PV #8

Well, yesterday (Thursday) was pretty much the same thing. We woke up, ate breakfast, strolled along the beach, had a morning beverage, soaked up the sun, swam in the pool, and people watched. All the while we were constantly offered drinks during the day. I think I will need a new liver by the time I get home.

The highlight of the day was our evening dinner. There are a lot of options available here in Puerto Vallarta. The problem is knowing first what you want to eat, and then second deciding where to go. So we tried something different. After searching some websites on restaurants in Puerto Vallarta, and getting a lot of spam in the process, we decided to try Fodors.com to see if there were any recommendations. Of course, the recommendations were just as plentiful as the number of options in Puerto Vallarta, so the hope to narrow the choices down wasn't very fruitful.

But, we did look at one restaurant that had a great rating, with reasonable prices for food. Called "Langostino's," it was in Zona Romantica on the south side of the city. From the description, it was set on the beach and was supposed to have great food.

We got our reservation made with the help of the concierge, and then took a taxi to our destination. Janet decided to stay in for the evening, so Cat, Monette and I ventured off in the taxi. As we got closer to the restaurant, the area where the restaurant was was quite quaint, with lots of little cafes all over, small shops, and soft lighting all around the streets. It was very cool, and reminded me of a tropical version of a small European side street.

The taxi driver needed to get redirected to the restaurant, but once he did, we went down to the end of a dead end street. I was thinking for sure that we were lost, or that we were in for a big shock. The driver offered to go out and look to see if we were in the right spot. Coming back to the car, he gave the thumbs up, we got out, and he proceded to tell us that it looked really nice.

There weren't many people around, and we walked down the sidewalk along side of the restaurant, we made a quick left, and there it was. It was LITERALLY on the beach. We went to the maitre d' and he led us to our table. It was right on the beach. We sat, ordered our drinks, and proceeded to get our feet wet from the waves washing underneath the table. We were then moved to our second table, where we were just about set to order, and again, the waves washed underneath our feet, and it started raining.

Third time being the charm, we were finally moved into the main part of the restaurant, which had a beautiful view of the coastline, and an interesting walkway in front, where people would stroll by.

Then the food came. We had queso fundido with chorizo and mushrooms served on tortillas served in a clay pot, a mixed vegetable salad, and Cat ordered oysters Rockefeller (which we found they didn't have later on), which were replaced by breaded bay scallops with a spicy tartar sauce. We got the food, and realized by the portion size, it could have fed the whole city of Guadalajara. Furthermore, the food was FANTASTIC!

After that we chatted, and were then served our main entrees which two of us had lobster and steak, with baked potato and vegetables, and the other had coconut shrimp with a tamarind mango sauce. Again, the food was FANTASTIC!

We had a really nice chat with the woman that owns the restaurant, as she was very curious how we heard about her restaurant. I explained that we were looking for restaurant ideas on the internet, and that her restaurant had 2-3 reviews on Fodors.com that gave it the highest rating one can give. We then told her that was the reason for our visit. She had no idea what Fodor's was, and after explaining to her that it is a HUGE travel guide service, she was somewhat blown away. She went on to tell us that she doesn't advertise like many restaurants, and that she prefers to have her restaurant be known by word of mouth, as the best business is from the referrals her patrons give. I will say this: her restaurant and its food and service fully will live up to the expectations of the referral that one gives. We were far from disappointed, but rather just the opposite: incredibly surprised.

After dinner, the owner gave us an aperatif on the house (tequila) and then we were enticed to try Mexican coffee. It was quite a demonstration. It had lots of fire involved, lots of pouring and mixing a concoction of tequila, kahlua, and rum between two pouring scoops. Then as the fire was still going, they took sugar and cinnamon to coat the rims of the stemmed glassware, searing it to the rim of the glass. The drink was then poured into the glass, topped with some whipped cream, and voila, we had our drinks. Damn they were tasty!

What an enjoyable way to spend on of the last evenings of our vacation, and what a different way to do it. We headed back to the hotel, and arrived just after midnight. We thought we'd try to go up to the rooftop patio bar for a nightcap, only to find a small group of drunk Mexicans talking at foghorn level on a cell phone, and several not-so-happy employees earnestly waiting for everyone to leave. Alas, I guess everyone couldn't be happy...

Again, another great day was had by all, and what a finish to the evening! I would recommend Langostino's to anyone, especially for the ambience and the hominess of the restaurant.

Yeah....I'm loving vacation.....