Casa Borinqueña — Restaurant in Philadelphia

As a Puerto Rican who’s had a lot of Puerto Rican food in my life, I never thought our cuisine could be made vegan and still hit the same, but I was proven wrong. This spot blew me away.

The rice and beans? Some of the best I’ve had in my life, no exaggeration. The pincho tasted like I just grabbed it off the corner in North Philly. Juicy, full of flavor, and it even convinced my friend it was real chicken. The alcapurrias? Straight outta Loíza, PR. Full of flavor. I know they might not look the best, but if you know, you know. This is one of our best street foods, and they nailed it.

The mofongo balls were cooked perfectly, and the mushrooms they used to imitate pork honestly fooled me for a second with how well they soaked up the sazón. The relleno de papa was one of the best I’ve ever had. They managed to make it super crispy on the outside and perfectly fluffy on the inside. Yuca fries were crispy and hit the spot, and the imitation beef had the same texture and taste as typical ground beef. Mad impressive.

We ended it with a tres leches that had so much flavor and didn’t bother my lactose-intolerant girlfriend one bit. Miracle.

I had my doubts walking in since I’m a hardcore meat eater, but this place completely exceeded my expectations. I’ll definitely be a regular. And as a bonus, they’re halal too. Shoutout to...

Puerto Rican restaurant so I had to support even though I’m not vegan. As soon as you walk in you are hit with the delicious smells and everything Puerto Rico. Staff was very nice and place was clean. We ordered and food was out very quickly and hot. Ordered the sampler platter, an alcapurria, pastellio and the coquito tres leche. My favorite was the alcapurria not the best I’ve had but was not greasy or thick. Pastellio did not like the filling. You can tell by the color of Spanish rice whether it will be good or not. I was excited to taste it because the color was good but once I tasted it I was disappointed because of the overpowering taste of a spice I believe is cumin. Less of it or not use it at all and the rice would be good. Was not a fan of the chicken kabobs. The tres leche was on the dry side but taste was okay. I believe it’s overly priced for the food. Might go back to taste the fresh baked bread but definitely would not...

You know it’s going to be a good vibe when the playlist while being here is all Bad Bunny. As someone who rarely each vegetarian options this may have been one of the best meals I’ve had. Went with the chickn pincho platter and while it’s not real chicken I would recommend to everyone that comes here. The Arroz con gandules were rich in flavor and tasted as someone’s grandma had made a pot for Christmas Eve dinner. Comes with a nice salad too that has a light dressing that is nice and delicate. The thing that really surprised me was the alcapurria with impossible meat. I really couldn’t tell the difference between a regular ground beef and the impossible meat. Think this goes to their masa being well seasoned and being cooked to perfection. Would highly recommend to those that aren’t vegan to come try this place out because I know I’ll be...