Great Vegan Food & Venue at Kona Grill San Juan

April 9, 2015 by Raul Colon

One of the many things I hear when I leave the Island is how challenging it can be to find Vegan food in Puerto Rico.

Over the years I have found my way around some unique places. Most of them are usually not close to where I live and there aren’t many.

New Place Managed by a Great Food & Beverage Manager

So when the new Mall of San Juan opened up it was great to hear that Jose Perez was going to be managing the Kona Grill.

It made me even happier when I on went on Twitter and they confirmed they have a separate Vegan and Vegetarian menu.

@rj_c We have a separate menu that lists all dietary specific items. Request the menu when you visit and preview here http://t.co/BOkzQQhs9Y
— Kona Grill (@konagrill) April 6, 2015

I met Jose the first week PF Changs started operating in Puerto Rico. Since then he always made sure I had a great experience at that restaurant. Once he left PF Changs, we could see the decline in service and carelessness.

Knowing that an awesome manager like Jose understands what being Vegan is gives me peace of mind.

Supporting Restaurants with Vegan Menu Options

I had to stop by and check out the food especially the vegan menu options.

We arrived at the restaurant and the staff greeted us with smiles.

The entrance and the whole venue is visually attractive. We asked for the Vegan menu and we’re taken care of immediately.

The host, who was training the new staff, made suggestions on regular menu items that could be modified.

You can read the detail of the food at the Veglatino blog post.

Drinks and Entrees Ordered

For drinks Lucy ordered a Coconut Mojito and I ordered Tea. I had a try of the Coconut mojito and it was delicious, I am sure next time I will order one.

We requested two entrees and some french fries for our little one.

I had the Pad Thai where they substituted the animal protein with tofu and Lucy had a vegetarian Goat Cheese flatbread pizza.

My Pad Thai was delicious and Lucy enjoyed her food option as well.

It was a treat to have the new staff working with the more experienced trainer.

Great Teamwork for such a New Team

Their teamwork impressed me in many ways. Kona’s staff gave me options and made sure they stayed on the safe side of delivering me food that was vegan.

The restaurant has only been open for two weeks and they did an excellent job taking care of us.

My closest and first option to Eat Out

I will definitely have the Kona Grill as one of my first options when we decide to have lunch out from now on.

If you’re in San Juan and want some Vegan/Vegetarian food with flavor, in a cool venue, Kona Grill is definitely the place to go.

San Juan’s Vegan Friendly Asian Bistro

February 9, 2014 by Raul Colon

Finding a regular restaurant that caters to Vegans in Puerto Rico can seem impossible at times. Same reason why I go to vegan/vegetarian food venues or we eat at home.

It’s truly hard for me to walk into a place and ask them to make me a vegan option because on most occasions, as hospitable as the restaurant may want to be, they might make a mistake preparing or serving my food. Instead of interrogating the restaurant staff, I save myself the headache and only go to places I know understand my lifestyle.

It happens everywhere

Last week, I went around the northeast of the United States and it made me realize that understanding what a vegan eats can be a problem everywhere.

A friend of an old friend

About a year ago I met a young entrepreneur and Asian Bistro owner called Kahoo Yu. I was introduced to him by my close friend Millie Pang which I met through ICQ in the late 90’s.

Since last summer, I have kept very good communication with Kahoo and I have noted that he is a very selfless individual. He is always trying to help and make others happy.

I am sure he would be very embarrassed if I mentioned how many times he gives a little of himself to support my efforts. I won’t go into the details but I can say he is usually one of the first to ask what he can do to make any situation better.

First visit to SOGO Asian Bistro

This past week I had the opportunity to schedule a business meeting with my friend Larry Lliran and we decided to go to Kahoo’s restaurant, Sogo Asian Bistro.

I messaged Kahoo on Facebook to get directions. He quickly called me and gave me easy directions.

Once we arrived at the restaurant he showed us the specials and even offered to modify any of them to be vegan. I rarely get options at restaurants much less are having a place honor a daily special and modify to my needs.

I quickly choose the Fried Tofu with Black Mushrooms and some Veggie Fried Rice on the side. The plate arrived and the flavors and taste were right on the money.

Bonus: They have a Vegan Dessert

Most places that have vegan options don’t have vegan desserts. Kahoo recommended some Lychee which I went ahead and ordered.

When I went to pay the bill, once again Kahoo mentioned that the first visit was on the house.

A True Giver

During my drive back,I kept on thinking how I want to be near those few selected individuals in my life which are always giving. I already have a group of people that are always supporting me and they would kill me if I mentioned them.

Kahoo is definitely one of them. Once I arrived home I made the decision to go with the family to have lunch on the next day so Lucy and Daniela could try SOGO Asian bistro.

Lessons from Kahoo

Kahoo has taught me many lessons during the past year and he also reminds me that by giving you create stronger relationships.

I am grateful for having another restaurant to take my family to that has vegan options. But, I am even more grateful that this establishment is run by a good friend and a great human being.

Our Homework

So what are you going to do this week to give back to someone who is always taking care of others?

How can I help you?

PS: If your in San Juan you might want to make a stop for lunch or dinner at SOGO Asian Bistro.

Feel free to read my review on Veglatino and our family visit to SOGO Asian Bistro.

More About SOGO Asian Bistro

SOGO Asian Bistro

Centro Comercial San Francisco
San Juan, Puerto Rico

(787) 766-0111

On Yelp
Directions to SOGO on Google Maps

Connecting Value, Quality, & Price

September 4, 2012 by Raul Colon

Some people around me love to splurge money on things I consider are not important. I see they mostly do it when it involves a sale or they think they are getting a great deal.

On occasions I hear people complain of how pricey a restaurant is. When I ask if anything went wrong the replies don’t necessarily make it a pricey restaurant under my terms.

They usually say the food was delicious, service was great, location is beautiful and secure, and they had a nice experience but the price of the plate was not attractive to them. For me a pricey restaurant is one that did not meet up to the expectations. A pricey restaurant can be a fast food that offered you one option and then gave under par food.

Making them Focus on Quality to see Value

Sometimes we get so caught up in the environment the restaurant is creating and it makes us ignore the prices on the menu.

If you are part of the team that designed the menu, the restaurant owner, and/or manager, you have done your job at creating a great ambiance when your patrons stop focusing on pricing.

In Puerto Rico so many people focus on having discounted food. The masses sadly focus more on quantity vs. Quality. They might even spend 12 dollars for a subway sandwich that is mass-produced and then complain about a 20-dollar plate at a nice sit down restaurant serving quality organic food. They’re so focused on price and they ignore the fact of comparing different products to the same price.

At CIMA IT we have helped restaurants with their pricing strategies and menu enhancements. Where we bring the real value is finding clientele for our customers that are seeking an awesome experience and are not so focused on pricing?

Using Online To Nurture New Relationships

We help restaurants in getting tourists who are on vacation and are seeking to have a unique experience into the dining room. This is done by nurturing a healthy relationship with the patron before they step foot in the restaurant.

By setting up a website that is attractive, clean, and most importantly functional. We can entice website visitors into clicking the reserve a table button while giving them a touch of what they will experience if they visit the restaurant. Making sure the restaurant stands out from others even if the patron at the end of the visit is focused on price.

I will go into the details via my newsletter where I will share more details on restaurant strategies. If you are a restaurant owner and would like to receive this via email feel free to sign up.

By building websites or when we coach clients on how to enhance their online presence we tend to improve the results for any efforts they where running. Increasing the probability of success for any investments clients make.

Practical and Repeatable Process

By building processes that are practical and can be repeatable differentiates us from other companies giving away certain services. It also keeps clients that are being penny wise and dollar foolish away from hiring us.

Aligning Value, Quality, and Pride

Value, quality, and price sometimes might not go in hand although many might disagree.

How do you make sure that those three elements are as close as possible from each other?

Get Treated Like a Celebrity “La Casita Blanca”

July 30, 2010 by Raul Colon

No need to be the Mayor of Foursquare or even an actual politician or celebrity

I am a big fan of Foursquare and I can confess I use it daily. I try to check-in at most places, like I did on my visit to La Casita Blanca, I visit with hope than local business owners and management will hand out some type of perks. As of right now it is just for the bragging rights and studying how other people interact on the platform. I was very privileged to listen to @dens (Dennis Crowley, Foursquare Founder) during the @cmsummit and became even more engaged with the Social Mobile Game.

Last week I was reading @chrisbrogan’s blog as I am big fan of his and his post and he did made me focus on what is important. His post titled “Go Map Yourself” focused on how many people are so focused on being the Mayor of Foursquare than being the Mayor in Real Life.

go_mapyourself Get Treated Like a Celebrity "La Casita Blanca"

For the last few days after reading his post I did realize that I was getting treated even better than what some Foursquare mayors (I am still working on the discounts and loyalty perks, LOL). I did realize that even though the @starbucks I most frequently visit is duplicated on Foursquare and I am the mayor most of the time of both their baristas will treat me the same check-in or not on Foursquare.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit “La Casita Blanca” Restaurant in Santurce with a client. (following images where provided by @moncheoPR’s blog.

This place can serve as good case study on how to treat your patrons no matter who you are. I had heard on many occasions about the restaurant but being vegetarian it is very difficult to go and enjoy most “Puerto Rican Restaurants” since they are certainly not veggie friendly. I decided to go to “La Casita Blanca” since I skipped the gym this week during lunch, because my Personal trainer is on vacation (I just can’t seem to train without his guidance, I guess I can blame him for not visiting the gym this week).

I was told up front that they’re where no Vegetarian options but I wanted to spend time with the people at my client so I went anyway. On the way their I kept hearing how they where craving some “bacalaitos” (salt cod fritters).

When arriving at the restaurant I understood why they where craving those bacailatos when you arrive you are sat down and a group of complimentary

items such as a basket of “bacalaitos”, cup of soup, and a basket of garlic bread is placed at your table.

This is even better treatment (even though I did not consume any of the items) that what I get at other restaurants where I visit frequently and I am loyal customer. Which made me think of the Title of this Blog Post, I had never checked in on foursquare or was I a celebrity to get the special treatment I got. I did not even request anything from the Menu (the staff was so nice and helpful they kept offering me food options). Once the meal was done they asked everyone on the table if they wanted coffee or dessert and brought a complimentary shot of Chichaito.

What “La Casita Blanca” does to Exceed Expectations?

They offer complimentary snacks
- No matter how much you are spending as long as you are sitting down at the table you get the VIP treatment.
- Benefits
  - People will talk about the Free items. ( I am writing about them)
  - They stand out from any other restaurant since not many restaurants now days offer a complimentary snack.
They are focused on creating an experience
- The restaurant gives a feeling for eating at a friend or family member’s house.
  - The physical plates where all different
  - Books, magazines, other house items used as decoration
- They used Fans and vegetation to provide shade and a cool dining area. (Which probably saves them on the overhead of electricity for running an A/C) In other words they are Eco-Friendly
Using Creativity to Maximize their resources
- Their great customer service and perks actually makes up for some of the weaknesses. (Nobody’s Perfect)
- Plates where perfectly presented. I was amazed on how appealing the plates appeared to my view (A bit difficult to say when you are vegetarian and the plates main entrée is a big piece of meat).

Overall even though I did not eat anything I was so amazed by the experience and how well I was treated that I decided to write this post. I guess it is the least I can do for them after actually trying the Chichaito without consuming a plate.

During my college years I worked as a waiter in my hometown of Ponce and I lately I have been involved in helping a few restaurants (@archipielagopr being one of them) linking technology (social media, websites, etc) to their business goals for my consulting practice CIMA IT Solutions (http://cimapr.net). I think many restaurants should copy a thing or two on how “La Casita Blanca” operates and apply it to their business model.

So to everyone if you are not getting treated well at the places you checkin please visit La Casita and you will be amazed and wonder why it is not that way everywhere else.

Do You have any other favorite location where you feel the same way I felt at “La Casita Blanca”.

4589824694_59c8073894 Get Treated Like a Celebrity "La Casita Blanca"

More Interesting Facts:

If you want to read a more complete blog post on the options of the restaurant we recommend you visiting Moncheo: La Casita Blanca

La Casita Blanca (Puerto Rican)

Neighborhood: Santurce
Address: 351 Calle Tapia, San Juan, PR 00912
Phone: 787.726.5501
Hours: M-W 11:30am-4pm, Thur 11:30am-6pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-9pm, Sun 11:30am-5pm
Payment: Cash, ATH/ATM, Major CC
Parking: Around the street. Good luck!

Other Sites

Frommers.com | http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sanjuan/D50454.html

Island politicians are said to have the best noses for good home cooking. We don’t know if that is true or not, but one of their favorite places is this eatery. Governor wannabes (What politician doesn’t want to be?) come here to order excellent regional fare, and enjoy an ambiance that oozes the culture of the Puerto Rican countryside. This is a converted family home that opened its door to diners in the mid-1980s, and it’s been a favorite of locals from all walks of Puerto Rican society ever since. Off the tourist trail and best reached by taxi, the restaurant does down home island fare like guisado y arroz con gandule (beef stew with rice and small beans), or bacalao (salt codfish with yucca). Guaranteed to put hair on your chest is patita (pigs’ trotters in a Creole sauce). Veal with sautéed onions is popular, as is grilled red snapper or chicken fricassee. A typical chicken asopao, a soupy rice stew, is also served. If you ever wanted to try stewed rabbit or goat, this is the place.

About.com: Puerto Rico Travel | http://gopuertorico.about.com/od/purepuertorican/gr/LaCasitaBlanca.htm

TripAdvisor | http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147320-d842942-Reviews-La_Casita_Blanca-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html

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