Yes, we were on yet another trip. This time for nine days. I realize that I'm waaaay behind on my travel posts, like 5 trips behind! Heck, I haven't even started posting on our last road trip yet. I also realize that I'm kinda mixing and matching travel posts and have gotten two emails from folks saying how confusing it is for them. For this, I apologize. I am trying not to mix trips on consecutive days, so hopefully that helps!
As for this last trip, well, we started in a familiar locale, one of our favorite cities. And wanting to start things off on the "right foot", went to an old standby of ours.
We did stay at different accommodations this time. We loved our "suite", though it was quite hot, and the place had no A/C.
The staff was wonderful, and there was even an official snorer "greeter" on site at all times!
We did two amazing tours here. One was a private historical tour combined with eats. We have been to the historical center of the city several times; but we did learn a lot and visited some places we would never had found on our own.
We also had our favorite tacos of the trip on this tour.
The second was a small group (4 people) tour of the largest market in the city. Our guide was a former chef/caterer who was simply amazing! And we got to try some interesting eats as well!
Our next stop was the city with the third largest metropolitan area in the country. It's also home to some iconic dishes, which of course, we got to try.
We also did a private food tour one day and a fantastic walking tour of the city the next.
We also had our two favorite dinners of the trip here as well.
Our next stop is famous for its namesake agave spirit.
We loved the friendly, laid-back vibe here. Folks were warm and kind….and yes, it was indeed warm with temps in the triple digits when we visited. It was nice to be ensconced in a wonderful five-star hotel in the town.
We did two distillery tours, the first took us to a demonstration garden so we could watch the Jimador in action.
We had booked a VIP tour, so the second half consisted of a wonderful private tasting, followed by a nice three course meal.
The second distillery tour was one with a familiar brand name.
This tour exceeded my expectations and really helped to "fill in the blanks". We also did a private combined distilled beverage and chocolate tasting.
This was such a beautiful and charming town.
We really took to this "Pueblo Magico". I even found my favorite "breakfast" spot in the "Callejon del Taco".
And the Missus could polish off a liter of Crema de Coco or Coconut water from this cart in a minute.
Yes, we loved our time in this state. The sights, the sounds, the food, the agave spirits! But it was the warm and friendly people that really made an impression on us!
They work so hard, but always seemed to have time for a smile!
We can't wait to return!
Thanks for stopping by, I'll have something for San Diego tomorrow!
The eggs were nice and runny, though it needed salt. The country style potatoes were on the dry side, though I did like the beans. The shredded beef which in this case was stir fried with red and green peppers, onions, and a scant bit of tomato were fine; though I prefer the more salty, beefy, toothsome, and intense flavor of the Machaca Sonora.
The the outrageous price of NT$45….yes, I'm kidding, this equates to about $1.45/US we got a bowl with a large dumpling which was fried before entering the thick miasma of a sauce. The wrapper had a pleasant, somewhat glutinous chewiness. The sauce was thick, quite savory, with a hint of sweetness. The meatball was very tasty, though a bit on the tough and chewy side. The combination of flavors was excellent. And this was pretty filling.
Does the presentation of the sashimi look familiar? Well, it should. When I sat, I was told "Sashimi Kirk-san…." it wasn't a question, more of an affirmation.
my 
And this was just what I needed at this moment. Don't get me wrong, this would be just decent poke back home; but it sure beats all those "chi-poke" places out there. And it made for a nice lunch.
I enjoyed sitting right outside the shop. The view of the plantation style houses reminded me of our trips to Honolua "small kid time" to see my grandparents.
We had enjoyed the fact that everything from the pasture raised beef, to the brioche buns, to the mushrooms in the mushroom burger is local. The Missus had really enjoyed the mushroom burger the last time and of course, this being Parker Ranch territory, I needed to have that Big Island Beef Burger.
This was cooked a bit past that, but the burger was so beefy! I requested just a touch of mustard, which combined with the wonderfully sweet and acidic tomato really helped to balance out the beefiness. The beef was a bit toothsome; but that's the deal with pasture raised beef made from cuts like chuck and brisket.
This was actually not bad. The large salad did have some brown leaves, but while the rice looked dry, it wasn't.
A generous plate of fresh-looking bun, basil, mint, et al was provided. The nuoc mam cham was on the sweeter side of things. The sauce for the Bun Cha was on the sweeter end of things but wasn't too bad. Loved the pickled veggies, which helped to cut the sweet and saltiness. There were two good size pork patties, which were on the chewier end of things. The actual pork slices were much more flavorful in my opinion.
While it arrived on the typical sizzling plate….well, it wasn't sizzling. The dill and onions were soggy and wilted, and the fish cold. This was quite strange. Totally a far cry from 
I got my plate with Red Rice instead of white. The rice was done quite well, moist, good texture, there was another scoop of rice hiding under the eggs. There was a good amount of Portuguese Sausage, which was really crisp and hard, almost like it was deep fried! While I do like the exterior of my sausage crisp; this had taken it a bit far. The sausage was dry. The eggs were a nice easy-over and that egg yolk flowed beautifully over the rice. No off flavors: though I needed to get some salt as it seems that they don't season the eggs. I also like my eggs crisp around the edges.