Sol Food

I have been obsessed with Puerto Rican food since my college days, especially the sweet flavor of pan-fried, overripe plantains known as maduros. A bite of maduro with saffron rice, stewed beans, and even a chunk of buttery avocado is pretty much a perfect bite in my mind.

I was totally surprised when Gidget took me to Sol Food, a Puerto Rican outpost in San Rafael, for lunch last Saturday. She was eager to try a place she had heard lauded by friends and coworkers, and as we were headed up to Santa Rosa for the Ursuline High School polenta feed fundraiser (this is a topic of its own!), we stopped for a late lunch to quiet our grumbling tummies.

She was excited to see if the place lived up to the hype; I was excited to finally sate my Puerto Rican food cravings.

I haven't had truly legit Puerto Rican food since my days in Cambridge. I would trek even on snowy days out behind Central Square to Izzy's, a family-run, diner-style, hidden-corner establishment and order a plate of bistec encebollado, or sometimes even roasted pork. Regardless of the protein on the plate, I most looked forward to the pile of yellow rice and beans and especially the maduros that I would ration so there was enough for every bite. There was something totally disjointed about eating food that evoked the tropics when bundled for a nor'easter. Then again, maybe I enjoyed the extra element of escapism... food for the soul.

Anyways, I was thrilled to try a Puerto Rican place a little closer to home. We lined up out the door, even at 2pm, and ordered lunch from a laminated menu on our way in. Despite the options, including camarones in a tomato sauce, I opted for the vegetarian plate, partly as a test of the basics, partly as the most direct response to my cravings.

Let me just cut to the chase and say that I asked to return for lunch the following day. I might find myself in San Rafael a little more often. Bring on the maduros! Sol Food, food for the soul!