PUTTANESCA 

Photography by Lorelei Albanese

SAN JUAN -  Who knew you could find a New York-style pizza
restaurant in, of all places, San Juan! Puttanesca Trattoria would
be perfectly at home in Greenwich Village, or the East Village.
Instead, it inhabits a small corner in a seedy part of town, across
from a 24-hour Walgreens and neighboring Walmart store,
offering comfort food and a funky ambience imbued with the
spirit of that favorite movie classic that is The Godfather.

On an otherwise quiet Sunday night, the place was lively and noisy
as families with children and couples on dates enjoyed their pizzas
while a few diners waited around at the entrance for a table to clear.

At the bar -- well lighted to allow for a maximum view of a multitude
of spirits in a rainbow of colored bottles -- waiters went about filling
orders and the cook spun his pie crusts in the air prior to consigning
them to the brick oven. On the night we visited, a broadcast of a
soccer game in Italy was playing on the giant overhead TV screen:
battling it out on the field were Livorno versus Rome.

©Puttanesca Trattoria Facebook Page

Puttanesca offers a selection of pizzas with all kinds of toppings,
aperitifs such as chicken wings and mini croquettes, entrées like
cheese calzone and lasagna bolognese. The desserts lineup:
cheesecake, tiramisu, house lemon tart, triple chocolate cake.

But if you come here the centerpiece is, of course, the pizza,
which is quite good. The pie crust has just the right thickness,
the cheese is plentiful, the toppings varied enough to please
everybody, and the portions generous. Maybe the crust
could have used a little more time in the oven and the service
could have been faster, but the place is so enjoyable that neither
the pizza's lack of perfection nor the slow service seemed to
matter much.

This is definitely the kind of restaurant to enjoy with friends on
a night when a conventional dinner just won't do and all you
want is the comfort of sinking your teeth into that delicious sea
of cheese and tomato sauce swimming atop a crust of baked
pizza dough. This place is gregarious, the waiters are
accommodating, and the prices easy on the pocketbook. Plus
the beverages include an eclectic selection of beers, with brands
from many different countries.

All in all, this is a place you will definitely want to return to.

PUTTANESCA TRATTORIA
1207 Fernandez Juncos Ave. 
787.723.6666
Open for lunch, dinner, coffee & drinks
Check Facebook page for hours of operation

Photography by Denise Blasor

"We're all stopped short by wonder some time."
New Zealand artist Len Lye

IN THE KITCHEN: easy does it!

This recipe, which a former San Juan reporter turned yoga
instructor likes to prepare for her children, is simple
as pie and makes a perfectly delicious sweet treat.

All you need is mashed dates and shredded coconut and
almonds. For lack of a food processor, a food chopper
was used to mash the dates with very fine results. Divide
the resulting paste into little balls that you then roll into
the mixture of almonds and coconuts (Bob's Red Mills
distributes an unsweetened shredded dry coconut that is
very good.)

The result? Small spheres of delectable wonder to pop
into your mouth as dessert. It takes about two dates and
a spoonful each of shredded coconut and almonds to
make up one of these little balls of raw, tasty goodness.



A SIMPLE TIP: Allium scallions

With their thin, elongated shape and multiple 

stalks, scallions are a bit exotic looking. Yet they
belong to the onion family. Growing this lovely
plant with many culinary virtues is a breeze:

Next time you buy a bag of scallions at your 

neighborhood supermarket, cut off the ends 

and place in a jar filled with water.  Make sure

to change water regularly to ensure healthy roots

and allow plant to grow out. That's about it!

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS

LOS ANGELES:  Books

are an endangered
species, of sorts, but not
at The Last Bookstore,
the "literary emporium"
located in downtown L.A.

If you are mad about
reading, here you'll find
a selection of more than
100,000 books priced at
$1 dollar, each. And
that's only the mezzanine
level.

Plenty of more books
occupy the ground floor
of the 10,000-square-foot
locale, along with a
taxidermy-style Wooly
Mammoth, a record
shop and a coffee
bar. The brainchild of
Josh Spencer, who
started it out of a
downtown loft, The Last Bookstore is now the largest
independent bookstore in California and hosts regular
literary and musical events. Definitely a must see.

The Last Bookstore 
453 S. Spring St. downtown L.A.
(at 5th and Spring St.) 213.488.0599
lastbookstorela.com

Photography by Denise Blasor

Words are power. 
And a book is full of words.
Be careful what power you get from it.

Yoko Ono

© 2013 Lorraine Blasor all rights reserved