The last full day we were in San Juan, we ate breakfast at the hotel like usual. Unfortunately, they were out of berries that morning so I had to find an alternative breakfast that was friendly to my gallbladder. I ended up getting the fruit platter (having them get rid of the melons I was allergic to, and substituting the banana bran muffin that had nuts for wheat toast) which had pineapple, papaya, grapes, and mango. Yum.
Not realizing how much food they were going to give me with the fruit platter, I ordered a side of their breakfast potatoes (which I had been sampling from my husband every morning prior to this) to go with the fruit.
We spent the day at the pool, so we ate my favorite chips and guac, and salad for lunch at the hotel again. I miss it already. I actually tried to make a similar salad tonight and it tasted awful in comparison. I was spoiled by Puerto Rico.
Anyway, for dinner we went to the other restaurant the hotel food manager had recommended, Marmalade in Old San Juan. This was five star dining at it's best, and the waitress and chef were very accommodating to my dietary restrictions. I really didn't know I was missing anything when they took out dairy products from dishes or made other substitutions. It was that good.
My appetizer was a Proscuitto di parma with grilled peaches with arugula and a champagne-peach vinaigrette dressing. It was supposed to also have a dollop of lemon marscapone, but they just gave me the lemon zest instead. This was paired with my favorite wine of the night, Conundrum, Four Grape Blend, 2006 from California.
The chef was very nice to us and sent out a complimentary dish, which I have to admit it was my favorite. An onion risotto with red wine reduction and kalmata olives. I attempted to recreate it at home last night and it was good, but not nearly as good as the one at Marmalade. Plus, having eaten it in such a large portion last night I think the onions started to aggravate my gallbladder. The ladle size portion was much more gallbladder friendly. :)
For my salad course I had baby field greens with a honey-passion fruit vinaigrette, toasted coconut croutons (they should seriously make a cereal out of them they were so good), and mango carpaccio. I also tried to recreate this dish at home last night and it was a far cry from Marmalade's version. I particularly liked the Star Trek-esque plate it was served on. The wine paired with this was Tomassi, Le Rosse, Pinot Grigio, Venezia Guilia, 2005. It was quite fruity for Pinot Grigio and not dry at all. My husband like it so much he switched from the other Pinot he was drinking.
For the main course, I had Alaskan Wild Halibut wrapped in Italian bresaola, on a bed of roasted fingerling potatoes, with a Chianti butter sauce. Heaven on a plate. Halibut is officially my new favorite fish, and fingerling potatoes my new favorite vegetable. I was hesitant about the Chianti wine it was paired with (having never had a decent Chianti before) so the waitress brought me out a "flight" of wines to taste: the Chianti, a Merlot, and a Pinot Noir. The Merlot was too light, the Pinot had too much of a tar undertone and was missing the usual blackberry notes I love, and the Chianti ended up being my absolute favorite, Cecchi, Sangiovese, Chianti, 2006.
Every dessert offered had ice cream or something else in it I couldn't eat, so I opted to drink my dessert with one of Marmalade's signature drinks: the Kiwi Libre. It was made from freshly juiced kiwi fruit, and had Bacardi, and fresh lime in it. Needless to say, it was quite potent, but I did enjoy it. I wasn't able to finish it, but I reasoned that it was the best dessert choice because kiwi's are good for the gallbladder. :) Admittedly though, I did sample some of my husband's dessert: Creme Brulee at Marmalade, with vanilla lemon rosemary custard, layered atop a bed of spring plum marmalade, with Caribbean cinnamon ice cream (I didn't eat that part of it, too risky). Not pic on that one, but it was heavenly.
If you are ever in San Juan, I highly recommend the restaurant, especially if you have any food sensitivities since they are so accommodating. You can read the rest of their menu at their website: http://www.marmaladepr.com/index.htm
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