Nibble Your Way Through Mexico…at Taste of Playa

How would you like to eat and drink at dozens of different restaurants and bars…all in one afternoon? No, you don’t have to race around town from place to place ordering meals and beverages until you burst. Instead you can spend the day enjoying the special tasting menus offered by 40 restaurants and bars at the 2010 Taste of Playa food and drink festival.

The Taste of Playa
This year’s annual Taste of Playa culinary festival has gathered together some of the most popular and critically acclaimed eateries and bars in all the Riviera Maya. From 3-9 pm this coming Sunday, November 21, 2010 they will be offering incredible samples of some of their signature dishes and drinks to the hungry public. This year among those offering a taste of their best will be our own Luna Blue Bar!

As most regular readers of our blog know, in addition to operating one of the Mayan Rivera’s favorite hotels, we also run our own little bit of “Margaritaville”-style paradise called the Luna Blue Bar. We designed “The Blue” (as we affectionately call it) to reflect our dream of what a tropical bar should be.

The Luna Blue Hotel Bar
We have swings instead of stools around the bar, a palm thatched roof overhead and a deck overlooking our cenote/waterfall garden. We have local musicians play in the bar a couple of nights a week, and play satellite radio (Caliente Latin, Reggae and Radio Margaritaville) the rest of the time. Occasionally we will have fresh bunches of bananas and coconuts from our garden piled up for people to enjoy. And hanging from the rafters are dozens of thongs and g-strings…traded by lady visitors for a shot of tequila and the chance to leave a little of themselves behind at “The Blue.” It makes quite the sight.

Like any great tropical bar we have our own versions of some of the most popular “umbrella drinks”…like Papa T’s Margarita and the Playa Colada. We also have our own special recipes that stand out as something unique and different. We will be offering tastes of two of the most popular of those signature drinks this Sunday at Taste of Playa: The “Sarita-B-Careful” margarita and the “Sex on the Bar” cocktail.

The Sarita B Careful Margarita
When we first moved to Mexico and met our dear friend (more like a daughter) Sarah, she would entertain us with her stories of partying late into the night and dancing on the bars around town. The only problem was that after a drink or two our girl would be too tipsy to keep her balance and would invariably tumble off the bar with resulting scrapes and bruises. We were always telling her…”Sarita, be careful!”

We remembered those stories when we came up with our very first signature drink and decided to name it in honor of our sweet but clumsy friend. The Sarita B Careful is a sugar rimmed margarita on the rocks featuring pomegranate infused tequila. It is tart, with just the perfect balance of sweetness. Sarah, by the way, has retired from bar dancing, is happily married to a wonderful guy and has a beautiful new daughter. If you come to the Taste of Playa this Sunday you can taste the drink named for her.

Sex on the Bar–the cocktail
When our bartender Jorge first came up with this new drink recipe, we had some taste testing at the bar to see what people thought. Everyone raved about it, and one guest laughingly proclaimed, “This is better than sex!” With that kind of inspiration it didn’t take us long to come up with a name. The drink is as good as the name promises… a combination of sweet tropical fruit juices, hibiscus flower-infused tequila and almond-flavored liqueur. It may not be better than sex…but it’s darn close.

When we thought about how to promote this “sexy” drink, our good friend Renata came to mind. Renata is often a featured guest at our holiday parties where she appears in brightly colored bikinis to help serve drinks, hand out gifts and pose for pictures. She is always a hit with the crowd. So we asked her to help us advertise our new cocktail. The result is a series of “Sex on the Bar” posters which will be available for purchase at our Taste of Playa booth. Stop by for a taste, and then take a little “Sex on the Bar” home with you.

The 2010 Taste of Playa is a not-to-be-missed event and will be held at Parque Fundadores (5th Avenue and Juarez) between 3 pm and 9 pm on Sunday November 21. VIP pass holders will be allowed entrance at 2 pm. “Playa Pesos” will be on sale at the event for 10 pesos each and will be used to purchase “tastes” from each restaurant and bar, with most costing either 1 or 2 Playa Pesos. You will be amazed at the array of foods and drinks which will be offered for tasting. And make sure to stop by the Luna Blue Bar booth to say hi and try one of our special cocktails. See you there!

A special note: Yesterday morning there was a terrible incident here in Playa when a gas explosion at a large resort outside of town killed several people and injured several more. At this time authorities are investigating possible causes, including the build up of natural gas under the building or perhaps a faulty gas tank. Many people who love Playa are already offering condolences and prayers to those, both visitors and locals, who were victims of this event.

Sadly, some people are using this tragedy as an excuse to once again denigrate Mexico and warn people not to visit here. Such comments now circulating around the internet are simply the result of ignorance and/or bigotry. We urge you to condemn such stupid remarks and to join us in offering our prayers and best wishes to the victims and there families. All of us in Playa are greatly saddened by this tragic accident. We hope the injured recover quickly and that the families of those who died will find some peace.

Thanksgiving and more…on the beach

Can you believe it? November is already here. Only seven weeks until Christmas and a week more to a whole new year. The whirlwind of the holiday season is almost upon us. Here in Playa del Carmen, Mexico this time of year brings some of the familiar activities we remember from the United States and some uniquely different ones.

Bye Bye Hurricane Season
When November shows up on the calendar the first thing that happens is that those of us living in the tropics begin to relax a little about the weather. The hurricane season in the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean officially runs from June 1st through December 1st. However the final month of November sees water temperatures drop, and the chance of a major storm is almost zero. This storm season has been very good for us here along the Mayan Riviera. While there were many named storms, including a large number of hurricanes, they never made landfall or even threatened this part of the Caribbean. In fact, we didn’t even have much in the way of normal rainfall. It was a great summer for hitting the beach down here in Mexico.

November in Playa also means getting ready for the “snowbirds,” the masses of tourists who come each year escaping the cold winds of winter in the north. Just after Halloween when temperatures drop up in the States, people start thinking about time in the sun. Around town you see businesses putting on a new coat of paint, sprucing up and making improvements in anticipation of our yearly winter migration of tourists.

Turkey Day
The first influx of the tourist season will happen around the time of the US Thanksgiving day. More and more people see that long four-day weekend as a chance to get away and get a tan before the snow starts falling back home. In response, many businesses in Playa del Carmen have adopted the holiday as its own. When we first moved to Playa many years ago we couldn’t even find a turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner. How things have changed.

This morning on our weekly shopping trip to Sam’s Club we saw not only frozen turkeys but all sorts of holiday dinner paraphernalia like Thanksgiving platters, napkins, cooking utensils, and decorations. The stores here in Playa del Carmen now stock cranberries, stuffing mix and canned gravy this time of year. We even found pumpkin pie mix!! So if you are here in town and have a room with cooking facilities (like the Luna Blue’s Garden View Deluxe rooms with full kitchen) you can prepare a holiday meal just like back home…only with warmer weather.

Don’t Wanna Cook?
And if you think being on vacation means a break from cooking, you can still enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving Day feast. Many restaurants have special menus on Thanksgiving. Last year you could have had a gourmet turkey dinner with all the trimmings at Wicky’s or John Gray’s Place. Or you could have opted for a feast on the beach with buffets at Zenzi or Bad Boys beach clubs. Great multi-course Thanksgiving meals were also served at Cocina 38, Off the Vine, El Bistro and Ajua Maya among others. We expect an even larger list of restaurants serving turkey dinners this year. So instead of slaving over the stove all day, you can head for the beach, swim in the Caribbean sea and then go to dinner where someone else did all the work (and will wash the dishes afterwards).

The Game
Another Thanksgiving Day tradition you will find here in Mexico…Football! For many red blooded American men and women, Turkey Day just isn’t complete without seeing “the game.” That is no problem here where satellite TV will beam the broadcast into several popular sports bars in town. Our personal favorite is PG’s Sandbox which has several big screen TVs, good drinks and plenty of things to snack on (in case you are still hungry after dinner!). PG’s is just down the street from the Luna Blue Hotel at the corner of Calle 26 and 1st Avenue.

Fun Local Charity Events
Of course there is a lot to do down here during November in Playa del Carmen besides overeat on Thanksgiving day. This month there will be a fun charity event with which we are proud to be associated.

The Peanut Pet Shelter “Feed a Friend” Drive. People donating a $25 bag of food to the Peanut Pet Shelter are entered in a drawing to win a free vacation in Playa del Carmen including a week’s stay at our own Luna Blue Hotel. The party for drawing the winner will be held at the Luna Blue Bar on November 9, 2010. Click here for more details.

For Foodies & Jazz Buffs
November is also when Playa hosts two wonderful annual events, Taste of Playa and the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival.

The Taste of Playa, held on Sunday, November 21, is a food and beverage festival featuring tasting menus and samples from 40 of the best restaurants and bars in the area. This year, our own Luna Blue Bar will be participating this year, offering tastes of some of our finest cocktails including the legendary “Sarita B Careful” margarita and the new wonderfully wicked “Sex on the Bar.” Our booth will be a replica of our bar with Jorge serving the drinks and with some of the infamous “tangas” (thongs) hanging from the ceiling. Please stop by and see us if you come to the festival.

In addition, the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival will take place November 25-28 at Mamita’s Beach Club and will feature jazz musicians from around the world. Personally we are really looking forward to hearing the Manhattan Transfer vocal group. Mamita’s is on Calle 28th just a few blocks from the Luna Blue Hotel. Regular blog readers already know that guests of the Luna Blue receive free use of chairs and umbrellas at Mamita’s. But now our guests will also get 10% off of their food and beverage purchases at Mamita’s. So now you can spend the day at the beach for free while eating and drinking for some of the lowest prices on the sand.

For more details on both the Taste of Playa and the Riviera Jazz Festival see our previous blog entry here.

Now’s the Time to Visit
As you can see there is a lot going on in our lives and in Playa del Carmen this month. It really is a great time to visit. The weather is still warm and the beautiful beaches are not yet crowded with visitors. And you can save money by staying with us at the Luna Blue Hotel. We still have a few rooms available for the week of November 21st (Thanksgiving week), and if you reserve and pay in full at the time of your reservation you can still take advantage of our 10% discount. Please visit our website for more details.

And remember whenever you are traveling in this area to stop on by and say hello. We love to meet the folks who read our blog.

Halloween at the Luna Blue…How Wicked do YOU Want to Be?

The spirit-world around this world of sense
Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere
Wafts through these earthly mists and vapours dense
A vital breath of more ethereal air.
        ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Halloween is coming!

A wonderful night of masking under the moon and letting the darker spirits come forth. And once again the Haunted Garden of the Luna Boo will be celebrating Halloween in all its delightful wickedness with Playa’s wildest party.

We will have music with TWO of Playa’s favorite musicians: Barefoot Skinny (before he heads down to Belize) and Mike Grabow (just back from his triumphant tour of the Northlands). And who knows what local musical spirits may appear to join?

There will be costume contests galore with prizes for: Best Men’s costume, Best Women’s costume, Best Group costume, Papa T’s Favorite costume and…Wickedest costume! How wicked do YOU want to be?

And speaking of wicked, we will be unveiling our newest and most outrageous drink yet…
“Sex on the Bar.” Created by our own Jorge Sierra (Playa’s favorite bartender) this new cocktail is a fascinating combination of sweet and sour with a lingering flavor that will put a smile on your face. It is sure to be a Playa classic, and you can be among the first to try it.

There will be food (Papa T’s Boo Burgers), gift giveaways, surprise guests, Halloween candy for trick-or-treaters, and lots of surprises. And most of all there will be the wild spirits of Playa holding forth in all their power from 6pm until the witching hour of midnight.

And if you need a place to stay, we have just three rooms left so hurry to make your reservation.

Halloween, October 31st, 2010 from 6pm to midnight…at the Luna Blue Bar, Calle 26 between 5th & 10th Avenue, Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Nobody throws a party like the Luna Blue.

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Jazz on the Beach, Sex on the Bar and Plenty to be Thankful For

Summer is over and fall is here.. For some that will mean shorter days and cold weather. In fact experts are predicting the coldest autumn in years for much of the US and Canada. And for Americans like us it won’t be long now until our Thanksgiving Day and the beginning of the holiday season.

But here in the tropics autumn means sunny days, trips to the beach and margaritas instead of hot cocoa. And this year Playa del Carmen is going all out with a week long celebration in late November with some incredible events.

On November 21 the second annual Taste of Playa will gather the finest restaurants and bars in the Riviera Maya for a tasting festival. If you are thinking traditional Mexican dishes you will be surprised. World class chefs will be offering samples of spectacular foods and special tasting menus. Last year’s festival drew over forty participating restaurants and bars and thousands of visitors. It was a smashing success (see our previous blog entry), and this year will be even better.

And participating this year with many local and international favorites will be our own Luna Blue Bar! Playa’s favorite bartender Jorge Sierra will be on hand with other members of our “family” to offer samples of some of the special cocktails that have made us so popular, like the “Sarita B Careful Margarita” and the new “Sex on the Bar.” We are very pleased to be part of this year’s festivities.

And that’s just the start of the week!

On November 25-28 the 2010 Riviera Maya Jazz Festival will take place at Mamita’s Beach Club, just a five minute stroll from the Luna Blue Hotel and Bar. Each evening will present international jazz stars who will perform free on the beach only a few feet away from the beautiful Caribbean Sea. Imagine spending the day on a tropical beach sipping boat drinks only to have world class entertainers serenade you as the sun goes down!

The line-up is amazing. Among the performers will be some of Mexico’s finest jazz musicians and vocalists, like the big band sounds of Armando Manzanero, the vocal stylings of Eugenia León and many more. Included in the international line-up is one of our personal favorites, The Manhattan Transfer. It will be four nights of great music and lots of fun.

In the middle of all these festivities is the US Thanksgiving day. Of course for most Americans, Thanksgiving means turkey, dressing and cranberries. So to make visitors feel at home, many of the finer restaurants around town will offer special Thanksgiving day menus with all the traditional favorites from turkey to pumpkin pie. And if you want to watch football after turkey you will find plenty of bars with big screen TVs to bring you not only the action but a bucket of ice cold Mexican beer as well.

Thanksgiving week is the second most popular week here on the Riviera Maya (second only to Christmas/New Year). Here at the award-winning Luna Blue Hotel and Bar most of our rooms are already reserved, many by folks who have made Playa their annual Thanksgiving trip. However we still have a few rooms left, so why not join us this holiday week? You get a 10% discount with our special advance pre-payment sale, along with all the usual special treatment the Luna Blue has to offer: free use of five different beach clubs, discounts on food and drinks, free homemade muffins with coffee and tea every morning, and free “Welcome to Mexico” margaritas.

So this year, why spend your time raking leaves, cleaning gutters or fighting the crush of department store holiday sales when you can be laying on a white sand beach, swimming in a crystal clear blue ocean and sipping a boat drink while watching the waves? Now that would be something to be thankful for.

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