La Bombonera

"Opened in 1902, the mainstay of La Bombonera is the pan de Mallorca dish: a sweet-savory mashup in the form of a melty swiss cheese, egg, and ham sandwich encased in buttery sweet bread and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Pair it with a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice or a café con leche to start the day--or to remedy yourself after a night out. There was a bit of a line when I first arrived, but it was quick and worth the wait."

"La Bombonera, like much of Old San Juan, looks like it has been around forever. And although it's not quite as ancient as the city’s 16th-century forts, it still has cred, having been in business since 1902, making it San Juan’s third-oldest restaurant. Its stained-glass-and-tiled façade is one of the city’s surviving vestiges of a Spanish Colonial past. The founder, a native of the Balearic islands, brought with him something that Puerto Ricans would adopt as their own: the Mallorca, a puffy, snail-shell-shaped sweet bread. How you eat them is the only decision to be made. Plain with butter? With cheese? With ham? Bacon and cheese? Ham, cheese, and egg? With homemade chocolate spread? No matter what, it always comes topped with a sprinkle of powdered sugar." - Kathleen Squires