El Quenepo, the Malecón’s fine dining restaurant (as “fine dining” as it gets on the island), was unanimously recommended to me by a number of people. And indeed, after my first meal there, I could not wait to go back. Everything was spectacular, from the sweet corn crepe to the artichoke Caesar salad — the top on my Caesar salad list — to the signature mofongo with seafood and creole sauce. Mofongo, traditionally made with plantains, is mashed so it has the texture of mashed potatoes. It can be fried or served as is, in the shape of a mound mixed with ingredients like garlic, olive oil or pork cracklings. At El Quenepo, they use mashed breadfruit and calabaza squash instead of plantain, mix it with pork cracklings, deep-fry and present it in the shape of a cup holding local lobster and shrimp in a creole sauce. The combination was outstanding — I had to return a second time in my short five-day stay.