Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Belated and Bugged

Well, this is a bit belated, to say the least. I went to these places the last week I was in Mexico, March 22nd to be precise, and then didn’t get around to writing about them until now. Took me awhile to dig everything out from my suitcase and get the pictures uploaded. I finally found a charger for my camera at a new Radio Shack that must have just opened this year.

Wednesday is art walk day in Puerto Vallarta so you get to stop into a number of art galleries and get a free glass of wine or a cocktail (if you are lucky). The Mysterious Chinese Woman also had her eye on a restaurant that was supposed to serve the most authentic Mexican food in Puerto Vallarta so we decided to combine the two, go on the art walk and then have dinner. Well, it kind of worked.

Flea Market Bar



We walked across the bridge that takes you from the south side of town where we stay to the north side of town where the galleries and the restaurant are located. Right across the bridge is a flea market little bar inside of it that has decent drinks at a low price. I just couldn’t pass it by so we stopped in while I slacked my thirst a bit.

It was getting a bit late by the time I finished up so we only had time to hit one gallery before heading to the restaurant.

El Arrayan



This is a very pleasant restaurant with an authentic Mexican décor and a little bar off to the side. The hi-lite of the meal had to be the appetizer, roasted grasshoppers.



Now before you gag let me tell you that they really were quite tasty, kind of crunchy with a bit of a smoky nut-like flavor.



You really should try them if you get a chance, and this would be a good place to do it. They let me cut back the normal portion of three tacos to just one so I didn’t actually have to make a meal of them As you can imagine, the Mysterious Chinese Woman wasn’t about to help me out with this.

After dinner I had a quick drink at the bar before moving on out.



Piano Bar



There was a pretty good singing guitar player in here but aside from us and a female admirer the place was totally empty. I hope it was because it was so early because it seemed like a very nice place and the bartender was friendly enough. It must be pretty frustrating to have to play and sing your heart out to an empty place. We did put a nice tip in his jar to help keep his spirits up.

I had a shot of tequila, Herradura reposada, my new favorite, with a Pacifico chaser at the bar.



I have been practicing pronouncing Herradura so I only get a puzzled look about half the time when I order it. It takes awhile to figure out how to roll your “R”s.

Roxy



Well it took me long enough to get back here this year. You may remember that this was the last bar that I hit on my twelve bar march last year. The sign has changed but not much else. Still a great late nice place to pop into for a few drinks and to listen to some decent music. You can dance your heart out too.

We just had a couple of beers (and another Herrandura for me then headed on home after a nice night on the town.



They had a new line of tee-shirts so I felt compelled to add to my collection.



Maybe next year we will get to a few more art galleries.