TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums US VI and Puerto Rico The "Old San Juan" dinner paradox

I am spending two nights in OSJ before flying home. I have read all the Top 10 lists (Barrachina, Marmalade, St. Germain, etc.). I get it. Those are the famous spots.
But I have a rule: I don't want to eat where the tourists take photos. I want to eat where the line cooks go after their shift ends or where the sommelier takes his wife on a Tuesday. Bonus points if the menu is handwritten and in Spanish only

Forget Barrachina (tourist trap since 1990). Go to El Jibarito on Calle Sol. It's not hidden, but it's real. The mofongo with churrasco is the best in OSJ. Handwritten specials on a chalkboard. No view or frills, only old ladies in the kitchen who have been there for 30 years.

This made me laugh out loud. A travel agent friend of ours (who travels VERY WELL) told us to go there last trip.

Our first sign should have been the chain across the entrance. We were "admitted" when we said we were wanted drinks and lunch. I had no idea about the history until we sat down and we were the only patrons not taking selfies.

Staff left the chain unattended and the flood gates openned with so many people coming in just to take pictures and leave. What a zoo.