Recap: Good Morning, From Here, May 03 – 09
Monday
Happy 5 de mayo, the second of three holidays this month; Mother’s Day is coming this Saturday.
At noon today, I am walking up the hill to Barcelona Tapas for a press conference on Restaurant Week, which will last nearly a month. It will soon be coming to about 50 restaurants near you! Full report ongoing!
Another successful Gay Mixer took place at Di Vino Dante last week. These crazy busy events are excellent exposures for businesses all over town. There have been 25 so far this season; I believe I have only missed two, maybe three, due to a conflict in schedules., The highlight for me is always spending some time with publisher and editor Jerry Jones. His publication Out & About Puerto Vallarta, is the go-to magazine for our growing gay population. The next one is at Coco Cabaret on Tuesday, March 13th, as always, from 6 to 8 pm. Look for me; I’ll be the only straight person there!
A long-overdue lunch date finally meshed with Georgia Darehshori on Saturday afternoon. We sat outside at Seasons PV by Intercam and Molina de Agua, ate well, and had extraordinary conversations; we talked about the weirdest, strangest things. Childhood memories of occurrences are so vivid that we both relived some chilly events – as in winter. A shrink would have had a ball – LOL!
Later that day, Sandra Bradley, Kay Nash, and I were reunited at the First Saturday bash at Arte Vallarta Museo. We met Cuban Joaquin, who is teaching a printmaking class at the Museo that continues today. Nathalie Herling, the Director of the museum, was there with her husband, Javier Niño. They just celebrated their first wedding anniversary and are still madly in love and very happy.
To celebrate Children’s Day, the local elementary school made masks of animal faces, with the storyline being read in Spanish and translated into English by the best Vet ever – doctora Claudia Cristina Cinta. She sent me home with kisses and hugs for Bogie. He reluctantly accepted, ever mindful of hidden things like nail clippers and needles. At the end of next week – on the 16th, Bogie and I celebrate our first anniversary. How can a year go by so fast? And, we are still learning – and UNlearning certain behaviors to thrive together. We are both winning. When I wake up in the night and find him sound asleep in my arms, prayers of gratitude go to the universe for this messy-eating (he eats his food mostly off his paws, not out of his bowl), sharp-toothed and nailed Maine Coon that is my darling.
I sat down with Angeloo, the 12-year-old wunderkind yesterday, along with his father, Oscar Corral. Look for that article coming this week in Vallarta Mirror.
Our temperatures have hiked a bunch of degrees during the day, but the evenings and nights are still perfect. May and November are Vallarta’s best-weather months, in case you are planning a trip, and Pride is just around the corner From Here.
Tuesday
I was looking forward to the press conference at Barcelona Tapas. I wanted to see Juan Pablo Hernandez, an old friend of more than 20 years, whom I had not seen since the last production of Princesas Desesperadas. Juan Pa’ plays Bella. So, it had been too long. As he has done from the get-go, Juan Pablo led his 21st Press Conference to announce the start of Restaurant Week, presented by Vallarta Lifestyles Media Group.
Again, Restaurant Week will run from May 15 to June 10, three days shy of a month, in order to boost the economy prior to our annual rainy season.
It’s hard to believe, but 21 years ago, May was the worst month economically in Vallarta. Now we have Vallarta Pride AND Restaurant Week, both events pivotal in changing the city’s bottom line.
Fifty-one restaurants are holding court this year, including some in Bucerias, Punta de Mita, Nuevo Nayarit, and Xochi in Sayulita. The rest are scattered throughout Puerto Vallarta from Le Kliff in the south to Versalles and Fluvial north of Centro.
This great marketing tool was created in New York City in 1992 and has spread globally. The premise is to offer three courses – a starter, which could be an appetizer or a salad, a main course, and dessert. Each course also has to have three options, all for a prix-fixe, fixed price. This year, the price is 495, 575, or 690 pesos, not including a tip or beverages.
It is an ideal way for newbies to Vallarta to venture far and wide during their vacation and try more restaurants with reduced prices than they would say in January. For us who live in Vallarta and have access to these restaurants year-round, the price break makes us sit up, take notice, and also pushes us out of our niche, favorite go-to restos, and have a look and taste around town.
Then, with the official opening of Restaurant Week, the 21st Edition proclaimed ten days prior to, the owner of Barcelona Tapas, William Carballo, invited us to stay for lunch, which consisted of most of the choices on the RW21 menu. The kitchen staff made me a gorgeous bowl of gazpacho as I would not be partaking in the fish and beef offerings. I neglected to take a photo of the warm bread that smelled like it came out of a wood-fired clay oven. The courses went on and on, and there was a sensory delight and a joy to share, which is the point of tapas.
Throw in the view from the fifth floor overlooking the four blocks of rooftops to the Malecon and ocean beyond, with a delicious breeze keeping us perfectly cool while we indulged in Barcelona Tapas’ fine cuisine and signature sangria.
Many thanks to Juan Pablo Hernández from Lifestyles Magazine and William Carballo of Barcelona Tapas restaurant for hosting this Press Conference and inviting me. It was lovely hugging both of you again From Here.
Wednesday
My sister Patrice and I are moving forward with our plans to attend our niece’s wedding this summer. In Sweden.
The reason I am reluctant or recalcitrant about this trip occurred to me this morning – I don’t know how to plan, never mind actually take, a vacation.
Prior to moving to Vallarta 34 years ago, the five years before THAT when I did take vacations, I only came here a couple of times a year, on my own because I had a husband in Canada to mind the cats, the business, and the winter weather while I relaxed in the sunshine.
Now I have the Vallarta Mirror that I can temporarily step away from (I think!) I have no employees, just reasonable monthly fees that I will pay and not use the service. I am not planning to take my computer to Europe. If I am going away on vacation, I plan to do just that – vacay!
My biggest concern is the weather and Humphrey Bogart, aka Bogie, my kitty. I have a lovely babysitter for him, but he isn’t easy. Did I mention he’s an escape artist? Happily, the entrance to my house is a two-door deal, so he can’t ‘slip outside’ unnoticed and be gone.
My patio, and its security, is still unnerving me. Just this morning, Bogie was hanging onto the heavy-duty wire with three paws, using the other one to try and pull down the fencing while screaming at something on the roof I couldn’t see.
I have a couple of months to iron out these problemitas and learn to be smarter than my cat!
Back to our proposed trip. We fly from Calgary to London for a few days, then Sweden for the wedding, and a week in Stockholm with a ferry boat overnight to Helsinki and back. Then we thought we would take a train back to London. It would take us through Germany, Belgium, and a bit of France, then Chunnel back to London and fly back to Calgary, then I come home. In 30 or 35 days. Resurrect the Vallarta Mirror and pick up where I left off.
Except that foreign travel changes everything; it has to. I remember returning to Canada over a half-century ago after spending a year wandering around Europe and the Middle East and getting ‘home’ again. Nothing had changed there, but everything had changed in me. This is not an adventure like that, but it still will make changes.
And we will see our little brother Mark; it has been 5 or 6 years since he came here to visit. And Mark’s gorgeous wife Eva, who he met in Phuket, Thailand, a lifetime ago; now THERE’S a love story! Their fabulous daughters and a wedding and grand nieces to meet. Good grief. I believe I can feel excitement brewing!
Our monthly Scrabble tournament is today; drop by Qulture around 12:30 to see all the heavy action (lol!). It’s Happy Hour all day. I’ll be back in the morning with the breathtaking news of who won, From Here!
Thursday
Every game created by humans involves luck to a certain percentage with skill taking up the balance. Scrabble hovers around 15% luck, and when that 15% attaches itself to you during a tournament, as it did to me yesterday, you can do no wrong.
Four games straight with the last two played because we had time and Sharon hoped her luck would change. It didn’t, but she tried her best.
I read somewhere that Scrabble was a perfect game, and if you did nothing else in your life but play it, you would never create the same game twice. The boredom level in Scrabble is zero, and a game can turn into triumph on the last play, something Sharon understands and why she is a joy to play against; she never gives up.
With all my winnings in hand, I walked down to Nacho Daddy to support the Colina Spay & Neuter Clinic Bingo held every other Wednesday. Bingo is the reverse of Scrabble with maybe 15% skill and the rest pure, unadulterated luck. It requires your attention enough to not miss a call and cover the number. That’s it, and that’s why it is far more popular than Scrabble. It’s more social, rarely involves thinking, and requires no strategy whatsoever.
But it can be fun, especially when you win! Because that’s the point of playing games, to be the best for one bright shining moment when you shout out B-I-N-G-O at the top of your lungs and hear the groans of every other wanna-be winner around you with only one lousy number left to cover. Still, there you are, ahead of everybody else in the room. Savor that fleeting moment, pick your prize, then slide back in with the masses.
And Bingo raises money, in this case, for one of the most important animal charities in Vallarta – the Colina Spay & Neuter Clinic. If all strays were unable to reproduce, we wouldn’t need the dozen or so shelters we have that also require funding. Nipping it in the bud – spay and neuter! Spay and neuter! The only sustainable answer. Colina can proudly say they have preempted MILLIONS of offspring over their 12 years of service to Vallarta. If you have an opportunity to help with volunteering and/or money, please consider Colina Spay and Neuter. Their services are free, but the vets have to be paid, of course. Colina also works with other agencies to help fly dogs and cats that have been adopted in other countries, but their focus remains on eliminating the problems before they occur.
Another delicious way to help is going to Langostinos restaurant on the beach. Owner Colette Zarry is a co-founder of Colina and donates ten percent of every sale to the Clinic, so it’s a win-win for everybody. Colette also donates gift certificates as prizes to the every-other-Wednesday bingo at Nacho Daddy.
After my wins at Scrabble, I won a 250 peso gift certificate to Langostinos at Bingo. Life is so Goooood, From Here!
Friday
It’s the weekend, and don’t forget Mother’s Day is tomorrow! If you are looking for someplace new to take your mom and treat her royally, head over to Pulpito, just up the street from the Tryst Hotel and Coco’s Kitchen, and try the new brunch at ZUMO.
Owners Vanessa Venegas and Stewart Haverlack invited a handful of people yesterday to peruse the menu and enjoy the brunch before the doors open to the public on Mother’s Day.
The extensive four-page menu consists of a clipboard with listings for Coffee & Juices, Mimosas & Drinks, Sweet & Savory items, and Eggs & Sandwiches. Everything is a la carte and looks wonderful coming out of the kitchen. There is a good blend of Mexican favorites like beef birria chilaquiles and smoked marlin burritos with traditional brunch favorites but with some spicy twists. For example, the eggs bennie offers chipotle-spiced Hollandaise sauce and lemon-peppered fries to accompany the ZUMO burger.
I had a three-egg spinach omelet with goat cheese, toast, a fabulous salad, and potatoes fried with all kinds of goodies. It tasted as good as it looked.
The classic mimosa made with Prosecco was lovely – the freshly squeezed orange juice made all the difference in the world. You can order all you can drink in 90 minutes if you want; otherwise, they are available by the flute. On May 10 and 11, ZUMO’s opening weekend, these mimosas are included with brunch. Another incentive to take Mom out! One cocktail that would be terrific for dessert caught my eye: Liquid Tiramisu made with Jameson Irish Whiskey and liqueurs of cacao and coffee, and a shot of espresso. Wowza!3
As Vanessa welcomed every guest as they came through the door, including her gorgeous mom, Coco Iñiguez, Vanessa’s husband, chef, and co-owner of ZUMO, Stewart Haverlack, joined me as the restaurant began to fill up. We met many years ago at another of his brilliantly conceived restaurants called Boca Bento. More than an hour passed in lively conversation; it was great fun catching up after all these years.
Brunch has landed and will be served six days a week at ZUMO from 9 am to 2 pm. They are closed on Tuesdays.
Don’t forget your mom tomorrow (and every day!), and we’ll catch you back here Monday morning, From Here.
