Friday, March 06, 2009

An Egg Sighting Morning

Had a whole gang over yesterday morning for our omelettes in a bag breakfast. Great fun was had by all.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman had done a lot of prep-work with minimal assistance from Bar Man. Mostly I just finished off cooking the chorizo.

The Omelette Makings


The Mysterious Chinese Woman


This is an excellent idea for when you are hosting a breakfast party, and I have to thank my friend Sandy for introducing this. What you do is you get a bunch of freezer Ziploc bags, the pint size work just fine. Be sure they are the freezer bags because otherwise they will melt in the boiling water.

Then you add a couple of eggs and the ingredients of your choice. We had chopped ham, chorizo, chopped onions, chopped jalepenos, cheese, and who knows what else to choose from. Then you squeeze the bag until the eggs and your ingredients are all mixed up and then squeeze out as much of the air as you can. Pop the bag into boiling water for thirteen minutes and then take out the bag, open it, and voila, a perfectly done omelette made to your specifications rolls out.

The fun part is deciding on just what ingredients you want in your customized omelette.

Dennis, Paul, Sharon, And MCW Building Their Own


Dennis, Squeezing His Egg Sack


Bar Man Getting Into The Act


Rico Making A Secret Omelette


Be sure to bring a permanent marker of some kind so you can write your name on your Ziploc bag. You would hate to go through all of the effort of building your own and then end up with someone else's.

MCW Holding The Bag For Allison


Of course no omelette party would be complete without plenty of mimosas, and we had plenty. They were particularly good too because we bought freshly squeezed orange juice earlier in the morning. There is an old lady just a few blocks from here who squeezes it for you while you wait. The orange juice, you perverts.

Katherine Checking Out The Juice


Katherine And Allison Making Mimosas


Allison Topping Hers Off, Steve Looking On


Paul And Sharon Enjoying The Finished Product


Rico And Sandy In Post-Omelette Repose


The party was a great success, everyone having a good time. Then, about an hour after everyone left a sewer main broke just up the street from us. You may not be able to see much from these pictures, but that is pretty much raw sewage running down the street in front of our building and then down the street under our balcony.

The Street In Front Of Our Building


Below Our Balcony


The stench was, as you might imagine, overpowering. We had to shut the door and windows and turn on the air-conditioning. It lasted for several hours too. They did patch the main though and wash down the streets so now this morning the smell is pretty much gone. Just a lot of noise as they continue to repair the main.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

A Tweet At El Torito

Last night a bunch of us headed to El Torito to catch the Minnesota/Wisconsin basketball game and to chow down on ribs, chicken, buritos and to drink a little beer.

El Torito


Well, not everyone had beer.

Allison Had The Blues


El Torito is a great place to catch a game. They have a whole slew of televisions, upstairs and downstairs, and a great cable system. The game we were watching was on the Big Ten network or some such thing, but they got it with no problem. If you get there early enough they will pretty much put on any sporting event you ask for.

El Torito also has some mighty fine and reasonably priced ribs and chicken. Lots of other stuff too, but those seem to be there big ticket items. A word of warning though, don't go for the
two-for-one rib special they have in the mid-afternoon. In my opinion you are better off just getting a single order of ribs and splitting it.

Dynamite Ribs


Grilled Chicken


Bulging Burrito


They also offer to roast a whole pig for you. This is currently priced at $250 but will serve up to twelve people. You need to give them at least two days notice but the waiter said three days is better. This is a fresh pig that isn't even slaughtered until you order it. I guess that is why you order it in advance. It would be kind of messy if you all were sitting at the table and they slaughtered it in front of you. Interesting, but messy.

I asked the waiter if you could go with the guy when he got the pig. You know, help him pick out the one you wanted. Kind of like when you pick out your own lobster at a sea-food restaurant. He looked at me kind of funny but said it might be okay.

We pretty much agreed that getting the pig is something we would definitly like to do someday.

The Whole Crew Settling In


We were there to watch the game, of course, but also to chow down.

Mysterious Chinese Woman Chowing, Sandy Intent On Game


Katherine, of course, was elegant even in this place, and with this crowd. I am excusing the fork because she was eating her baked potato. She did eat the ribs with her fingers.

The Ever Elegant Katherine


And, of course, I tucked in as well.

Bar Man And BBQ


Minnesota had a seven point lead at the half but Wisconsin managed to go ahead by five in the second half. Then Minnesota went on a tear and ended up winning by five, 51 to 46. I think this was a must win for the Golden Gophers too if they want to get into the play-offs.

Rah Rah For Ski-U-Mah


Dennis is a Wisconsin fan so he was a bit disconsolate. He handled it well, however. It only took two of us to restrain him.

Dennis, Pretending To Be Interested In The Menu


In about an hour the whole crew will be coming here for a make-your-own-omelette party. That is always a lot of fun, and certainly one step up from a knitting circle.

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

I Couldn't Resist

Fox's number one pick for most embarassing sports records:

Most career interceptions: Brett Favre

The future Hall of Fame quarterback is at the top of this list due in part to his longevity in the game. However, while there's little doubt that Brett Favre was a prolific passer, he was also pretty inaccurate throughout his career.

Favre finished his career ranked first in all-time interceptions thrown with 310.

Though he also finished with 464 touchdown passes, his career interceptions are astronomically high and have been for his entire career.

He led the league in picks thrown in two separate seasons, and has tossed at least 20 interceptions in six different seasons, including his last one with the Jets.

Hmm, that last season. Wasn't that the one where the Jets got rid of Chad Pennington, who then led Miami into the play-offs, so we could get the great Brett Favre?

El Gang At El Dorado

Grr, my camera wasn't at the Kit Kat Klub. I have no idea how I could have lost it because I only am staying about four blocks from the place. I am sure if I left it on the bar it would have been kept for me, though. One of those aggravating mysteries of life. Luckily I have my better camera as a back-up. I am sorry I lost the pictures, though.

One really nice restaurant on the beach that I have been going to for years is El Dorado. It has been around forever and the food is usually really good. It had a bit of a dry spell for a year or two when there was a change in the chef, but it is back up there again now. It is also the first restaurant that I go to each year on the night of my arrival. At least since I moved into this part of town and the Mysterious Chinese Woman began following me around.

Before heading out we had cocktails my friend's place at La Palapa. If you recall, last time I was in Minnesota we stayed with Rico and Sandy and we all got kind of matching shirts. Well, except for Jon. He wasn't in the city but up home in Ely.

The Matching Shirt Crowd


We are staying in the Romantic Zone, after all, so one thing just naturally led to another.

Three Amorous Amigos


Rico and I tried that intertwining toasting thing, but our arms were just too burly.

Ah, It Goes Like This, Doesn't It?


The girls just stayed out of it altogether, but did take pictures. Probably hoping to sell them.

Paparazzi


Eventually we did make it to El Dorado where we continued to have a rolicking good time

The Whole Crowd


Jon, Ruthie, and Bar Man


Jon was his usual smiling self.

Happy Jon


His wife, Ruthie, is much more photogenic.

Smiling Pretty For The Camera


I think Jon was almost smiling for this one.

Such A Happy Couple


Jerry was enjoying his wine.

Cheers


As Was His Wife Pat


The Mysterious Chinese Woman was more into beer tonight.

Bottoms Up


And Sandy was happy with her fish.

Looking Good


Pat had been talking about getting a lobster tail for a couple of days but, for some reason, didn't spot it on the menu so she ordered something else. Then she saw the waiter go by with a lobster tail and, it gets sad here folks, ordered a lobster tail in addition to what she had already ordered. Kind of reminded me of that guy, Mr. Creosote, in the Monte Python movie, The Meaning Of Life. Luckily, she didn't have a wafer-thin mint to top it all off.

To be honest, although I hate to, Pat had her first order packaged up to go and they didn't bring it to her until after we were done eating. Probably because they didn't have a bucket handy.

Jerry had his leftovers wrapped up too and he said it was okay to play with your food after you were done with your meal.

Oh, A Little Birdie


Can I Keep It?


Everyone enjoyed their meal and it was another fun-filled evening. We sat outside so we could hear the ocean and see the stars. Well, not too many stars. Unlike the old days there is so much ambient light you can only see the brightest of them now. Venus was bright in the sky, though.

More stuff to come, including a trip to Yelapa and who knows what else. Tonight Minnesota plays Wisconsin in basketball and a whole crew is heading to El Torito to watch the game, eat ribs, and drink beer. Should be a fun time.

Now, a bit of beach-time.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Bye Bye Buddies

Well, once again I have bid farewell to some of my friends who were down here for a week. We had plenty of good times and now that I am down to just two of my long-time friends from Minnesota maybe I will have time to catch up on my posts. Not today, however, manana, or posado manana at the latest.

Luckily there were no more incidents at La Palapa but, sadly, there were either one or two drownings here the other day. Haven't really found anything in the news, but many people that I know saw at least one body. The bay has been unusually rough this year and one of my friend Pat was warned by a lifeguard to stay off the rocks at the water's edge. Playa Los Muertos is living up to its name.

We all had a late breakfast at La Palapa for our last get-together before Jerry, Pat, Jon, and Ruthie headed on home to partly cloudy skies and a high of 33 degrees Farinheit. The one thing I like about temperatures in Centigrade or Celsius is that it is easier to spell.

As I have said before, La Palapa is probably the classiest restaurant on the bay, and possibly the most expensive as well. But the food and service are fantastic.

The Bye Bye Brunch Bunch


Not only is the food delicioso, but the presentations are always so pretty as well.

A Simple Fruit Platter


Waffles


My Eggs La Palapa


The blackberries on the waffles were the best I have ever had. As big as raspberries and really sweet. I wonder if they are local. I will have to ask. The lady who runs La Terraza for breakfast had homemade blackberry jam the other day too.

My eggs were served over a tortilla and black beans and then had green onions and melted cheese on top. Really good, as you can imagine.

I was sad to see the gang leave, but they had a great time and hopefully they will be back again in the not too distant future. Meanwhile my friends Rico and Sandy will be here through the week-end so plenty of good times still await. And, of course, I have a lot of long-term Puerto Vallarta friends here as well so there is never a dull moment.

Our farewell dinner last night was at Cafe de Olla and it was really good too. That will be my next post. Unfortunately, after dinner a few of us went to the Kit Kat Klub and had some of their specialty martini's, or drinks served in a martini glass. I had a couple of Dreamsicles. I don't know if you have ever had one of these orange sherbet and vanilla ice cream treats that they serve on a stick. They were a childhood favorite of mine and these taste just like them. However, they are dangerously potent.

Well, to make a long story short, I think I my camera stayed at the bar when I left. There was just my group at the bar and we shut the place down so I hope I can recover it. The Kit Kat Klub doesn't open until aroung 6:00 P.M so I can't check until later. I do have another, even better, camera with me, but I would hate to lose the pictures. I know I had the camera in there too, because I was taking pictures.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Flying High

Don't expect my blogs to be in any kind of a reasonable chronological order. At this point I am lucky if I can even remember what I did which day. I do know that my friend Chris left on Wednesday though.

Bye Bye Chris


Sad to see him go, but I will be seeing him in a couple of months when I return to Minnesota for the annual Fishing Opener get-together.

He did send me this picture though, so I could show my other Minnesotan friends that are now here what they are missing.

There Is Snow Place Like Home


After Chris left I hooked up with my friends and we took a walk along the malecon where there is always a lot of stuff going on.

Unicyclists


Artists Displaying Their Wares


Lots Of Statues


And most impressive, this group of pole flyers.

But, They Are Not Polish


After climbing to the top of this pole trailing ropes, they then wind the ropes around the top of the pole by spinning around this platform.

Spinning A Yarn, Er, I Mean A Rope


Then they jump of the platform and, as the rope unwinds, they fly out and down. Kind of like one of those carnival rides with the airplanes.

Out, Out, And Away


And, as they spin out and down while hanging upside down they bang on a drum and play a flute.

Banging And Blowing


They draw a pretty good crowd and then pass a hat to collect for their performance.

Pat And Ruthie Watching The Show


My theory is that the performers are honoring the spacemen who long ago came to earth and introduced their culture to humans. Hence the flying and playing of the instruments. I am surprised that The History Channel hasn't picked up on this yet.

On the way back we passed by this restaurant that I assume features a surf and turf special.

Mr. Turf And Mr. Surf


We passed on by and had a breakfast/lunch at a place I like, Gaby's. They have a nice cool little courtyard in the back with ferns and a waterfall and the food is decent and reasonably priced.

Jon Scowling And Ruthie Enjoying


I just read where Nikon has come out with a new camera that has face recognition technology that can prevent you from takikng a picture if the subject isn't smiling. I assume you can override this feature because otherwise you would never be able to take a picture of Jon.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman and Jerry were much better subjects.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman And Jerry, Smiling


Well, I am not sure about the Mysterious Chinese Woman. I think she was trying to smile, or maybe she was just imitating Jon.

My Breakfast


I don't know what this was called, but it was like soggy tortilla chips covered with a spicy tomato sauce and melted cheese. It was served with refried beans and was quite good.

Well, that is it for now. I am heading to the beach after a big breakfast of ribs and eggs. My friends Sandy and Rico brought the ribs with them. Rico does a dynamite job of grilling them and I posted about them when I visited Minnesota last fall. I should have taken a picture of these, but I forgot. It is too late now, that is for sure.