"Life's a Beach"

I'm hoping this is a good thing as several people have approached me in the grocery store (people I do not know) and said "Taste of Playa, si?" gesturing toward my ever present TOP baseball cap. "Bueno, bonito, barato!" they exclaim enthusiastically! I smile in return and nod my head. "Si, si. Gracias por venir." ...

This past Monday, Chef John Gray opened his kitchen at the crack of dawn and started his team prepping for the inauguration of his new breakfast menu! John Gray's Downtown in Cancun has been open for breakfast for a few months now and attracting quite a following among the stylish professionals in this crazy coastal resort city. Finally, with ...

After a nice break for the hot summer months, The Little Mexican Cooking School in Puerto Morelos is back in action with a new Chef, a new curriculum and lots of new recipes! Recently, I invited myself to sit in on one of the first classes with Chef Pablo Lopez Espinosa and a group comprised almost entirely of media representatives and travel and ...

On Thursday September 30, the members of the Municipal Government of Solidaridad, including Presidente Román Quian Alcocer, gathered in force in Playa del Carmen's sports multi-plex (Poliforum) for a rally with 640 local students from 8 local public schools. Cruzada por la Juventud (Crusade for Youth) is a fledgling initiative designed ...

Last weekend, Rob and I were invited to a special evening hosted by Chef and friend, John Gray, at his flagship restaurant in Puerto Morelos. A "degustacion" menu had been planned and we were to be amongst the first to try some of his newest culinary creations. We arrived in time for the 7pm seating and quickly realized we would ...

This weekend, we decided a quiet beach day was in order so, on Saturday, we piled everyone in the truck and headed 30 minutes south to our favorite spot in Akumal. Depending on our destination of choice, I sometimes pack a cooler for these impromptu beach days. This day, we were craving some really good food and we knew just where to find it. In ...

Last week, Wicky's Restaurant and Beach Club played host to a beach party and BBQ feast to celebrate Labor Day. Rob and I brought the kids to the beach and met up with some of our friends to enjoy the day. The BBQ was delicious (and I know as I made it through for both lunch AND dinner) with tender ribs, chicken, pulled pork and all the ...

The Riviera Maya's own celebrity Chef, John Gray has cooked up a truly unique and enticing  "degustacion" menu for the patrons of his first and signature restaurant, John Gray’s Kitchen in Puerto Morelos. This Saturday, September 11, diners will find Chef Gray and his team in the Kitchen cooking up an array of ...

After the fabulous tequila tasting and dinner at Hacienda Tres Rios, Kay Walten (www.Locogringo.com) and I shuttled the group downtown for a short tour of a few of the Playa del Carmen restaurants and bars participating in the Taste of Playa 2010 culinary event. I have to admit, we put this together on pretty short notice and I credit our ...

If I am not mistaken, I think that Babes on Calle 10 was one of the very first restaurants we ate in before we moved to Playa del Carmen six years ago. It came with high praise on the local message board, www.playa.info, and with good reason. Since opening the restaurant in 2000, the owners, originally from Sweden, have put every ounce of their ...