Trip Report - Mme. Dogma & Mexivoof

[Mme. Dogma]

Got back Wednesday (March 22nd) night from our 4th trip to Playa and our 3rd time at Playa Maya. This was my favorite trip so far...and all of them have been wonderful. You know a vacation was good when you ask your husband where he wants to go for dinner when we get back and his reply is, "I don't care...anything but shrimp or steak."
Sure is rough when you're sated with seafood and steak.
I've been eager to get to this report, but my boss has been keeping me busy. He takes his title of "Controller" very, very seriously.
Didn't "do" a whole lot because we mainly wanted to relax and eat.
Since we left the house at 4:15 a.m. on Wednesday, I was starving for lunch when we got to Playa Maya. First thing I have to do every time is have those wonderful shrimp tacos.
This time not only did we have good food, we also had entertainment!
A group of people who took up two tables sat behind us. There were a few middle aged couples and a teenager or two. They started discussing the menu, trying to decide what they could take a chance on eating. They started discussing the octopus tacos. A couple of them claimed to have had octopus before, although they kept calling it "calamari".
One woman declared, "It probably tastes just like chicken!"
One of her fellow diners replied, "Yeah, but with octopus you get eight legs!"
I thought that was hilarious and nearly spit out my beer. No one else at their table seemed to find it amusing. I think they found it merely horrendous.
After my husband Don (aka Mexivoof) mentioned to the guy closest to him that the octopus was really good (I've had it several times), that brave man announced to the amazement of all that he was going to try them!
So then they all ordered their food followed by screams of "No ice! No Ice!"
They weren't satisified that ice wasn't going to be force fed to them until they got the waiter to repeat "NO ICE."
After all, one of their number was already risking his life by consuming mysterious sea creatures. The rest of them weren't going to be done in as well by deadly ice.
It seems that they all lived. The octopus was pronounced to be "very good". Even with warm Coke!
That night we had dinner at Xache. We've attempted to have dinners there before and sometimes we have succeeded; however, we have never been able to both have dinner AND remember it the next day.
First time we were there 4 years ago it was my birthday. After the mariachis sang "Happy Birthday" to me, one of them grabbed my chin and poured a shot down my throat before I could cry, "No tequilla!"
I don't remember anything after that except a terrible headache the next day.
The other two times we saved dinner there for a special dinner near the end of the trip. By then we're just too stuffed to eat and/or we've been sitting at the bar too long.
This year we decided to go the first night when we still had room in our stomachs. Well, we almost didn't make it. Don insisted on taking me to the Glass Bar for several glasses of wine first. (Wonder why the bartender, Jose, remembered us from last year???) This time we both had entrees and remembered what they were. I had fish wrapped in a banana leaf and Don had shredded pork marinated in sour orange. Excellent.
After that we relaxed on our balcony drinking the cheap Kahlua that we bought in town.
And no hangover. Success!
Part 2 to follow on Monday....

[ryberg]

A raucous good start, if I do say so myself! Yes, by all means, run for the hills if my waiters bring you ice, folks! (Except the ice that's made out of frozen vodka, you know. )

I for one am looking forward to more of this report, based on this auspicious beginning. Send that boss away and type!

Steve

[W8N4Summer]

Looking forward to more.....but do we really have to wait until Monday We're staying at Playa Maya in June for the first time and really looking forward to it!

[Softy57]

MONDAY!!!!

[kgargr]

It was so fun to meet you at the Peep Meet on the 16th, and then run into you later as well ... looking forward to more .... I have a picture of you that I will post when I continue my report ... and conquer my picture sizing issues.

[Mexivoof]

Allow me to point out that convincing Mme Dogma to have a glass of wine at the Glass Bar is about as difficult as convincing one of our dogs to grab a piece of cheese that is thrown into the air

[maliasma]

Sounds like a great start...but now I'm wanting more!!!

It's Monday.....

[Bren]

Well is it Monday and we are all waiting patiently for the next days report

[Mme. Dogma]

Monday, back to "work"...back to my Trip Report, that is.
Back to Thursday, March 16, our first full day in Playa. I just love getting up early and seeing that lovely sunrise from our balcony. Is there a more beautiful sound than those waves first thing in the morning?
Relaxed on the beach and read all morning until lunch. Had the pollo nachos at Playa Maya. We saw 2 guys eating them yesterday and they looked really good and cheesy. Wisconsin folks love cheese! There's a news flash for you.
That evening we were going to a Peep Meet at the Tequilla Barrel, so we had an early dinner.
Every year we have seen crowds of people waiting to get at La Parrilla, so we decided to try it this year. We got there just in time to get a table without waiting. It was a very romantic table near the street; we were awash in the glow of the white blazing light of the farmacia next door. Every time I turned to look adoringly at my charming husband, I was distracted by the word "STEROIDS" that was painted on the farmacia wall, but was aligned right over his head. Considering what other things they sell in there, I suppose it could have been worse.
Anyway, La Parrilla. I'm convinced that the name translates to "Restaurant of All Things on Fire."
Every other table had something ablaze. One of them was almost me. The table behind us was just finishing dinner and had ordered one of those Mexican coffees that they make into a big production number. They start by setting a fire in one pot and pouring it into another and the flames shoot up the stream of coffee, etc etc. It's all about liquor and fire.
The waiter had set up his fire pot station right behind my chair. It would have been nice if he would have warned me about this. If I had decided to get up for some reason or even tilted my head back one inch, I would have a decidedly different hair-do today. I wasn't that worried once I saw a woman from another table video taping the whole thing. If I had gone up in a ball of flame it would all be on film and Mexivoof could have sued and bought a condo on Playa.
I'm sure that video will show up on some "funniest video" show. No one is going to be watching the coffee routine. They're all going to be amused by the scared gringa in the background, especially when I jumped when the metal sauceboat slipped off the flames.
The fire didn't stop there. Next he made a steak at the table to my left. I swear I thought I'd never get out of the place without being charred.
After that another waiter brought a huge tray to a table of 3. This tray held - I kid you not - a flaming pineapple. He pulled a long flaming brochette out of the pineapple and put it on the young man's plate. Since it wasn't on fire enough, he poured more liquor on it and torched it again. The guy was so taken with his burning meat that he took a photo of it, then had the waiter take a picture of him with the brochette.
Mexivoof and I ordered two of the few things that didn't come with fire. Don had the Mexican chile which was an open faced chile relleno. He really liked it but only managed to eat about 40% of it. It was huge. I had the arrachera tacos which I really enjoyed until the table next to us ordered that dangerous coffee which again was placed within inches of me. By now I had had a few glasses of wine, so I didn't care that much.
People were now crowding the street to get into this place, but it was time for us to meet some peeps.
It was easy to spot them at the Tequilla Barrel wearing their beads. Had a wonderful time meeting so many people who's names I've seen on the forum. I loved walking around the rest of the week and waving at people we knew, just like we were home. Well, better than home. I don't think I really know that many people here at home....unless they're walking dogs.

[Mme. Dogma]

Day 3 - St. Patrick's Day on the Fat Cat
Almost forgot it was St. Patrick's Day until reminded of it that day by Starfish. We were joined on the trip by fellow peeps Starfish and her husband Mark and JimmyJames and his wife Hillary. Got to ride in the van with Kimba.
This was our first time on the Fat Cat and definitely not the last. We had such a great time. I was raving about it when I got back to work. One of my co-workers is going to Playa on her honeymoon in 2 months so I forwarded the website to her. She is so excited about it. Everyone should go on the Fat Cat!
We didn't get our souvenir photo because the camera broke, but first thing they did after introductions and instructions was hand out your choice of beverage. Although it was about 10:00 in the morning, my dear spouse chose a Tecate. He said he "needed the carbonation to settle his stomach."
I remembered that line so he better not try to use it again.
We snorkeled at the reef at Ina. We had gone snorkeling in Cozumel a few years ago and I really didn't like it. (The water was dark and really deep - so deep that there were scuba divers below us. The fish were ugly and we just to keep swimming, swimming, swimming towards this big ball...it was more like a struggle for survival than snorkeling.)
But this time it was fun, the fish were pretty and plentiful, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Looking forward to doing that again.
After that they passed out the famous rum punch and more beer. Kimba was a little tired after swimming and she was sitting next to me. Pretty soon she was lying on the seat with her head on my lap. She stayed that way the whole way back. I would have tried the ride in the net, but being Mme. Dogma, I didn't want to disturb Kimba. Only our third day and already I was missing my dogs, so I loved having Kimba snuggled up with me, even if I did get covered with black, slobbery whiskers. Like I cared!
Mexivoof tried telling me that Kimba was only sitting with me because I was in her seat. He said mean things like, "She puts her head on anyone's lap who sits in this seat. This time it just happened to be you." Huh! He was just jealous. I knew that Kimba knew a true dog lover when she met one. Go have another beer, Señor Envy, leave us alone!
One comment, though: everyone else was getting something to drink but I didn't notice any water for Kimba. When we got off the boat she was looking for something to drink. I got her some ice and a girl opened up a spigot for Kimba to take a drink. She was really thirsty.
All in all, the Fat Cat is an excellent way to spend the day. And we got the free t-shirt by booking through Playa Info.
After we back, we relaxed on the balcony for a bit, then Mexivoof dragged me to the Glass Bar - again! The bartender, José, even knew what we were going to order when we sat down. Somehow we always manage to become "regulars" at some bar or other when we travel.
Once we were in a bar in Saugatuck, Michigan and the bartender was writing notes about us in a little journal he kept behind the bar...but then, that's a whole 'nother story....
Thanks to a glowing review by JimmyJames, we went to dinner at Don Mario's on 8th and 10th Avenue. Very charming, excellent food, and they have a parrot in the bar who wolf-whistles.
The added allure of this place is that it's on a very busy corner so you have a front row seat to witness the awesome skill of the traffic cop who is brave enough to stand in that intersection.
I had the arrachera, rare, and Mexivoof had the rib eye steak. Both were extraordinary. 8 oz steak, french fries, and a very fresh salad with tomatoes the color red that I won't see around here for months and months yet...for $9. They also had a nice selection of Spanish and Chilean wines. Go there! It's wonderful! The only thing is, they are not taking credit cards yet. Cash only.
Did I mention that they had nice wine?
We stumbled back home to Playa Maya and I was still able to get up early to catch that sunrise, with a little help from an Advil or two.

[kgargr]

Love your report!!! Yeah, I had a flaming chicken thing last year at La Parilla .. interesting.

[Starfish]

We ate that Saturday at Don Mario's. We all had either the rib eye's or the arrchera steak. It was one of the best meals we had in Playa for that price. It's an excellent restaurant. Also had a wonderful meal at El Adela on 5th. Tequilla Shrimp was made table side and flaming.

[maliasma]

Yay...more, more, more! I'm lovin' this trip report.

So...dumb question...is the La Parilla in Playa the same as the La Parilla in downtown Cancun?? I've eaten at the one in Cancun...and had a good time there. Mmm...cheladas!

Keep it coming Mme. Dogma...this is great stuff and it's helping me get my Playa fix!

[Mme. Dogma]

Yes, I believe it said that La Parilla had another location in Cancun. Another place, too, but I don't remember.
Starfish - Don Mario's was definitely one of our favorite meals this trip. (We even went back there for our last night!) El Adela looked good, but you know - too many restaurants, not enough time! That's on our list for next year.

[Mexivoof]

A note on Don Mario's. It is not well marked. It is on the SE corner of Calle 8 and Avenida 10