"Life's a Beach"

"It's really unique," she gushed on the phone a few weeks ago, "you will love it!" I cringed. "Unique." If I had a dollar for every time a friend described a resort, a restaurant, a menu as "unique" ...well, let's just say I would be a wealthy ...

Great news for foodies in Quintana Roo! The First Annual Cancun-Riviera Maya Wine & Food Festival has been announced for March 15-18, 2012. It's a culinary all-star line up with such notable Chefs as Jacques Pepin, Patricia Quintana, Aaron Sanchez, Ingrid Hoffman and the incomparable Ferran Adria among many others! Festival highlights ...

Six years ago, the first time we visited the Merida Zoo, the kids were not much more than babies. We were in the city doing some exploring and celebrating Cole's 2nd birthday so a trip to the zoo seemed like the perfect way to spend the afternoon. It turned out to be the perfect time for both little one's to spike a fever and come down ...

Every once in a while, when I am convinced that I am raising my children in a party town, a den of iniquity completely lacking in any cultural integrity, an opportunity like this pops up. A few weeks back, just before Taste of Playa, we were invited to attend a special event at Xcaret, a wine tasting evening organized to kick off the 1st annual ...

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 ...

Fume Blanc? Any idea what it is exactly? I didn’t until just a few years ago. In a nutshell, Fume Blanc is a marketing term conceived of and utilized by the late great Robert Mondavi to sell a rather fine batch of Sauvignon Blanc, a grape much maligned in the United States until the 1970′s. Despite the fact that wine lovers had ...

 Confession: I am a cork dork. I love wine. I love drinking it, I love reading about it and (often to the dismay of my friends) I love talking about it. In a previous life, I had the great pleasure of working for a very discriminating wine importer and distributor in New York. I had the opportunity to visit vineyards, meet with wine ...

By popular demand, two more dates have been added for the Mexican Wine and Tequila Seminar presented by Sommelier Alexandre Rioux . Reservations are available for March 24 and March 31. Please contact Cat Brown at cat@purtomorelosliving.com for further details and to reserve a seat for this fun and educational class or book online through the The ...

Last Tuesday I was invited once again to participate in a seminar at The Little Mexican Cooking School in Puerto Morelos. Having thoroughly enjoyed my experience in their regular cooking classes, I was certain that this special seminar, focusing on Mexican Wines and Tequilas, would be just as interesting and informative. Our presenter for the day ...

This past Wednesday evening the ladies of Wednesday, Women and Wine hosted a special holiday bazaar at Coffee Cafe on 34th Street and 5th Avenue. Members and friends of this social networking group were on hand promoting their businesses, selling homemade gifts, and sharing business ideas and opportunities! Coffee Café offered the ...