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

Getting into the Spirit of Running

February 14, 2012 by Raul Colon

Since August 2010 I stopped going to the Gym continuously and have not returned. I got so used to working out with an awesome personal trainer and my good friend Pedro, I know for a fact that I will not get the same results I get when I train with him when I train on my own. So just the fact of adding more tasks and staying updated to meet my training goals adds heavily to my already full Schedule.

I had stopped running even before August 2010. I had just been eating as healthy as I can (although every day I realize I can do better) but the fact that I am vegetarian does not mean I will not gain weight if I am not moving around. Since October I have also started the transition to becoming Vegan that I will leave for a post on Veglatino.com.

Wake Up Call

Last October while we ended up having a water outage I went to a friends house to shower and stepped on their scale. I found myself to be at 205 pounds, which at 5’8″ is not healthy at all. I had also noticed in a few pictures that I had gained more pounds that I would have liked. Once I saw this on the scale I immediately started making a plan to cut down on a lot of the crap I was eating and stop drinking vegan friendly beer and liquor.

I quickly cut out dairy products and also decided not to have beer or good old Jack Daniels. For some reason in my life I go through long periods of not having any alcohol but on occasions I might have a bit more than I should have which translates to weight gained.

Putting My Running Shoes On

Once I had settled on quick changes to my diet the exercise part came into the picture. Conversations with my good friend Gabriel Pagan (@therealgabo) had also motivated me to start running again. Gabriel not only is a great business, parenting, and overall life mentor he also has a unique way of motivating people to accomplish their goals.

I dusted off my running shoes, which barely had a few dozen miles. I bought them a few weeks before I stopped running almost two years earlier. I started running 15 to 20 minutes but I quickly started getting pain on my knees caused by overweight, lack of exercise, and me trying to run like if I was in shape.

Diet Goes With Conditioning

At one point my Knees was not only sore it was hurting so I took two weeks off from running waiting for it to get better and I did research on the possibilities of why I might be hurting. I was curious to find that I had to adjust my diet to make sure I was receiving enough protein.

Given that I am vegetarian and now trying to Go Vegan I ended up looking for nutritious foods that will supplement my protein while keeping a plant based diet.

Once I had my diet in place I started listening to my body and I do stop when any discomfort starts feeling like pain. I started running 1 mile, then 2 miles and over a few months I have worked myself up towards running 6-7 miles every other day. Also the fact that I am running in Vibram 5 Finger Shoes which helps you condition your feet and make them stronger made the transition even more challenging.

Celebrating the Small Goals

I had not run more than 3-4 miles in about 10 years. Back then I was in the Military and I weighed around 165-170 that is 30 pounds lighter than what I am now. Reaching the milestone of 7 miles is something I have celebrated within myself. I have also lost approximately 10 pounds since I started.

Future Goals

Before April I Want to be able to be running 10 Miles I have taken it slower than usual since I moved over to Vibram 5 finger shoes which made me change the way I run with the benefit to make my feet stronger (which translates into more muscles work and sore feet).

My next post will be on the running gear I use and I will be talking about my experience with the Vibram 5 Finger Shoes in a future post.

I also want to lose about 5 more pounds by April. I want to make sure I keep my goals attainable since if I meet the goal previous to that date it will only motivate me more.

Gaining momentum into training and weight loss is critical your mind will play tricks on you and you have to find a way to motivate yourself and continue with the progress.

Stay tuned since I will create a post on items that make my run more pleasant and keep me focused on my running goals.

What fitness or health goals do you have?

Is there anything holding you back from obtaining them?

Jimmy Kimmel Pokes Humor at Puerto Rico’s Politics

February 10, 2012 by Raul Colon

Iguanas in Puerto Rico have become a serious problem since they are originally from Central America and not indigenous to the area.

Given the lack of predators, it has they have become a pretty serious problem on the island since there our eco-systems have no way of controlling them. It is fairly common to see iguanas run over by cars (next to stray dogs) on the island.

A few weeks ago a decision was made to export Iguana meat out of Puerto Rico to combat the overpopulation and offer an economic incentive to Puerto Rico’s economy which we should not forget has worsened by the poor decision making by the current Fortuño Administration.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=7S96OeobzH4

Can’t See Video Click Here

As a vegan, I have mixed feelings with this approach, but we do need to find a quick way to solve the iguana problem.

Hopefully, Jimmy Kimmel’s humor can help us focus on finding other possible solutions.

Any suggestions?

How a Local Cold Stone’s Bad Customer Service Is Helping me Go Vegan?

November 30, 2011 by Raul Colon

The last few weeks I have had my good share of disappointments with how many companies handle the customer experience locally.

My two recent mishaps at Doral Bank and a visit to the Casino in San Juan made me analyze even more in detail for the past few weeks how customers are treated overall in many other places.

Having worked in the service industry while in college and handling every other job with the same commitment towards serving clients, makes it hard for me to understand how companies don’t make customer experience a priority.

I love Ice Cream

One of the reasons I have not gone Vegan is my love for Ice Cream. Recently I have been trying to stay away from Ice Cream.

After watching the movie Forks Over Knives and seeing how much dairy products affect your body I have cut down my intake with dairy products. I have attempted to shift from Vegetarian to Vegan but it has not been an easy task.

Cold Stone Helping me Stay away from Ice Cream

I have Lucy who constantly reminds me to eat healthier. But the key contributor from keeping me away from eating Ice Cream is the Local Cold Stone Franchise.

I have a Cold Stone steps away from my house and every time I visit it I feel guilty of paying for overpriced ice cream since they are nowhere near what the customer experience should be at a Cold Stone.

Before I moved back to Puerto Rico I became a loyal customer of Cold Stone I remember visiting my first cold stone in Boston in Fall 2005. I was amazed by the service and whole customer service experience that Cold Stone offered. I also asked myself what a better place to have a Cold Stone than in Sunny and Tropical Puerto Rico. Months later on a visit to Puerto Rico I saw they where establishing a few locations.

Just a Cold Stone

Locally when you enter a Cold Stone for the most part you get an experience of an employee throwing your ice cream against the stone in a variety of moods which normally is more on the negative side than the positive side. Even when they treat you well if you put a tip in the jar there is nothing magical that happens.

The only difference in walking to a Cold Stone and walking to Baskin Robbins is pretty much the Stone where they mash your Ice Cream request.

Does Cold Stone Clean or Serve Ice Cream?

We all sometimes deviate from focusing on what keeps our business running and for the most part that is returning customers and sales. My local cold stone is more focused on cleaning that taking care of the customers.

In multiple occasions I have walked in and a good line has formed while one employee serves ice cream and the others clean and keep the employee serving occupied with a conversation that has nothing to do with work.

Not only do we get one person taking care of serving the ice cream but also they are more interested in continuing their conversation with co-workers.

Mixed Priorities

If they sell more ice cream then they might be able to have more employees taking care of the income making part of the business and on breaks they can have also the place spotless clean.

Impacts Sales and Income

People generally don’t like to wait in line. I have missed out on buying from Cold Stone in the past because of the large line and slow service. This eventually adds up and affects the overall sales over any period of time.

Enhancing the customer experience is a must. If Cold Stone employees locally made it pleasant to go visit them other than when you have craving for Ice Cream then they could increase the frequency of times your customers came into buy ice cream.

If the place is spotless clean and has not sold enough it eventually will go out of business. I understand the place needs to be extremely clean but if you took care of customers first and made other tasks secondary I can guarantee your business will do quite well.

Overall I hope they get the message. I used the example of Cold Stone Puerto Rico franchises because they are pretty consistent in not taking care of clients but there are many other businesses that leave sales and customer experience out of their priorities.

Next time you walk into a place and see that they are more focused on handling other administrative tasks than taking care of you as a customer ask yourself if it is worth spending a dollar at that place.

Have you run into any similar experiences?