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restaurants
Ponce
Puerto Rico 00731
Tel: 787 848 7272
Concierge.com's insider take:
Mark French revolutionized the Puerto Rican food scene in 1996 when he opened a restaurant in Ponce that incorporated European and American traditions into home-style island cuisine. Locals and visitors alike still make the one-hour drive south from San Juan to Puerto Rico's second city just to sample his food. In 2009, French relocated his restaurant from the Meliá hotel to a renovated 200-year-old colonial building with an open central courtyard. Mark's on the Paseo has a casual bistro menu downstairs; upstairs, French's classic dishes are served in a semiformal dining room (check out the original pressed-tin ceiling). The standouts here include empanadas stuffed with shredded duck and pungent tamarind, and a firm, white fillet of dorade rolled in crumbled fried plantains and served on a knockout bed of rice and beans. For dessert, try the coconut sorbet with yet more fried plantains, these sliced thin and dipped in sugar. The meal alone is worth the trip from San Juan, but take a few minutes to explore the nearby Plaza las Delicias, Ponce's main square, where teenagers hang out on the wrought iron benches, IM'ing from their laptops, next to a red-and-black–striped fire station from the 19th century.—Leigh Newman
Open Wednesdays through Saturdays noon to 3 pm and 6 to 10:30 pm, Sundays noon to 5 pm.
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