NEVER ON 5th

Jimontheriver · 02-13-2010

This trip we wanted to try eating off of 5th Ave for the whole trip, and we almost did.

We ran across this place on the north side of Jaurez, checked out the menu and thought this was a new place we wanted to try. They told us they closed at 11pm. We tried going here on our last 2 nights at around 9pm only to find them closed.

So the first night that we tried going to Tiburones, only to find them closed we ended up eating on 5th eating at 10, Our meal was very good and it was on my list of places to try.

supersponge · 02-13-2010

more please I like your reports short sweet and to the point thanks.

**Shammy** · 02-13-2010

I ate at El Diez the last time I stayed in Playa too, first time I ever went there. I was surprised, I guess I didn't expect it to be very good but I had a pizza with shrimp and it was the best pizza I've had in Playa (not counting the drunken pizza you get at 2am from Pizza Pazza

). My husband had a steak and he liked his just fine as well.

gingele · 02-13-2010

We also ate at El Diez for the first time last November, it was right around the corner from our condo. We, too, were very pleasantly surprised. We had not heard anything about the place before trying it - it was one of those nights that we just wandered around looking at menus, and with 8 in our group, finding one place the majority agreed upon (let alone everyone) was always a challenge. Whenever we try a previously-unknown-to-us place like that, I always go in with middle of the road expectations.

Our party had a fair sampling of entrees - both fish and steaks. Everyone was really happy with their meals. We were also ery happy with the price - everything including the wine was reasonably priced given the quality of the food and the portion size. The service was also very good.

julie in PA · 02-14-2010

Oh goodie another Jimontheriver trip report!

From one foodie to another - thanks in advance!!

January Guy · 02-14-2010

Looking forward to reading more and learning about some new places to try!

I do find it funny though that the first place you ate on was on 5th!

Jimontheriver · 02-14-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by January Guy

Looking forward to reading more and learning about some new places to try!

I do find it funny though that the first place you ate on was on 5th!

It was not the first night, it was the 6th night in Playa, but it was the only place during this trip (except for a smoothie), I'm working on my TR now, and as you very well know, they take time. I thought about your idea & naming my TP after a song. That song whould have been "Toes", you know the song I'm sure, " Toes in the water A-- in the Sand", but the "Never on 5th" (almost)seemed to be a better fit.

Jimontheriver · 02-14-2010

Friday, 1/30/10

St. Louis Bound.

At least it has warmed up some; we started the day at 7 deg. We left home about 1 pm headed for St Louis, 7 miles down the road I realize that my PC that I was going to drop off at my IC friend’s house to work on is in the back seat of the Jeep so back we go, drop it off and back on the road again.

After we get check in at the St Louis Airport Marriott it is time to head for the bar.

Donna says that vacation really starts with the first drink, and she starts with an orange martini.

We really like staying at this Marriott, besides being just across I-70 & having a 24 hour shuttle to the airport they have a great restaurant / bar. Their park / stay / fly rate is $99 for 8 days parking & room which is $20 to $30 more than the cheapest park and fly but a much nicer place. I also like the fact that I will not have to drive anywhere so a second Beefeater Martini is ordered.
Another plus is that their shuttle will also take you to 3 other restaurants close by. Las Palmas Mexican (not for this trip), Bandana BBQ or Lombardo’s Italian / American. (http://www.lombardosrestaurants.com/rest_about_us.htm).

The last of the three being our choice.

After a great salad I have one of my favorites, Calf’s Liver with Bacon and it was very good.

Donna’s Chicken Lucciano

They came with a side of pasta in a wonderful creamy garlic sauce.

And, of course I had to get a little dessert to go. They have fantastic Tiramisu.

Jimontheriver · 02-14-2010

Saturday, 1/31/10

St Louis to Tango Taco

We wake up to 10 deg outside and catch the 8:30am hotel shuttle for our 11:20 flight (the web site for Frontier says to be there 3 hours before our flight).

The check-in line for Frontier has about 6 people in it. Off to the left & right American and United each have about 200 people in line. When we check-in over 2 ½ hours early we are told the flight is delayed 1 hour because of all of the traffic going into Cancun and that this is normal on Saturdays but stay close to the gate because this could change and they could be leaving sooner.

At least the airplane is here and waiting. We get the one with the Moose painted on the tail.

We board 1 hour late at 12 noon, and sit at the gate for another 20 minutes. At least we get to watch TV.

After 2 more 20 minute delays while sitting on the taxi-way we take off 2 hours late.

Goodbye St Louis

Hello Cancun

On the ground about 2 hours late we are ready to feel the heat of Mexico.

At the gate by 4:45 and being in row 6 we are off the plane and thru immigrations in 20 minutes. They tell us or luggage will be on carousel #5 or #6. The display says for 5 & 6 for Frontier flight from Denver, so as we all wait around for our luggage, I decide, just in case I’ll walk down toward the other carousels and sure enough there they are. Our bags with the large J A painted on them going around on #1. I could spot them from half a block away. I go back and tell everyone, and off we go. We are about 4th in line for the red light / green light. Green light and off to the ADO bus counter. Is there room on the next bus? Yes. How long till it leaves? ½ hour (that’s ¾ to 1 hour Mexican time). I figure I will just buy the tickets at the bus. Outside, there are no ADO buses even waiting. As we stand there with our cart full of luggage they start to swarm around us. “Where are you going, where do you want to go” we get asked about 30 times. Downtown Playa I say. $50 they say and feeling like a big spender I tell them that if we can leave in the next 10 minutes I will pay 500 pesos ($39). Next time I will try 450 pesos.

We are in Playa at our good friends Jimi & Chars condo on 20th Ave & calle 6 and Donna is enjoying a cold Sol by 6:40.

After some quick unpacking it’s off to Bad Boys with hopes of maybe meeting up with Silvergirl and / or AbsoluteAl. We never did see them but talked to Al there on Thursday.

It’s a full moon tonight

And we are in Playa!!!

The N B’s are playing and half the place is dancing.

Next stop just up the now huge beach is Fusion for a Paloma & a Margarita

Next stop and new favorite from our last trip.

Keith & Donna at El Bar

Time to eat we head for an old favorite that I know is open late.

Bread & chips and more for starters.

My Ensalada Tango, 85 pesos

Donna had the chicken special that came with a large glass on wine and dessert for 170 pesos

I had the Arrachera Tacos for 105 pesos. I wanted the Flat Meat Tacos but they had run out.

We shared the dessert that came with Donna’s special, ice cream with chocolate sausage. Don’t let the looks fool you, it was delicious (I almost licked the plate).

Ya got to love the ATM’s. FYI, during this trip I went to the ATM’s 4 times for a total of 12,000 pesos and it cost me a total $931 with all fees, this came out to an exchange rate of 12.883 to 1.

angelhouston819 · 02-14-2010

looking fwd to another one of your great reports!!

A'

Trish&Chad · 02-14-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shammy

I ate at El Diez the last time I stayed in Playa too, first time I ever went there. I was surprised, I guess I didn't expect it to be very good but I had a pizza with shrimp and it was the best pizza I've had in Playa (not counting the drunken pizza you get at 2am from Pizza Pazza

). My husband had a steak and he liked his just fine as well.

LOL...Shammy...we definitely have two things in common. Loved that shrimp pizza...and am so guilty of the drunken pizza at 2 am!!!

BeachyKeen · 02-14-2010

I can't wait for the rest of your report. You always take such good food pictures. Yummy!!

beachlvr · 02-14-2010

Oooooh yum! We live across the river from STL and Lombardo's is one of our favorite places in the city! The Veal Lucciano is awesome as well...do they have flash fried spinach at the airport location? If not, if you are ever in downtown St. Louis, their restaurant next to Union Station is wonderful...flash fried spinach is delicious! Love following your food report...we're headed down to Akumal in 2 weeks and always make a trip up to Playa for food and shopping and just experiencing Playa!

MN GKJ · 02-14-2010

Great job Jimmy, always luv yr reports, keep er coming!!!

silvergirl · 02-14-2010

Oh, Jim!!! I was at Bad Boys that night. It was quite the night in fact.

Being our last night in town, many shots of tequila was consumed.

So sorry I missed you and your wife. We were dancing most of the night.

Headed back on Thursday in fact!

02-13-2010	#1 (permalink)
Jimontheriver añejo Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Illinois on the Mississippi Posts: 2,121	NEVER ON 5th This trip we wanted to try eating off of 5th Ave for the whole trip, and we almost did. We ran across this place on the north side of Jaurez, checked out the menu and thought this was a new place we wanted to try. They told us they closed at 11pm. We tried going here on our last 2 nights at around 9pm only to find them closed. So the first night that we tried going to Tiburones, only to find them closed we ended up eating on 5th eating at 10, Our meal was very good and it was on my list of places to try. Last edited by Jimontheriver; 02-14-2010 at 01:08 PM..

02-14-2010	#8 (permalink)
Jimontheriver añejo Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Illinois on the Mississippi Posts: 2,121	St Louis Bound, Day 1 Friday, 1/30/10 St. Louis Bound. At least it has warmed up some; we started the day at 7 deg. We left home about 1 pm headed for St Louis, 7 miles down the road I realize that my PC that I was going to drop off at my IC friend’s house to work on is in the back seat of the Jeep so back we go, drop it off and back on the road again. After we get check in at the St Louis Airport Marriott it is time to head for the bar. Donna says that vacation really starts with the first drink, and she starts with an orange martini. We really like staying at this Marriott, besides being just across I-70 & having a 24 hour shuttle to the airport they have a great restaurant / bar. Their park / stay / fly rate is $99 for 8 days parking & room which is $20 to $30 more than the cheapest park and fly but a much nicer place. I also like the fact that I will not have to drive anywhere so a second Beefeater Martini is ordered. Another plus is that their shuttle will also take you to 3 other restaurants close by. Las Palmas Mexican (not for this trip), Bandana BBQ or Lombardo’s Italian / American. (http://www.lombardosrestaurants.com/rest_about_us.htm). The last of the three being our choice. After a great salad I have one of my favorites, Calf’s Liver with Bacon and it was very good. Donna’s Chicken Lucciano They came with a side of pasta in a wonderful creamy garlic sauce. And, of course I had to get a little dessert to go. They have fantastic Tiramisu. Last edited by Jimontheriver; 02-14-2010 at 01:06 PM..

02-14-2010	#9 (permalink)
Jimontheriver añejo Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Illinois on the Mississippi Posts: 2,121	St Louis to Tango Taco Saturday, 1/31/10 St Louis to Tango Taco We wake up to 10 deg outside and catch the 8:30am hotel shuttle for our 11:20 flight (the web site for Frontier says to be there 3 hours before our flight). The check-in line for Frontier has about 6 people in it. Off to the left & right American and United each have about 200 people in line. When we check-in over 2 ½ hours early we are told the flight is delayed 1 hour because of all of the traffic going into Cancun and that this is normal on Saturdays but stay close to the gate because this could change and they could be leaving sooner. At least the airplane is here and waiting. We get the one with the Moose painted on the tail. We board 1 hour late at 12 noon, and sit at the gate for another 20 minutes. At least we get to watch TV. After 2 more 20 minute delays while sitting on the taxi-way we take off 2 hours late. Goodbye St Louis Hello Cancun On the ground about 2 hours late we are ready to feel the heat of Mexico. At the gate by 4:45 and being in row 6 we are off the plane and thru immigrations in 20 minutes. They tell us or luggage will be on carousel #5 or #6. The display says for 5 & 6 for Frontier flight from Denver, so as we all wait around for our luggage, I decide, just in case I’ll walk down toward the other carousels and sure enough there they are. Our bags with the large J A painted on them going around on #1. I could spot them from half a block away. I go back and tell everyone, and off we go. We are about 4th in line for the red light / green light. Green light and off to the ADO bus counter. Is there room on the next bus? Yes. How long till it leaves? ½ hour (that’s ¾ to 1 hour Mexican time). I figure I will just buy the tickets at the bus. Outside, there are no ADO buses even waiting. As we stand there with our cart full of luggage they start to swarm around us. “Where are you going, where do you want to go” we get asked about 30 times. Downtown Playa I say. $50 they say and feeling like a big spender I tell them that if we can leave in the next 10 minutes I will pay 500 pesos ($39). Next time I will try 450 pesos. We are in Playa at our good friends Jimi & Chars condo on 20th Ave & calle 6 and Donna is enjoying a cold Sol by 6:40. After some quick unpacking it’s off to Bad Boys with hopes of maybe meeting up with Silvergirl and / or AbsoluteAl. We never did see them but talked to Al there on Thursday. It’s a full moon tonight And we are in Playa!!! The N B’s are playing and half the place is dancing. Next stop just up the now huge beach is Fusion for a Paloma & a Margarita Next stop and new favorite from our last trip. Keith & Donna at El Bar Time to eat we head for an old favorite that I know is open late. Bread & chips and more for starters. My Ensalada Tango, 85 pesos Donna had the chicken special that came with a large glass on wine and dessert for 170 pesos I had the Arrachera Tacos for 105 pesos. I wanted the Flat Meat Tacos but they had run out. We shared the dessert that came with Donna’s special, ice cream with chocolate sausage. Don’t let the looks fool you, it was delicious (I almost licked the plate). Ya got to love the ATM’s. FYI, during this trip I went to the ATM’s 4 times for a total of 12,000 pesos and it cost me a total $931 with all fees, this came out to an exchange rate of 12.883 to 1. __________________ Jim & Donna, Growing older but not up TRIP REPORTS 12/2010, A Salty View of Playa 2/2010, Never On 5th 11/2009 3/2009 2/08 11/2007 12/2006

02-13-2010	#2 (permalink)
supersponge life=playa Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 622	more please I like your reports short sweet and to the point thanks.

02-13-2010	#3 (permalink)
Shammy Travel Insurance Tester Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: The Joisey Shore Posts: 17,488	I ate at El Diez the last time I stayed in Playa too, first time I ever went there. I was surprised, I guess I didn't expect it to be very good but I had a pizza with shrimp and it was the best pizza I've had in Playa (not counting the drunken pizza you get at 2am from Pizza Pazza ). My husband had a steak and he liked his just fine as well.

02-13-2010	#4 (permalink)
gingele añejo Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 11,453	We also ate at El Diez for the first time last November, it was right around the corner from our condo. We, too, were very pleasantly surprised. We had not heard anything about the place before trying it - it was one of those nights that we just wandered around looking at menus, and with 8 in our group, finding one place the majority agreed upon (let alone everyone) was always a challenge. Whenever we try a previously-unknown-to-us place like that, I always go in with middle of the road expectations. Our party had a fair sampling of entrees - both fish and steaks. Everyone was really happy with their meals. We were also ery happy with the price - everything including the wine was reasonably priced given the quality of the food and the portion size. The service was also very good.

02-14-2010	#5 (permalink)
julie in PA beachaholic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Northwest PA Posts: 476	Oh goodie another Jimontheriver trip report! From one foodie to another - thanks in advance!!

02-14-2010	#6 (permalink)
January Guy añejo Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Twin Cities Posts: 5,900	Looking forward to reading more and learning about some new places to try! I do find it funny though that the first place you ate on was on 5th!

02-14-2010	#10 (permalink)
angelhouston819 añejo Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Dallas, Texas Posts: 9,432	looking fwd to another one of your great reports!! A'

02-14-2010	#12 (permalink)
BeachyKeen life=playa Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Bloomington, MN Posts: 638	I can't wait for the rest of your report. You always take such good food pictures. Yummy!!

02-14-2010	#13 (permalink)
beachlvr lost on fifth Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: too far from the beach Posts: 22	Oooooh yum! We live across the river from STL and Lombardo's is one of our favorite places in the city! The Veal Lucciano is awesome as well...do they have flash fried spinach at the airport location? If not, if you are ever in downtown St. Louis, their restaurant next to Union Station is wonderful...flash fried spinach is delicious! Love following your food report...we're headed down to Akumal in 2 weeks and always make a trip up to Playa for food and shopping and just experiencing Playa!

02-14-2010	#14 (permalink)
MN GKJ way into it Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Grand Rapids, MN Posts: 238	Great job Jimmy, always luv yr reports, keep er coming!!!

02-14-2010	#15 (permalink)
silvergirl añejo Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 4,948	Oh, Jim!!! I was at Bad Boys that night. It was quite the night in fact. Being our last night in town, many shots of tequila was consumed. So sorry I missed you and your wife. We were dancing most of the night. Headed back on Thursday in fact!

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