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Veganism from the Latino's Perspective.

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Raul Colon

Vegan Pastry & Rastafarian Inspired Raggamuffins in San Juan

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One of the hardest things to find in Puerto Rico is a vegan friendly place that also offers Vegan desserts.

Difficult to Find a Fully Vegan Place with Desserts

It’s even harder to find a fully vegan place with vegan desserts. Raggamuffins is probably the only Vegan Food Vendor with 100% Vegan, creative recipes that fulfills my cravings for a sweet treat after my meal.

When I first started as a vegetarian it was very difficult for me to find places to eat.

Living in the southern part of the Island did not help at all. Places called vegetarian cafeterias and restaurants mostly sold processed options.

5+ Years as a Vegan ( 10+ as a Vegetarian)

When I made the switch to Veganism about 5 years ago, I realized I needed to stay away from those places.

4 years ago I moved to the Metro Area allowing me to have many options which were not only vegetarian but also vegan.

One of those options I had been craving for quite some time was Raggamuffins.

What is RaggaMuffins?

A Vegan Pastry and Food Cart specializing in the creation of healthy gluten free food and desserts.

My friend Misael and his wife Nicole run this cozy food cart in collaboration with the Bio Shack in Rio Piedras.

I met Misael years ago thanks to my Rastafarian friends Itegue and Martin. Misael not only lives and breaths the Rastafarian culture, his family also create some delicious and healthy vegan options that will blow your mind.

My First Visit to RaggaMuffins

On my first visit, I had the chance to try baked Red Potatoes with a Carrot Based Vegan Cheese. I had BBQ Jackfruit with carrots, beets, hemp seeds, and sweet mustard.

I also tried the two types of empanadas they had that day.

  • Potatoes and Carrots Curry
  • Mushroom, Carrots, and Onions

Since there are few places that offer a vegan dessert in San Juan, I had to try both of the options available:

  • Vegan Double Chocolate Brownies topped with Vegan Marshmallows.
  • The Carrot Muffin with a coconut topping which was almost as good as the muffin itself.

As I write this I realize my only regret was not buying even more empanadas and desserts for the rest of the week.

If you are looking for a vegan healthy option that can be accompanied by a vegan dessert, then Raggamuffins is definitely the first choice you should think about.

Connect With RaggaMufins

You can find Berlingeri Cocina Artesanal online here:

Visit The Facebook Page

Raggamuffins On the Map

Our first visit to a Kona Grill was here in San Juan.

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Kona Grill in San Juan

I have no other way to reference it against its other locations. I had been a customer of PF Changs since 2005 and had visited many of its locations throughout the US.

Kona’s Rock Star Manager

I went with my family after hearing about the Kona Grill from the manager, Jose Perez. He was the main reason why I kept returning to the local PF Changs.

When I reached out to him asking him if their would be Vegan options, he was about to start training. At that moment he replied that even if they did not have any options on the menu, he would find a way to serve vegans.

I went over on the Monday after Easter. I found parking close to one of the main entrances and the signs got me quickly to the Kona Grill.

Great First Impression

Being a fan of water sculptures and art, I was highly impressed with the Kona sign which has a waterfall effect coming down.

The host, who seem to be one of the teams helping train the local staff, was nice and got us seated. I asked for the Vegan/Vegetarian menu and they had it available.

Our waitress approached us and we requested some Appetizers on the Vegan menu.

  • Avocado Roll
  • Vegetarian Roll
  • Seaweed Salad.
  • Edamame

Vegetarian Roll at Kona Grill #SanJuan

Quickly we got the Vegetarian roll which has a simple look but was delicious. By accident we also got Avocado Egg Rolls. We mentioned that we did not order them and with a smile they were removed.

The waitress came back and mentioned that the seaweed salad had seafood ingredients in it. So I decided to pass on that one and was grateful that she and the rest of the staff caught it.

The Kona Grill Twitter account confirmed it must have been a small mistake, the seaweed salad is vegan.

We waited a bit more which is understandable when the restaurant staff is new. The staff gave our daughter an Etch a Sketch and she played with it while we waited for food.

Regular Entree Modified to Be Vegan

I requested my entree which was a Pad Thai Noodles with tofu. Lucy requested a vegetarian option which was the roasted corn + goat cheese flatbread pizza.  Our little one had her favorite french fries (for her that was a full meal) with some edamame.

Kona Grill [ roasted corn + goat cheese flatbread ]

Everything tasted fresh and well made. I really enjoyed the Pad Thai accompanied with tea.

I was extremely impressed with the level of service for a vegan/vegetarian family like ours. We had a great time. Everything was so delicious that I did not even have to pack anything back home.

Kona Grill [ pad thai noodles ]

Very Affordable without Sacrificing a Quality Experience

Our tab was at a reasonable and much more affordable price than I would have expected. My large order of food, the ambiance, and the quality of the experience made me think it was worth more.
Since the Kona Grill is just a drive across the Teodoro bridge from us, they can count on me as a regular when we feel like we don’t want to cook at home.

I can’t wait to return and see what else they have in store for me.