Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Playa Del Carmen - Part Uno

Last week I took a much-needed vacation and even managed to pull the technology heroin needle out of my arm. No phone, no laptop, no email, no blackberry, no watch, no anything that could remotely remind me of work. Don't worry, I laid on the beach and fantasized about work, which is almost as fun as being there.

We took a trip to a city I instantly fell in love with - Playa del Carmen - and stayed at a cool little hotel - Hotel Deseo, which I also loved (even though you need earplugs to fall asleep).

We ate, we drank, we walked around, we shopped. I got AT LEAST two shades darker. And while most of my vacations center around good food, this one was more about a good beach.

That said, this is a food blog, not a lay-on-the-beach blog, so here is a little quiz for you.
Playa del Carmen has really good:
1) Guacamole
2) Ceviche
3) Tamalas
4) Tortillas
5) Pizza
6) Margaritas
7) Salsa

Ding ding!! You guessed right. They have really good pizza. Super good, in fact... it's like, almost New York style good. Who knew.

Here's a slice of four cheese and a slice of mushroom... I also had pepperoni which was equally delicious. The place: Pizza Pazza on 12th.


OK, let's get serious. Nobody really reads these things, right? Just scroll down to see the food photos. I made a couple lazy grumblings along the way. (Geesh, I am turning into the laziest food blogger ever... please go here, here, here, or here if you want to read real food blogging that reflects time, thought and effort... I'm all out).

First up is a cute little Italian cafe called Casa Mediterranea. These people really care about they food they serve you, and they don't take credit cards. And they like to rhyme.


Complimentary Brushetta.

Roast beef with truffles and Parmesan cheese - this tasted a lot better than it looked.

Ravioli something or other doused in butter.

Gnocchi. I really love gnocchi and this one didn't have the best flavour, but it did have the best texture of any gnocchi I've ever had... like soft down baby pillows that melted in your mouth.

Overall, this was an average meal in a charming little place. If your mom cooked this for me, I would think she was a good cook. But your mom doesn't live in Playa.

Next, we went down to Tulum (Mayan ruins) and then to a really beautiful beach club (Paraiso) and then we had early dinner at Mezzanine, which is a hotel that has a Thai-flavored restaurant inside.

Umm... how can you not enjoy a restaurant when the view over your mango margarita looks like this?

MMMmmm. Mango margaritas. My favorite.

OK, I said the food was Thai-flavored, right? Not so much authentic Thai, but still relatively good. Made much better by the view of the Caribbean in the background, of course.

Chicken satay with peanut sauce and cucumber salad...


Crab wontons...


Vietnamese (or Thai-ish) spring rolls with a mango chutney


(not so) spicy beef salad - completely bland...


And the big winner of the meal... lobster curry, which was a huge fresh lobster tail that was doused in a mild-but-tasty green curry. Probably the best food dish of the trip besides the pizza.


OK, I've got to drag this into another post... more to come. Yes, I did actually eat some Yucatan food when I visited the Yucatan peninsula, that's coming next.

Orange Mocha Frappucino!!

OMG! Starbucks finally released the Orange Mocha Frappucino! Freak gasoline fight accident not included.


*OK, not technically. But they have an Orange Creme Frappucino and an Orange Mocha so it is close enough. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you clearly missed the greatest comedy of all time. The end.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Frozen Faux-gurt: You Know You Want It

Dear Pinkberry -
From the looks of your homepage, you seem to be doing a decent job of crisis management (acknowledge the issue, address the issue). Exhibit A:


But Pinkberry - PLEASE - unleash the marketing expert within you - this could be the next, NEXT big thing!

At my day job, we have a motto: if you can't fix it, feature it.

And in L.A., as you've probably discovered, people love "faux."
Faux fur, faux tan, faux boobs, faux relationships, faux dessert.

Frozen Faux-gurt

Seriously.
Real frozen yogurt has got to be damaging to the environment or cruel to animals or something. Give people a reason to go faux, and they'll be your faux friend forever.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

B Cafe - The BEST New Spot in Town

OMG, like, where have you totally been for the past two and a half months girl?

Ummm... DUH!!!!
I've been hanging out in the coolest place ever... the B Cafe!
















Haven't heard of it? Well, it's pretty new. Yah, they got super sweet grub... pizza, salad bar, cappuccino machine, fro-yo (not Pinkberry, but it's just as good).

That's me and my bf in the picture - he's pretty cool.

















Pretty soon it's gonna be SO popular that you might have a hard time getting a table. But give me a heads up that you're coming and I'll be sure to save you a spot.

Meet me there!!!

p.s. yes, this is my day job... it RULES