Aside from the obvious tropical location miles from the actual rainforest, La Estación could easily fit in New York City. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if one day they open a location in New York.
The owners are New York Puerto Ricans (or Nuyoricans) who opened a barbecue restaurant in Puerto Rico almost two decades ago to showcase a unique take on barbecue. It reminded me a bit of the Dominican food I recently tried at Bark Barbecue in Dumbo.
It was an expensive meal, but it was worth it for the experience and the food. It’s situated in a former gas station that looks like it has started to be taken over by the rainforest.
The barbecue platter was massive with a little taste of their specialities: sweet ribs slicked with guava; chimichurri topped brisket served on an arepa; and succulent spiced pulled pork.
But one protein not available at every American barbecue restaurant was the local spiny lobster.
The giant local lobster is split, seasoned with local spices, and blackened. The grilled meat was sweet and buttery and took nicely to both the spices and a squeeze of lime. With cole slaw, breadfruit tostones, and some nice dipping sauces, this was one showy, fantastic dish.
And one that would fit right in if these spiny lobsters were local to the Big Apple. Price: Market Price
| LA ESTACIÓN |
| Carr. 987 Km 4.20 Las Croabas, Fajardo, Puerto Rico (787) 863-4481 |
| laestacionpr.com |
