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Comerío.- At Doña Elena restaurant, in Comerío, smoked meat is prepared for their diners, but they also distribute the product to various businesses across the island, so that they also get to try don Benigno Ortiz Luna’s delicious recipe.

For this reason, many recognize him as ‘The King of Smoked Meat’, due to the unequivocal process established by this family business more than two decades ago, when he devised a peculiar way for cooking pork, ribs, rabbit, and wings.

According to manager Angélica Ortiz Morales, “we are a family business, operating for more than 20 years, dedicated to smoking meat: pork, ribs, smoked rabbit, smoked wings. It’s our specialty.”

“Our dad has always been a businessman. He set out to do something different in the restaurant industry and decided to smoke meat. From there, he continued to make his own recipes, and ‘the king of smoked meat’ nickname was born more than 20 years ago,” said Ortiz Morales.

“They say that we’re the ones who sell the most smoked meat. People come and buy it raw; it’s already seasoned, all they have to do is fry it. There’s businesses that buy it in bulk to sell it in several restaurants across the island, such as in Naranjito, Patillas, and San Juan,” she revealed.

Although the restaurant was very popular back in its previous location in barrio Anones, in Naranjito, the owners decided to move the business to the neighboring Comerío in the summer of 2022, next to Media Luna Hotel.

“The move has been a big change for us; surprisingly, we’ve been doing much better here. Here we have space, security, and parking. It’s very quiet, a totally different environment,” she said.

In fact, her parents still cook in the business that is run by her and her brother Benigno, in addition to employing around twenty people.

There, they prepare the smoked meat, along with the nearly thirty culinary options in their varied menu.

“The smoked meat can be served fried or steamed, mofongo stuffed with smoked meat a la criolla (a tomato-based sauce with onions and other ingredients), smoked wings, fried or stewed ribs, and smoked rabbit, which can be fried or stewed. There are about 30 dishes on the menu,” she explained.

“But our best-sellers are the stewed rice with smoked meat and the stewed beans with pork feet, aside from the smoked meat and the volcán a la criolla, which is a mofongo stuffed with chicken, churrasco (skirt steak), cube steak, and smoked meat,” she said.

Other favorites include the stewed churrasco and the bistec encebollado (cube steak with onions), which can also be served breaded. Some prefer mofongo stuffed with bistec or churrasco, while those who prefer chicken can choose garlic, onion, or a la criolla chicken breast, or perhaps the traditional fried chicken, the grilled chicken breast, wings, mofongo stuffed with garlic chicken breast, or a la criolla. They also make chicken broth or soup.

“We have garlic shrimp, breaded, or a la criolla, mofongo stuffed with garlic or a la criolla shrimp, octopus, octopus with shrimp, octopus and shrimp on a plate, shrimp soup, garlic flounder fillet or a la criolla, and surf and turf” she said.

“For the appetizers, we have cordon bleu, homemade fried cheese, sweet corn sorullitos and the assorted platter, which is one of the favorites,” she added.

Regarding desserts, she highlighted that the best seller is the “chocolate, caramel, and nuts cheesecake. We also have pumpkin, coffee, cheese, Nutella, or vanilla flans, and the tres leches cake.”

“As for cocktails, we have tropical drinks with natural coconut juices, orange, passionfruit, and mojitos of different flavors with fresh fruits, including coconut, passionfruit, strawberry, and mixed fruit. We also have wines of all kinds,” she said.

The place seats about 140 people on separate terraces, from where the stunning comerieño landscape can be appreciated.

For more information, call 787-875-4540.