Mexican Wedding

My friends Tom and Elba got married while I was in Puerto Vallarta and I was privileged enough to be invited to their wedding. It was a beautiful affair held at Le Kliff, a very nice restaurant perched on, hard to believe, a cliff.

Le Kliff


It is a bit out of town, close to Mismaloya, so you need to take a taxi. Luckily it is very easy to get a taxi from my place.

Taxis Always Available


Of course the easiest place to find them is right across from where I stay. They seem to like to cluster around the rock with a big "No Taxis" painted on it.

Local Taxi Stand


Back at Le Kliff they had set up the area where the ceremony was going to take place. I have to admit, if you are going to take the plunge, this place is a good place to plunge from.

Plungeable




Tom was all decked out in his finery and looked quite ready to take the plunge.

Tom, Looking Suave


Before the wedding started there was an open bar and delicious snacks. My favorite was the shrimp on a stick with a thin crunchy coating.

Appetizer Plate


Le Kliff is classy all the way. Even the banos was beautiful

Nicer Then Your Average Piss Trough


I kind of wonder what the women's room looked like.

After we were all seated Elba was escorted down the steps by her son, Chava.

Elba On Her Way Down


The ring bearer and flower girl waited patiently to play their role in the ceremony. They are two of Elba's grandchildren, Diana and Juanito

Waiting In The Wings


It was a lovely ceremony with both Mexican and American traditions. Tom is originally from Wisconsin but now lives in Mexico. Elba is from Puerto Vallarta. One of the parts involves the mixing of sand from the hometowns of both the bride and groom. This signifies that the two families are now united and, like the sand, can never be separated.

Saying The Vows


They certainly had a beautiful backdrop with the sun setting behind them.

Happily Married


As you can see, the sunset truly was magnificent.

A Beautiful Sunset For A Beautiful Ceremony


And, of course, there was the obligatory mariachi band playing in the background.

No Wedding Is Complete Without Them


After the ceremony there was a very nice dinner (I had one of the best steaks I have ever had) and dancing.

Aren't They Adorable?


Of course there was the traditional cutting of the cake and messy kiss afterwards.

Cutting The Cake


Messy Kiss


I sat with a bunch of nice people. The fellow, Rollie, is an architect and his wife, who is also Elba's niece, Dunny is a Computer Engineer. They both spoke very good English, which was good because I know about 10 words of Spanish and they mostly have to do with ordering beer and getting the check. Dunny just has a little boy who they named Giam (prounounced Yum)

Table Mates Rollie And Dunny


Not altogether unexpected, The Mysterious Chinese Woman managed to wrangle a wedding invitation as well. Either that or she just crashed the party.

Woo Woo!! I'm Here


One tradition that seems to be common between weddings in the United States and Mexico is the wedding singer. No wedding is complete without one and this one was pretty good. He is also a friend of the Bride and Groom.

Enrique The Wedding Singer


Of course with Elba you always know you are going to be entertained. No shrinking violet she. And it apparently runs in the family.

Elba And Her Daughter Marisol Singing


It was a very lovely ceremony and dinner and I wish Tom and Elba much happiness. I am already looking forward to seeing them all settled into their new casa (house) when I return to Puerto Vallarta next year.

Sad News

Well, it looks like some of the clouds surrounding the shooting at the Western Hotel in Callicoon have drifted away:

The gun that was used to shoot and kill Lori Schubeler last weekend belonged to the owner of the Western Hotel in Callicoon, who was handling it when it fired, Sullivan County District Attorney Stephen Lungen said Friday.

The 41-year-old Callicoon actress who was waitressing at the hotel bar early in the morning of last Sunday, April 13, was shot once in the left chest with the bullet entering her aorta and lung, the DA said.

Investigation revealed the gun, a .25 caliber semi-automatic, belonged to Joseph Naughton, 64, the owner of the hotel.

Lungen said the case will be presented to a Sullivan County grand jury to hear evidence. It will determine whether or not the shooting was a result of reckless conduct, criminal negligence or accident, said Lungen.

The gun and other forensic evidence is being examined by the State Police laboratory in Albany.

This will be my last post on the subject. I kind of drifted away from my normal subject matter, but this was a bit close to me. My next post will definitely be about the wedding in Mexico, a much happier topic.

Mystery Still Surrounds Shooting

Crime Scene


Nearly four days after the shooting at The Western in Callicoon the news about it is sparse indeed. In a small town where, supposedly, everyone knows everything about everything, nobody seems to know, or will admit to knowing, just what happened at the bar early Sunday morning.

What seems to be known is that the weapon was a .25 caliber pistol, old but no antique. Lori was shot near the heart, her aorta was severed, and she bled to death. Besides Lori there were two other people in the bar, Joe Naughton the owner, and an as yet unnamed third person.

One report stated that the shooter did not know the victim. If this is true then the shooter must have been the unnamed third person. However the various news reports have not only been sketchy, they have also been a bit inconsistent. Earlier reports seemed to indicate that the shooter did, indeed, know the victim. Also, one report called the shooter "the assailant" which kind of implies something other than an accident.

So far the police have not arrested anyone nor, apparently, have they concluded whether the shooting was an accident or not. Or, at least, they aren't releasing the information if it is known.

I do find it a bit strange that there is so little information being released about this tragic event. My personal interest lies in the fact that I have spent more then a little time at the bar here, have stayed at the Western Hotel numerous times over the years, and know Joe Naughton fairly well.

The latest news that I have found on this was in the Sullivan County Democrat, which you can see by clicking on the link below.

Shooting At The Western

Just thought I would post some breaking news about The Western Hotel, a place I not only drink at on occasion, but also stay when I visit friends in Callicoon, a small town in upstate New York.

CALLICOON - A 41-year-old Callicoon woman was shot and killed in the bar of the Western Hotel early this morning, the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office says.

Lori A. Schubeler, a long-time waitress at the hotel, was shot around 12:30 a.m. and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sullivan County District Attorney Steve Lungen says police are still investigating whether the shooting was accidental or not.

No one else was injured and detectives are interviewing persons who were present at the time of the incident.

No arrests have been made, officials said.

I will keep you posted with any new developments.

Below you can see my original post about The Western Hotel, bar number 672 on my journey towards 1000.

672) The Western Hotel





This hotel was built in 1852 and still retains much of the same feeling of that long ago era. The current owner, a real character named Joe Naughton, has owned the place since 1969 and he and his wife Leona have spent a lot of time and energy selecting antique furniture and fixtures for the tap room, lobby, and dining room. The bar top itself is fairly new looking but I suspect that is just because it is so well taken care of. The front of the bar has a rough brick front and a brass rail The back bar is quite ornate with mirrors and cabinets with glass door at each end. There is kind of a plain red Formica top above coolers with wooden doors and silver latches and handles. A World War II era Marine issue shotgun with a bayonet hangs above the mirrors. The walls are dark red paneling and there is a new television above the jukebox on the wall opposite the bar. I don’t recall ever seeing the old one turned on though and this one was turned off too.

There is an old barber chair off to one side and an upright piano that was being played by a young girl who was attending a wake. Apparently it was just breaking up because there were a number of people at the bar saying their goodbyes. It was one of the cheeriest wakes I had ever seen. In fact I asked the bartender if there was a wedding party going on.

If you ever get to Callicoon be sure to stop in and say “Hi” to Joe. And if you want a place to stay, this is your only choice. Unless you want to stay at the Olympia next door.



I had a glass of Sarnac Pale Ale.

Oh No, No More Armando's

How very sad. Beyond sad, actually, quite depressing. One of my favorite restaurants in my neighborhood has gone out of business after 72 years. Armando's was the first restaurant that I ever ate at in this neighborhood, back when I was still living in Manhattan. It has remained a favorite over the years and I generally eat here at least once a week. The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I were planning on eating there last night as well when, to our dismay, we found it had closed.

Lights Out


It closed on March 16th while I was in Puerto Vallarta so I hadn't seen anything about it closing in any of the papers. It might have been big news in Brooklyn, but not in Mexico. We actually just stared at the darkened windows in stunned silence, not really believing what we were seeing.

Deserted And Forlorn


Really, this was like losing an old friend. We always felt like family in here and now I don't even know where the bartender has gone. Hopefully I will be able to track him down and visit him at his new place of business.

It Just Gets More Depressing


Apparently the current "owners" of Armando's have decided to retire after 27 years. I wonder if increasing rents had anything to do with this decision. The restaurant always seemed to do a good business, both at lunch and dinner. The bar had a regular crowd too. I think I am going to cry.

The Goodbye Note


The place had a lot of history behind it that will now be gone for ever. Supposedly Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller used to dine there and it was also frequented by the Dodgers back when they were the Brooklyn Dodgers. Norman Mailer was also a regular.

An Homage To Marilyn


Never again will I be able to dine underneath the picture of Marilyn. In just a few short months Spicy Pickle, a Denver based sub franchise, will be moving in. Not too long ago the Five Guys hamburger chain opened up a place across the street. Montague Street used to be full of neighborhood restaurants, but the times they are a changing. And, in my opinion, not for the better. No matter how good Spicy Pickle may be, it will never be Armando's.

I think I am going to go back to bed now and pull the covers over my head. Oh, but first I will draw a beer from my new BeerTender. I may not leave the house for days.

On a brighter note, we did end up eating at Pete's Waterfront Ale House last night and that was comforting. The food was great, as usual, the bartender and waiter were old friends, and the manager, Sam, gave us a complimentary after-dinner Apple Pie. This is a house specialty made by macerating apples, pears, cinnamon, and other secret spices in vodka. Quite delicious and packs a wallop. Thank goodness for Pete's, we really needed some comforting.

My Very Own Bar

Well, not really my very own bar, but at least one of the accouterments. You may recall that I have previously posted about Heineken Premium Light in a bottle (not too impressed) and the Heineken DraughtKeg (quite impressed). You may recall that I brought the DraughtKegs to a couple of Jets games and they were very well received. You do have to pre-chill them for about 5 hours or so but then they are good to go. No pumping required and, supposedly, they keep the beer fresh and ready to pour for up to thirty days.

I say supposedly only because I have never had a keg hang around that long, particularly a five liter keg. But now my chances have increased.

Recently I received a BeerTender made by Krups just for Heineken. I wish they would have had these when I was in college.

BeerTender


You can see by comparing it to the microwave in the background that it is fairly small and even fits into my relatively tiny kitchen. You either put a warm keg or, to quicken the process, a pre-cooled one into the BeerTender and plug it in. It keeps the beer at just the right temperature and you can pull yourself one anytime you want.

Don't Mind If I Do


You could probably put one of these in each room of your house. Just like with any keg your first pull will be largely foam. Heineken is a somewhat heady beer so you always have to be a bit careful. One trick, rinse your glass with cold water first. This will cool the glass and the remaining water (don't dry the glass) cuts the foam.

Pretty Good Pull


There are a few quirks, but they aren't too bad. The biggest drawback is that you need to affix a one-use BeerTender Tube (they aren't reuseable). You can order them at www.beertender.com and they cost$3.99 plus shipping and handling (don't know how much that adds up to) for ten. That could be an issue, particularly if you run out.

One thing that confuses me. I saw an add for tubes that would allow you to use this with beers other than Heineken. However, in the manual it says "Only a Heineken DraughtKeg and Heineken Premium Light DraughtKeg can be used with the BeerTender. " I think that if you can, indeed, only use this with one brand of beer it is a major drawback.

I realize that other beers that sell in 5 liter kegs don't really stay fresh for more than a day or two. This means that one of the advantages of the BeerTender, keeping the beer cold for up to30 days, wouldn't be relevant. Still, it would be kind of neat to put a different beer into it every once in a while for a party or something.

But on balance it is a pretty nifty little gadget. Not cheap though, about $279 for my model, the B90. There is a B95 out now too that sells for $299. The primary differences are that the B95 has a thermometer as well as in indicator light. You can see the actual temperature and the indicator light tells you when it is ready to drink. Also, you can set the temperature of the BeerTender to one of three temperatures, 36, 39, or 42. There is also a freshness indicator that counts down from thirty days after you insert a new DraughtKeg. Hmm, five liters and thirty days to drink it, I don't think I need a countdown indicator.

The BeerTender is kind of dangerous though, it just makes it too easy to pour yourself a glass of beer whenever you feel like one. In fact, I just did that.

So Smooth, So Tasty, So Available


Although you can see roughly how much beer you have left in your keg from the indicator light, it only indicates by the quarter keg. However, when there are only about two glasses left the light starts to flash so you know you need to get another keg ready. I thought this was a somewhat nifty feature in a somewhat strange way.

Party At Pipis

One day a bunch of us decided to go to Pipis for lunch and drinks. This is a well-known restaurant and a bit on the touristy side. The food is decent and plentiful, the drinks are huge, and the guacamole that they make at your table is excellent. What's not to like if you are just kicking back.

Pipis


As you can see, they are not shy about advertising their presence on the corner of Pilila and Guadalupe, just a few blocks back from the bay.

Oh, and did I mention that the drinks were huge?

The Mysterious Chinese Woman And Her Huge Drink


From the look on her face, she seemed to think it tasted pretty good.

Yummy!!!


Elba, aka Bella, also seemed to be enjoying hers.

Sucking It Up


And Chris and I joined in the fun as well.

Bar Man And Chris With Our Manly Drinks


The food here, as I mentioned before, is quite plentiful. We all opted for the fajitas and were not disappointed in the least.

Mixed Fajitas


Elba and Mysterious Chinese Woman With Chicken Fajitas


As you can see, we had quite a crowd. This picture must have been taken just before Elba showed up.

The Whole Crew


I didn't think the drinks were particularly strong, but Dennis seems to be proving me wrong.

What, No Lampshades?


We had a merry old time and when it was over we headed out to find some more.

Elba And Chris Heading On Out


Stay tuned for pictures of Elba and Tom's wedding which took place a few days after our lunch here.

Chez Elena

Although I am back home in Downtown Brooklyn where the weather is still gray and the people all dress in dark colors, I still have a backlog of things to post about from Mexico. It kind of warms me up a bit when I do so and get to look at the pictures. again.

Bar Man And Paul At Chez Elena Bar


This is not the easiest place to find. It is several blocks back from the bay and more than a bit of a walk uphill. It sits atop a hotel and restaurant and offers some spectacular views of the bay, the city, and what little of the mountains you can still see.

Mysterious Chinese Woman, Bar Man, Sharon, Paul And Bay


You can see how this is a great place for a sunset drink and is well worth the time it takes to find it and the effort it takes to get to it.

View Of The Town


If you look to the south you can see the part of Puerto Vallarta where we stay, although we are on the other side of the Rio Cuale. The church tower of Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe used to be visible from the living room window in our unit. It is now, sadly, blocked by a new building that is going up.

The large structure that you see is a huge condo that is going up right on the south bank of the Rio Cuale. To build it they tore down a lovely old colonial style hotel that had a nice outside bar, a pool with a waterfall, and a bunch of parrots. I guess there is no stopping progress, but it is somewhat sad to see much of the old Puerto Vallarta disappearing.

Looking To The North


As you can see, Puerto Vallarta is sprawling to the north as well. Just a few short years ago the area where you see the new buildings was largely marsh and home to salt-water crocodiles and other wildlife.

Looking Up


Similarly, more and more homes are being built up the mountains surrounding what was the old Puerto Vallarta. Well, maybe not mountains, but certainly foothills. Just a few years ago there were only maybe one or two small houses on that hill underneath the antenna.

Looking Up With People


I thought that last shot made a good backdrop for a group photo.

I also think I found out where the Creature From The Black Lagoon decided to retire. I suspect that his money goes a lot further down here, and he is close to the water. Puerto Vallarta has always been popular with the movie crowd.

The Creature Kicking Back


It looks like he has been getting a bit of sun.

A Nostalgic Return

I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the initial blogs I had written about a place, and this seemed like a good one to check out. I vaguely remembered not really knowing the name of the place until after I had been there. And, I was right.

235) La Gloria ye Infierno

I headed back across the river and not far from the Gigante supermarket is this small, cinder-block building on the corner of Constitucion and Francisco L. Mader. I looked all over but could not see a name and it didn't look like the kind of place I should be asking people. In fact, it didn't look like the kind of place I should be in. No overt hostility, but I certainly felt that I was somehow intruding.

An update. Although there is still no name visible the bartender at Machis Bar B. Q. (number 304) told me I should try a place called La Gloria ye Infierno on Constitucion. It turned out this was the place. I went in and showed the bartender the name the bartender had written down for me and he acknowledged that I was in the place. Mystery solved.

Ah, so many years ago and so much has changed. Except not in here. It looks exactly the same, both inside and outside, as it always has. Oh, except now there is some new furniture piled up in the place.

Paul And Bar Man At La Gloria ye Infierno



Even the crowd at the bar seemed to look the same as the last time I was here.

The Bar Crowd


We were escorted to the best table in the house. Plenty of sunlight.

Sharon, Paul And Dan At The House's Best Table


As you can see, we had a few beers and a couple shots of tequila. I really do like this place and, although it never looks like it's open, it almost always is.

Palate or Pretense

Okay, now when I write about a beer I might describe it as smoky with a hint of caramel. Not likely, but I might. I might refer to chocolate and coffee, maybe toffee. Usually not all in the same beer though. But this has got to be the most laughably outrageous description of a beer I have ever read. Can you even imagine discerning all of those flavors in a beer let alone remembering them and the sequence in which they appeared.

This was written by David Gilbert in a column titled Beer Predator. It can be found in February/March edition of Ale Street News.

The review is for Mikkeller Black Hole, a beer I certainly do what to try. Without further ado, his review:

Mikkeller Black Hole (13.95%) is a massive and multifaceted coffee stout that is smooth, creamy, hoppy, fruity and warming. Coffee from Sumatra (the largest island in Indonesia) and vanilla are added at the end of the fermentation process. Flavors of concentrated coffee, sweet cream, chocolate syrup, grapes, burnt marshmellows, lemon peel and caramelized sugar appear.

Mid-palate a roasted bitterness enters followed by underlying dry malt, spruce, molasses, green apple, prunes, vanilla, pine, and Amoretto di sorrono.

The finish is malty, chewy, dry and vinous with flavors of tea biscuits, licorice, nutmeg and bitter dark chocolate followed by menthol infused hops with a suggestion of Sambucca.

Man, that has to be some beer. And someone who can discern licorice (with nutmeg and bitter dark chocolate) from Sambucca (with menthol infused hops) is, indeed, a force to be reckoned with.

Of course he also says in the review of Haand Bryggeriet Dark Force Double Extreme Imperial Wheat Stout (and yes, these are all real beers) that he can detect the flavor of Mexican mole. I was almost expecting him to name the village in which it was made and, perhaps, the family who made it.

And, now that I think of it, I grew up in Minnesota and I couldn't begin to tell you what the difference between the taste of a spruce and a pine might be. In fact, I am pretty sure a spruce is a type of pine. Maybe he was trying to differentiate between two different types of pines. That man's palate is, indeed, remarkable.

Up The River, Again

When last we walked up the Rio Cuale I was under the impression that both the R03 and R04 buses went up the river to at least the bar where we stopped for our first drink, the Cuale Paraiso. Then I thought they split into two separate routes somewhere up the road. We took the R04 bus back the last time so I thought we would try the R03 bus up this time. Paul and Sharon decided to join us on our adventure.

Just getting the R03 bus was an adventure. I pretty much knew where to catch it, but just to make sure I asked the guy at the bus stop. He told me no, not there, and led us to another place. As he was leading us I watched my bus go by, but we were on the wrong side of the street. Again, there must have been some bad communication because he never got us anywhere near where we could catch the bus.

We finally decided to walk up the river a bit to where I knew we would be able to catch it. This was a bit of a hike, but not too bad. And we did catch the bus. The sad part is that it only went up the river about another six blocks and that was it, end of the line. I was obviously wrong about where the R03 bus went.

Well, we took a nice little hike up to Cuale Paraiso and had a nice little lunch.

Cuale Paraiso's Front Entrance


After lunch we headed back out to the highway and caught the R04 bus. I figured that as long as we went this far I would show Paul and Sharon where we had hiked the other day and see just where the R04 bus did end its run. But, again, a small error was made. Not all R04 buses go to the end of the line. How you tell which one's do and which don't, I have no idea. At any rate, the end of the line for the bus we were on was in the middle of nowhere.

End Of The Line


My understanding now is that only one out of every four R04 buses go all the way to the end of the line. The rest stop here and then if you see a bus that looks like it isn't going to stop, you try to flag it down.

Flagging Down A Runaway Bus


It turns out that the real end of the line is just about a quarter of a mile from where we had our beers the other day. I had noticed a little restaurant next door to the store, but it was closed because it was Good Friday. I saw that it was open now though so we decided to pop in for a couple of beers and some nachos.

Paul And Bar Man At Los Girasoles


There was just a small dining area and a very small bar. However, you could walk through the open back where there was a small swimming pool and then down some steps to tables that were right on the river.

Bar Man, Beer, And Babbling Brook


This far up the river from town the river is much cleaner and deeper and the current a bit swifter. About twenty locals were on the bus with us and they hiked to the river from the end of the line. Before we finished our beers they had a major picnic going and about ten little kids were having a great time swimming in the river.

Sharon, Paul, And Bar Man Relaxing Riverside


The lady who was bringing us our beer and nachos was the same one who I bought beers from in the store the other day. She remembered us so we carried on like old friends.

Bar Man, Monte, and Mysterious Chinese Woman


It was a very friendly place and I bet they don't get too many visitors from town stopping up this way. I will make a point of going back next year though, now that I know kind of how to get the right bus. Next time I won't eat first and try their food. I think it was a pretty limited menu though, but the nachos were good.

La Ballena Azul

Ah, I love this place. It was number 217 back when I was doing my 1000 bars in a year thing. I never fail to go back every time I am in Puerto Vallarta, more than once if I can.

Bar Man And Paul About To Be Swallowed


We had the whole crowd with us, or at least our bitter, er, better halves and we quickly settled in for shots of tequila and beers.

Making Ourselves At Home


I was happy to see that you could still buy cigarettes one at a time for the machine on the wall. I think it cost 10 or maybe 20 pesos per cigarette.

The Machine


Normally I don't smoke, but I do like an occasional cigarette and I always feel compelled to have one when I come in here. I didn't have a match but the bartender was more than happy to give me a light.

A Most Attentive Bartender


I am not sure if the bartender told me his name, but if he did I have forgotten it. I really should start taking notes again.

My Amigo


We got here fairly early in the day so the place wasn't very crowded, just a few guys having drinks at the bar.

The Early Crowd


Of course I couldn't help but notice the Michigan tee-shirt on the one guy. I, fortified by my tequila, had to go over and explain that I was from Minnesota and we were rivals of Michigan but now I was a Chivas supporter.

Buddies At The Bar


Immediately after affectionately placing my hand on his shoulder the brawl broke out and we had to fight our way out the swinging doors. I was glad for two things. First, the wooden chairs that they used to have had been replaced by plastic chairs so they didn't hurt as much. Second, I was here with Paul and Sharon instead of with Rico And Sandy. Sandy could have held her own but Sharon was much better in a brawl than Rico would have been. The Mysterious Chinese Woman is very effective when it comes to in-close fighting.