Posts Tagged ‘Taste of Playa’

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Chez Céline = Magnifique

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

by Tyra Hamilton

image002 300x225 Chez Céline = Magnifique

I’ve been hearing a lot about Chez Céline for some time now.   My neighbor raves over their croissants.  Another friend recently announced on Facebook that she had purchased a baguette, still warm from the oven.  Each time I pass, there is always a nice crowd enjoying the outdoor seating.   With all of the good reviews, it was time I see for myself.  Conveniently, I had two lunch meetings scheduled at Chez Céline within a week’s time.

On my first visit, I had a difficult time deciding what to order.  The longer I studied the menu, offering an assortment of sandwiches, salads, soup and quiche, the more difficult the choice became.  I finally decided on the roast beef sandwich – roast beef on a baguette with spinach and caramelized onions, served with a horseradish cream on the side.  What a great choice!  The bread was sooo fresh, the thinly sliced roast beef was moist and tender and the caramelized onions added a wonderful little touch of sweetness.  To drink, I had a refreshing limonada with ginger.

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Yummy roast beef sandwich

Five days later I had the opportunity to enjoy another lunch at Chez Céline.  Deciding what to order was even more difficult.  I had enjoyed the roast beef sandwich so much; I wanted to order it again.  But there were still many other menu items that I wanted to try – the brie salad or sandwich, the quiche of the day, the onion soup – so many choices and all sounding so good.  I closed my eyes and put my finger on the menu.  The croque monsieur was my fortune.  This traditional French ham and cheese sandwich was wonderfully rich and filling.  A definite winner.

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Cheese topped croque monsieur

Each of my lunches ended with a trip inside to purchase a fresh baguette to take home and to ogle the cases filled with the many other lovely breads and sweet treats that they offer.  With good food, attentive service and reasonable prices, Chez Céline has found a repeat customer in me.

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An éclair to go, please

In addition to their lunch menu, Chez Céline also offers a daily lunch special (drink, quiche and desert for under $100 pesos), a menu of sweet or savory crepes, as well as a menu of appetizers with wine paring in the evenings – so much to try.  Chez Céline, located on the north end of 5th Avenue at 34th Street, is open from 8 am to 10 pm, Tuesday through Sunday (closed Monday).  You can find Chez Céline on Facebook or visit their website.

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I will order this salad with grilled vegetables and melty brie cheese on my next visit

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Tequila Barrel – Bar, Grill and Sports Betting

Monday, July 25th, 2011

On my first vacation to Playa Del Carmen in 2000, our first stop was the Tequila Barrel.  A happening place then, and NOW.   One of the pioneer bars in our seaside town, the Tequila Barrel has become a true icon of Playa Del Carmen.   Like me, thousands of visitors from around the world have sat in the bucket chairs, enjoyed a cool drink, a nice meal and the outstanding view of the famous 5th Avenue.

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For me, there’s nothing quite like spending a couple of hours sitting at the Tequila Barrel with a cold beer or three and watching the endless parade of people strolling down 5th Avenue.

With a full menu of great, mostly Tex Mex, food like chicken wings, hamburgers, sandwiches and fajitas, deciding what to order becomes a difficult task – but do try the hot buffalo wings.  In the evenings, the party starts –ladies that dance on the bar get a free shot of tequila!

If drinking, eating and people watching weren’t enough, Tequila Barrel sets themselves apart from the many other bars by offering Live Sports Betting, with 20 TVs showing 14 different sports.  You can wager on many different sports including horse and dog races, football, boxing, hockey, and many more. Guests enjoy an open bar when betting on the horse or dog races.  For the golfers, they offer a ‘19th Hole’ open bar promotion for after a tough day on the links.

image0051 Tequila Barrel – Bar, Grill and Sports Betting

The Tequila Barrel is located on 5th Avenue between Calle 10 and 12.  Happy hour from 11 am to 5 pm, and specials like Ladies Night, Birthday Tuesdays and Pole Dancing contests.  You can find Tequila Barrel on the website, Facebook AND if you just can’t be there in person, you can watch the action on the webcam.

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John Gray’s Place

Monday, June 13th, 2011

by Monica Hartlief

This post is long overdue. As a matter of fact I should have written about this restaurant at least 5 years ago and probably many times since because it is my all time favorite restaurant in Playa del Carmen. I must have eaten at John Gray’s Place every birthday, Christmas Eve and Valentines day since it opened in 2004. Because it is good, and when something is good you want it as often as you can. But it is pricy, so not really a restaurant you go to every week, unless you have really deep pockets, which I don´t.  And now all of this has changed. No my pockets have not gotten deeper but John Gray´s place has become more affordable. A lot more affordable. Really? Cheaper instead of more expensive? I’ll explain.

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A few weeks ago John Gray introduced a weekly changing, fixed price menu. Lunch now costs 100 pesos which includes a soda, refillable iced tea, or a beer. Dinner costs 200 pesos and this includes an appetizer and a main course. The fixed menu changes often, some things will be added, others removed. The old menu has gone, you can only order of the new menu which has something for everyone including several of the all time favorites like the pate, fresh fish fillet with mango salsa and ” The Duck” made over.

I can hear you thinking: they must serve smaller portions. Absolutely not. Check out the picture of the rustic vegetable lasagna with Portobello mushrooms I had for lunch, does that look small to you?

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or the Greek salad

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So then the food on the fixed price menu must be of inferior quality. Are you kidding me? It is the same great food I´ve always enjoyed at John Gray´s Place. Maybe better because there is so much choice with the changing menu. And you get to try new stuff every time which is great if you’re like me because I´ve had lunch there 3 times and dinner once since the introduction of the fixed priced menu. So I guess the new strategy is working. Or at least, it is working for me.

Basically John Gray wants a lot of people to come to his restaurant to eat his wonderful food. His strategy is to make it more affordable. I think he´s on to something.

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That's Tyra and me having lunch

John Gray’s Place is located in Calle Corazon between 5th Avenue and Calle 14, Playa del Carmen

For reservations you can call 984-803-3689 or email JohnGraysPlace@gmail.com

Opening hours are lunch Monday-Sunday, 1:00pm – 6:00pm and dinner Monday-Sunday, 6:00pm – 11:00pm

 

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Posted in Living in Playa del Carmen, Playa del Carmen - general, restaurants and bars, things to do, what's happening in Playa | 1 Comment »

Mom’s Bar & Grill, where something good is always cooking

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

by Tyra Hamilton

I sat at the computer listening to it rain outside.   As often is the case on a rainy day, my mind went to food.  Not just any food, but comfort food.  In no mood to cook for myself, I checked the Facebook page for Mom’s Bar & Grill to see what was on the menu that night.  CHICKEN FRIED STEAK!  Perfect!  To a Texan, nothing says comfort food better than Chicken Fried Steak and mashed potatoes, smothered in gravy.

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Mom’s Bar and Grill is located on the corner of 30th Avenue and 4th Street, upstairs at Mom’s Hotel

So to Mom’s Bar and Grill I went.  After (over) filling my need for comfort food, I stuck around to socialize a bit.  Mom’s Bar & Grill is the ‘Cheers’ in Playa del Carmen.  It is the rare occasion to belly up to the bar and not find a group of expats telling stories, or a couple of tourists or hotel guests to meet and chat with.  Maybe a game of pool or throwing darts suits your fancy or if you happen to visit Mom’s Bar on a Tuesday or Thursday you can join in on a friendly game of Texas Hold ‘Em poker.

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My enormous serving of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and corn!

Mom’s Bar and Grill is located on the corner of 30th Avenue and 4th Street, upstairs at Mom’s Hotel.  In addition to being a full service bar, with great prices, Mom’s also offers a nightly dinner special.  The proprietor and chef at Mom’s Bar & Grill, Jurgen Janz , welcomes guests into his ‘living room’ Monday through Friday from 5 pm to 11 pm, with dinner served from 6 pm to 10 pm, or until the food runs out.   With a rotating menu of meals such as meatloaf, hickory smoked baby back ribs, bacon and portabella mushroom stuffed pork chops, just to name a few, you would swear they were cooked by mom herself.   The best part is that the prices won’t break the bank (half orders start at $50 pesos with full orders starting at $80 pesos).

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Jurgen and his beautiful bartenders, Tanya and Yessica

So the next time you feel the need for comfort food in Playa del Carmen, check out Mom’s Bar & Grill…. where something good is always cooking.

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Glad I saved room for the chocolate devil rum cake

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Season Bistro

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

by Monica Hartlief

As you might have noticed I did very few restaurant reviews the last couple of months, ok I did none, but yesterday evening we decided it was time to try out a new place. We choose Season Bistro on 8th street. The place has many wonderful reviews on Tripadvisor and were participants in Taste of Playa 2010 (but unfortunately never made it to the actual event) so we were eager to check it out.

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Season Bistro entrance

Season Bistro changes its menu with every season, hence the name, so it being January we were treated to the winter menu. Nothing is more wintery than soup in my opinion so we had the onion soup and the Dos Colores soup for starters. The soups came looking very pretty, smelling great (melted cheese will do that), and tasting even better. The onion soup was thick, sweet, well spiced and it could have been an entire meal that’s how filling it was.  The Dos Colores soup looked beautiful, poured into the cup like a yin and yang painting. It is 2 different soups together in a bowl, roasted poblano pepper and creamy corn soup and they tasted surprisingly really well together.

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Dos Colores soup

The main courses were a bit disappointing. We had shrimp and lobster lasagna that tasted good, but it was covered in, a bit too much, creamy sauce which also didn’t do much for the presentation . The venison we ordered was presented beautifully and tasted ok but could’ve been so much better. So on to the desserts we went.

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Venison in a chipotle sauce with masked potatoes and asparagus

If you’ve read some of my other reviews you know I’m a sucker for crème brûlée so when they mentioned the apricot crème brûlée I didn’t hesitate for a second. We also ordered a flourless chocolate – whisky cake with vanilla ice cream. Personally I don’t think you should mess with crème brûlée, it is hard enough to get it exactly right when making the classic version so I think you should just leave it as it is but in this case I was completely wrong! The apricot crème brûlée was fantastic, light and fluffy, possibly even better than when made with the classic vanilla flavored custard, the caramel on top was exactly right as well contrasting nicely with the creamy custard. An A+ on my crème brûlée list (yes, there’s a list). But not to forget about the chocolate cake which was absolutely wonderful too, rich dark sticky chocolate and plenty of whisky – cake with good vanilla ice cream on top, and a great presentation. After putting most of it away and gaining several pounds in the process we asked for the bill. The prices are not exactly “old Playa prices” but where do you get those these days and to be honest the meal wasn’t old Playa style either. Overall we were pretty happy with our dinner, the setting is wonderful, the wine and drink list original and pretty complete for a restaurant, the food creative, tasty and beautifully presented and the service is good and very friendly. Will we go back and try the next season? Absolutely!

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Chocolate whisky cake and apricot crème brûlée

Season Bistro is located on Calle 8 between the beach and Fifth Avenue. They’re open daily from 4 – 11 PM, closed on Tuedays. For more info and the latest season menu you can check out the restaurant’s website http://www.seasonbistro.com

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Akumal Turtle Bay Cafe & Bakery

Monday, September 13th, 2010

by Monica Hartlief

As the restaurants’ chairperson for the Taste of Playa executive committee I feel it is my duty to get to know all of our participating restaurants. And I take my job very seriously. Which I why I asked my fellow Taste of Playa foodie Michele Kinnon to join me on a fact finding mission to Akumal. This year we have 2 participating restaurants from this beautiful resort village overlooking the Akumal Bay, Lol-ha Restaurant and Turtle Bay Cafe. Michele wrote a very nice post about Lol-ha Restaurant just yesterday so it is up to me to talk to you about the Turtle Bay Café and Bakery.

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Talking about The Turtle Bay Café and Bakery is something I do gladly because I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent at the café, the location, the decor but most of all the food! The menu is huge, we were talking to Bart, he owns the café with his wife Jennifer, and he told us he kept trying to take things off the menu but then repeat clients would come to visit and they would make him put it back on the menu, so he now just leaves it on.

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The Turtle Bay Café serves breakfast, lunch, dinner (from November) but since it is also a bakery they have lots of delicious looking fresh baked goods as well. I’m pretty sure there is something for everyone here. There was for us because Michele and I both had a salad, and they were huge and fresh and tasty and wonderful. I had a mandarin coconut shrimp salad with rice noodles, fresh mandarin, almonds and of course coconut shrimp. Not just one or 2 little shrimp but many large and delicious coconut shrimp. Oh my, when I think about the coconut shrimp now, I want to jump into my car a drive to Akumal for more.  Michele’s salad had the Arrachera and blue cheese piled on so high I thought she’s never get through it. But, thankfully I didn’t bring an amateur with me to have lunch in Akumal.

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Mandarin Coconut Shrimp Salad

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Black & Bleu Salad

I couldn’t be happier that the Turtle Bay Café and Bakery is part of Taste of Playa 2010 and will showing be off its culinary expertise on November 21st.

Turtle Bay Café and Bakery is located in Akumal (beach side) on the left side of the public parking area. It is slightly hidden behind the trees so just take the path and after a few steps you’ll see the café.

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Wine tasting at Off the Vine

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

by Monica Hartlief

If you thought you only could drink tequila and beer in Playa, think again! At the Off the Vine store and bar you can get wines (and liquors) from all over the world and if they don’t have it they can order it for you or even better, make a suggestion for a similar or comparable wine. I suggest you try a Mexican wine, you’re in Mexico after all, and they have some fantastic wines here. Both the owner and staff are knowledgeable (much more than me), friendly and have customer service on top of their list.

Off the Vine is not just a wine store with a great selection of wines, they also do home delivery, organize wine tastings, wine courses, and participate in food and drink related events like Taste of Playa. If that’s all too much or too complicated, you can also have a glass of wine on the lovely terrace in front of the store.

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Off the Vine - wine tasting - Thursday's 8 PM

Last week I participated in one of the wine tastings with some friends and we had a wonderful evening. We tasted several reds and one white from Spain (they highlight a different country every week) and it is a good thing dinner is part of the tasting because my idea of tasting includes drinking the wine, not spitting it out (and I wasn’t the only one). The dinner was lovely, 3 courses which included a starter of some very nice Spanish Serrano ham and a variety of cheeses. The ambiance is informal and casual, so you can dress up but you don’t have to. Ricardo, the owner, explained about the wines we drank, where they were from, and what made them special. It is great to listen to someone talk about what they love while sipping on a good glass of wine. There is limited seating so it is a good idea to make a reservation before you go. The wine tastings are every Thursday at 8 PM, the cost is 35 USD (what a deal) and a 3 course dinner is included.

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wines and liquors from all over the world

Off the Vine is located on 1st Avenue between Calle 26 and 28, for reservations or delivery call 984 803 5244 or send them an email through the Off the Vine website.

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Off the Vine wine & deli bar

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Fusion Beach Bar & Grill, not just another beach club

Friday, August 13th, 2010

by Ellen de Jonge

If you are looking for a great meal or a tropical day on the beach you should give Fusion a try. This colorful bar and grill is located right on the beach of Playa del Carmen and has lots to offer besides sun and fun.

You can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner right on the beach enjoying the great view with the sand between your toes.

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Fusion Beach Bar & Grill*

The menu has a great variety of fusion cuisine, of course. It is known for serving fresh fish, traditional Mexican specialties and great sandwiches. The cheeseburgers are possibly some of the best in Playa! All served directly on the beach or in the restaurant by friendly staff to help you make your day laid-back and comfortable.

Around 5 pm the beach set-up changes from “lounging on your beach chair” to “lounging on a candle lit beach”. Your entertainment comes from the house band playing live music and fire dancers later in the evening.

Every time I spend a day or night at Fusion I come home feeling I just had a little holiday, well rested and happy. And if this blog post sounds like I copied it from a travel guide or an ad … well, I could’ve but I didn’t, I simply love the place!

You can find Fusion on 6th street and the beach. Open daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks until late.

Fusion Beach Bar & Grill is also a participant in Taste of Playa, 2nd year in a row!

* picture taken from Fusion website: Fusion Beach Bar & Grill

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Dirty Martini Lounge – a favorite local hangout in Playa del Carmen

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

by Monica Hartlief

Why does one bar become a favorite local hangout and the other one never seems to make it? I don´t know of course, because if I did I would be selling this answer for a lot of money. What I do know is why I keep going back to the same place: location, atmosphere, music, service and people pretty much covers it.

The Dirty Martini Lounge in Playa is one of the places I keep going back to. You could call it my favorite local hangout, and I´m not the only one who thinks so because it is often packed with locals, local expats, semi-local expats, tourists, returning tourist, etc.

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Dirty Martini Lounge - Playa del Carmen

The Dirty Martini Lounge is not very big, it has a funky classy (yes, that sounds impossible) European style decor, and feels like a bar more than a cocktail lounge. You can comfortably sit at the bar or on the deck that looks out over the street while sipping your favorite drink. I suggest you try one of their signature martinis like the Cucumber Martini (all invented by Karen Lange, one of the owners). If martinis are not your thing, no problem, they have all the other stuff like beer, wine, spirits, tequilas, etc as well.

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Martinis, martinis. martinis

One of the best things about the Dirty Martini is the music. Greco, one of the owners, is a real music buff and he makes sure there are always great tunes playing in the bar, ranging from blues and jazz to country, pop and rock.

Service is of course very important as well and the Dirty Martini has a small group of staff that knows most people by name and drink, so don´t be surprised if your regular drink is standing on the bar as you´re walking in! Cynthia, Meyssi, Paloma, and Vale know their regulars and their cocktails.

Anyway, I can go on and on describing all the good things you´ll find at the Dirty Martini Lounge. I suggest you come on down and check it out yourself.

Dirty Martini Lounge – 1st Avenue between street 10 and 12, open daily from 1 PM to  2 AM, Fri and Sat until 3 AM.

You can also visit the Dirty Martini Lounge  on November 21st at Taste of Playa 2010.

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Events by Latido de Mexico

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

by Monica Hartlief

As you know Latido de Mexico offers property management and vacation rentals in Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya. But did you know that we also offer catering and concierge services and that we can organize your tours and transportation as well? Susan de Lima is in charge of the vacation services side of the business and she is an amazing event organizer and hostess.

What started out as catering services only has grown into Latido de Mexico event and wedding planning services. Recently Susan organized the wedding dinner for a group of 80 people on the roof top of the Illusion Hotel on 8th street. The dinner decorations were beautiful, the food wonderful and the atmosphere festive. Most impressive is that Susan and the staff managed to prepare and serve a 4-course dinner in a location that, believe it or not, doesn’t have a kitchen!

Susan is also part of the organization of the annual Taste of Playa event that will be held for the second time this year on the 21st of November. She is in charge of the operations committee of the event so we can look forward to a well laid out and tasteful setup of this year’s Taste of Playa. Don’t miss it!

If you have an event that needs planning or you want to book any of the other vacation services that Latido de Mexico has to offer please contact Susan de Lima through our website.

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Wedding dinner on roof top with ocean view

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Wine, wine, and more wine...

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Beautiful wedding dinner decorations

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