So once again the weather is back to normal for this time of year: highs in the low 80s; lows in the middle 40s. Facebook brings news of family and friends with pictures of snow and reports of gusting winds. Brrrrr....
And yesterday was nothing special - stores were open, people went about their business as usual - unless you're an ex-pat and then it's Thanksgiving! Folks who post on the Civil List forum have been in a tizzy over which turkey to purchase (44p/kg frozen at Sorriano; 150p/kg 'fresh' and 'organic' at a specialty store and everything in-between); how frozen a 'fresh' turkey should be (even the USDA - which doesn't apply here in Mexico - allows 'fresh' to be maintained at 32F which can easily slide into the freezing zone, so 'where's the beef?' to mix metaphors); where to find cranberries - especially fresh ones for their favorite sauce for the turkey. One person's turkey arrived with only some of the giblets inside; this generated a whole series of postings about exchanging 'parts' if your turkey had any extra. The final poster reported that she was an old lady and looking for an extra bladder!
We opted to accept friends' invitation to join them at a small restaurant that was serving a traditional T-Day feast late in the afternoon. The restaurant owner had recently given up her location in Centro and had converted the lower level of her house and patio into a restaurant in Colonia Allende. ['Lower level' was still a storey-and-a-half above street level, which provided a lovely view over SMA, particularly as the sun set and lights came on.]
We had offered to drive our friends who live near us to the restaurant rather than take taxis, so we made a trial run to find the location in the morning. Good thing we did as it's the penultimate house at the top of a dead end street with no room for our van to make a turnaround. We had to back down the hill for 2 blocks until there was a road into which we could maneuver for a 3-point turn. As a result, we each took taxis to dinner. I wouldn't want to think about backing down the street while full of food and wine!
Our friends told us that they approached three different taxis before they found one that would take them to the restaurant. We were lucky and our first taxi agreed to deliver us there. He did charge a bit extra, but it was worth it to avoid the parking/turnaround problem.
The dinner itself was great: four appetizers [panela (a cheese) baked with herbs, marinated mushrooms, crudites with a dill dip, and a lovely green salad], several side dishes [wild rice & mushroom dressing, creamed spinach, mashed potatoes & gravy (good on the dressing and turkey, too), mashed sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts & carrots, and a tart cranberry sauce], and, of course, tender, moist turkey baked in a pizza oven [with everything else, we never reached the deep-fried turkey]. Dessert was pumpkin pie and a fruit (perhaps prune?) crisp, both served with mounds of lightly-sweetened whipped crema (we don't do whipping cream down here). A nice blend of traditional and Mexican-interpreted dishes.
And the best part was dinner with good friends and no preparation or clean-up! We think of our friend in California who probably did herself in cooking a terrific feast for her family who don't really care much about food.
The attendees yesterday were, as you might expect, all ex-pats who didn't want to miss their Thanksgiving Day feast. One ex-pat did bring a Mexican friend and politely introduced her to each table. Otherwise it included the usual assortment of folks. The ex-pat community here may be large, but one sees many of the same folks regularly. Don't know where the others hide. We recognized a few of them from the Farm and Dairy tour we took when our friend Diane was in town last week. And our friends knew more, of course. Our table was just chatter, chatter, chatter for the whole three hours.
Afterwards we walked down the hill to the main street and caught a cab to the Jardin for drinks at La Azotea where the weather was so pleasant the awning was retracted and the plexiglass barriers behind the bougainvillea plants along the edge of the terrace had been removed. Ah, San Miguel!
We then toddled off home to feed the dogs and sink into bed. They did not get turkey - and I hope they weren't anticipating last year's leftovers. Maybe that's why Miyake decided to bark most of the night until I enticed her downstairs to watch television together?
Ah, well - another day in paradise!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Restaurant Lotto
San Miguel has a lot of restaurants: some good, some bad, some so-so. You can find Asian fusion cuisine, Italian, Chicago-style pizza, French, Tex-Mex, New Orleans style, organic, burgers, chain pizza, authentic Mexican - you name it, there's probably a restaurant that has it. The restaurants themselves fall into several categories: elegant, comida-style, deli, hole-in-the-wall, family-run, hamburger stands, cafes, take-out, taco stands, tapas bars - I'm sure we have at least one of every kind you can think of here in SMA.
Of course with most of these restaurants catering to the gringo population, survival can be a struggle. The Civil List - a Yahoo group forum with nearly 5,000 'listeroos' - features announcements of new restaurants, menu changes, chef changes, and glowing reviews from patrons. One sometimes wonders about the well-meaning patrons of restaurants and other businesses who post their reviews, just as one wonders about such announcements which omit addresses and thus require someone to ask for the address and the first poster then writes back with the address (copying the original announcement/review, of course).
As a co-moderator, I read all the digests of the daily posts assiduously, looking for my specialty: the second 'for sale' ad placed by a particular poster within a current month. This imposed review makes one a bit cynical over time - but I digress.
So today we walked into a newly opened restaurant looking for lunch when we were immediately pounced upon by a woman who demanded whether we were there for 'the best bagels, ever.' As it turns out, she was not a principal in the restaurant, but an avid fan and customer hyped up on caffeine after two weeks of bed rest. We nearly ran.
We're glad we didn't, even though - as the only other customers at that point in time - we had to carry on a conversation about SMA, San Diego theater, chocolate, dogs, you-name-it until she finally went off to her gallery, commenting that SMA was like an out patient waiting room. [Oh, how true!] Once our luncheon arrived it was wonderfully delicious - and we had a nice conversation with another diner who was studying silversmithing.
I'm even considering posting on the Civil list about the place - it was both good and under patronized. Another listeroo posted before going; we can tie in an 'after' report for the fourth unsolicited review!
Of course with most of these restaurants catering to the gringo population, survival can be a struggle. The Civil List - a Yahoo group forum with nearly 5,000 'listeroos' - features announcements of new restaurants, menu changes, chef changes, and glowing reviews from patrons. One sometimes wonders about the well-meaning patrons of restaurants and other businesses who post their reviews, just as one wonders about such announcements which omit addresses and thus require someone to ask for the address and the first poster then writes back with the address (copying the original announcement/review, of course).
As a co-moderator, I read all the digests of the daily posts assiduously, looking for my specialty: the second 'for sale' ad placed by a particular poster within a current month. This imposed review makes one a bit cynical over time - but I digress.
So today we walked into a newly opened restaurant looking for lunch when we were immediately pounced upon by a woman who demanded whether we were there for 'the best bagels, ever.' As it turns out, she was not a principal in the restaurant, but an avid fan and customer hyped up on caffeine after two weeks of bed rest. We nearly ran.
We're glad we didn't, even though - as the only other customers at that point in time - we had to carry on a conversation about SMA, San Diego theater, chocolate, dogs, you-name-it until she finally went off to her gallery, commenting that SMA was like an out patient waiting room. [Oh, how true!] Once our luncheon arrived it was wonderfully delicious - and we had a nice conversation with another diner who was studying silversmithing.
I'm even considering posting on the Civil list about the place - it was both good and under patronized. Another listeroo posted before going; we can tie in an 'after' report for the fourth unsolicited review!
Monday, November 8, 2010
The Perfect Climate
As all good things eventually do, our perfect climate has changed: it's cold in San Miguel! When I was stationed in Bavaria it snowed in time for Hallowe'en, and that hasn't happened yet. Dia de Los Muertos was cool but comfy.
For the past few days it has been chilly. Our cement houses retain heat from the daytime and coolness from evening hours to even out the temperatures for us. Unfortunately, we've only had coolness as of late. Barely warming to the low 70s during the day, it has fallen into the low 30s at night. It's 2 am right now and the temperature is about 36 degrees with cooler temperatures promised before sunrise. It may be darkest before the dawn; it sure is cooler, too. [These temperatures are in Fahrenheit; it's even more exciting to see them in Centigrade!]
Highs in only the low seventies doesn't do it when it's so cold at night. When your homes have cement/tile walls, floors, and ceilings, they don't have a chance to warm up enough during the day to temper the evening hours. Our home office, which has both its ceiling and western wall exposed to the sun, usually requires the use of a ceiling fan. Today it required the use of a heater.
We wore our robes and jammies and whatever we thought would keep us warm around the house. [Why didn't I order those comfy slippers last week?] Once dressed (Pedro was coming to refit some electrical things around the house) it was time for layers. Going out for dinner required both layers and jackets to keep warm on our 1250-step walk to the restaurant. We had been told to expect cool weather in January/February; this caught us by surprise.
We did haul out the electric radiator (we don't have the gas version) and it followed us around from inhabited room to room. We are planning on picking up a second heater from a local store so that we can make at least two floors comfortable. The heaters are a bit too heavy to haul up and down the stairs with grace, and aren't particularly pricey. We don't need one for the first floor as we seldom use the first floor's living room.
Can't wait to see our bimonthly electricity bill. At least the electric, oil-filled radiators require only throwing a switch to have them functioning. We had enough fun relighting the pilot on the gas water heater after our recent vacation.
Our second line of defense is the low-voltage warming mattress pads on all the beds. They provide a subtle heat that gently warms you through. We finally turned them on this week. [The pads have been on the beds all the time; they are plush-topped and rather comfy year around.] Topped with a fluffy duvet, it's heaven. But one can't stay in bed all the time....
Fortunately the weather should take a turn for the warmer later this week (highs in the 80s and lows in only the 40s) when we have guests arriving from the US. Checking their local weather forecast, it seems it's to be rain and chill there today. At least it's still dry here and an 80/40 split should warm us up again.
Perhaps we'll be able to maintain our 'perfect climate' reputation after all.
For the past few days it has been chilly. Our cement houses retain heat from the daytime and coolness from evening hours to even out the temperatures for us. Unfortunately, we've only had coolness as of late. Barely warming to the low 70s during the day, it has fallen into the low 30s at night. It's 2 am right now and the temperature is about 36 degrees with cooler temperatures promised before sunrise. It may be darkest before the dawn; it sure is cooler, too. [These temperatures are in Fahrenheit; it's even more exciting to see them in Centigrade!]
Highs in only the low seventies doesn't do it when it's so cold at night. When your homes have cement/tile walls, floors, and ceilings, they don't have a chance to warm up enough during the day to temper the evening hours. Our home office, which has both its ceiling and western wall exposed to the sun, usually requires the use of a ceiling fan. Today it required the use of a heater.
We wore our robes and jammies and whatever we thought would keep us warm around the house. [Why didn't I order those comfy slippers last week?] Once dressed (Pedro was coming to refit some electrical things around the house) it was time for layers. Going out for dinner required both layers and jackets to keep warm on our 1250-step walk to the restaurant. We had been told to expect cool weather in January/February; this caught us by surprise.
We did haul out the electric radiator (we don't have the gas version) and it followed us around from inhabited room to room. We are planning on picking up a second heater from a local store so that we can make at least two floors comfortable. The heaters are a bit too heavy to haul up and down the stairs with grace, and aren't particularly pricey. We don't need one for the first floor as we seldom use the first floor's living room.
Can't wait to see our bimonthly electricity bill. At least the electric, oil-filled radiators require only throwing a switch to have them functioning. We had enough fun relighting the pilot on the gas water heater after our recent vacation.
Our second line of defense is the low-voltage warming mattress pads on all the beds. They provide a subtle heat that gently warms you through. We finally turned them on this week. [The pads have been on the beds all the time; they are plush-topped and rather comfy year around.] Topped with a fluffy duvet, it's heaven. But one can't stay in bed all the time....
Fortunately the weather should take a turn for the warmer later this week (highs in the 80s and lows in only the 40s) when we have guests arriving from the US. Checking their local weather forecast, it seems it's to be rain and chill there today. At least it's still dry here and an 80/40 split should warm us up again.
Perhaps we'll be able to maintain our 'perfect climate' reputation after all.
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