words for beans in a later post.) They’ve got pink beans, white beans, red beans, and black beans. Some come with guineo fried up in them. Others have potatoes. Perhaps even some pumpkin. It doesn’t matter to me. If there are beans, I want them. Absurd amounts of them, por favor.
Hungry yet? If you make it to Puerto Rico, get ready to get your buen provecho on, because the food is to die for.
