Both restaurateurs return to their Puerto Rican roots for this soon-to-be dining hit,
opening Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Every city has that place everyone talks about—and in San Juan, Puerto Rico, that place is Mercado Santurce. Known to local Sanjuaneros as “La Placita,” this iconic market plaza, a mecca of colorful vendor stalls and wooden Creole-style porches in the barrios of Santurce, has been around for nearly a century. Go during the day, and you’ll see locals buying and selling the best produce on the island, like giant avocados, mameys and small, sweet bananas called “guineitos.” Stop by on a Thursday or Friday night, and it’s an entirely different scene; one with live salsa music, dancing, cheap beer in plastic cups, and what remains one of San Juan’s hottest spots for a night out on the town. Lucky for South Florida residents, Latin American TV and soap opera star, Julian Gil, and Miami’s favorite chef and restaurateur, Jose Mendin, are bringing their own version of the La Placita to MiMo this winter. With plans to open on January 1, 2019, this exciting dining destination will bring an authentic taste of Puerto Rico to the area like South Florida residents have never experienced before.
Inspired by fond memories of his homeland, San Juan-born Mendin—two-time Cochon 555 champion, five-time James Beard nominee, and the driving force behind his ever-growing Pubbelly dynasty and Habitat in the 1 Hotel South Beach—La Placita will be equal parts Puerto Rican restaurant, family-friendly marketplace and late-night hangout.
“This new restaurant will be a hub of Puerto Rican cuisine in Miami,” says Mendin. “Our La Placita and its food markets will host what turns into a veritable street party, or what we like to call “parranda.” It’s going to be a place for people to meet up, drink good drinks, eat good food, have a good time, and as the salsa band warms up, dance until they drop.”
And while Mendin may be running the kitchen, Gil is no stranger to the restaurant industry.
In addition to his television career, Gil opened Urdin in Condado, Puerto Rico, which quickly became one of the top restaurants in Puerto Rico in the 1990s. It was at Urdin that Mendin got his very first chef job, and he was hired by Gil.
“My friend Jose Mendin and I are both committed to elevating the presence of Puerto Rican culture, promoting our gastronomy and unifying the diaspora,” says Gil. “We feel this is the ideal moment in time, given how many Puerto Ricans relocated to Florida following Hurricane Maria’s impact on our homeland.”
It’s no secret that the core of any Mendin concept is the food, and La Placita will stay true to its roots with tapas-style sharing plates made with local and traditional ingredients from all corners of Puerto Rico. Open for lunch, dinner and late-night, the menu will be inspired by Puerto Rican street food. Diners can start lunch or dinner with Aperitivos Frios y Mariscos like a ½ Dozen
Oysters with spicy sauce and lime. Grouped under Cuchifritos Pa Picar, guests will find shareable finger foods like Bacalaitos, salted cod fritters with a coconut aioli; Alcapurrias Jueyes stuffed with crab, house ceviche or lechon/roasted pork; and Arepas de Coco with octopus, conch or ceviche. No true Puerto Rican menu would be complete without Sandwiches, so try the La Tripleta with roasted pork, Angus steak, pastrami, frites, onions and adobo sauce; or for a real taste of San Juan, the Frita Boricua, which tops a sirloin and longaniza patty with frites, grilled onions and a mayo-ketchup mix.
