I helped write a number of guides for Google Area 120’s new Touringbird guides with insider tips on cities around the world (more on Touringbird here). My tips are heavy on dining, food, bars, drink — my favorite restaurant in PV is El Arrayan. Here is my guide to Puerto Vallarta, from street food and tacos to dessert: Taqueria El Cuñado, Tacos de Birria Chanfay,Mariscos… Read more →
I recently return to Mexico, visiting the city of Puerto Vallarta (PV) for the first time (historically, I’ve visited about an hour north of the city on the coast). I wrote about a unique Marriott resort (about 20 minutes drive from Old Town PV in Nuevo Vallarta where most of resorts are grouped) that has their own house tequila program… Read more →
My July 24 Liquor.com feature article on a Marriott hotel in touristy Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, that surprises with its own tequila line produced exclusively for the resort and its many tequila and food pairing options, including sunset guacamole with tequila and margaritas. More on the resort’s offerings here. An Effective Solution Available at the Cheapest prices. Unlike before, you will… Read more →
Another year, another few hundred bar menus tasted and perused around the globe. This year was the most full yet: I visited over 25 cities in 10 different countries. Which means weeding through best tastes is even more complicated. Given the vast range, I have three 2013 lists (more for best in food/dining here): 12 Best New Bars in San… Read more →
Oaxaca is more an experience of the senses than merely a place. It’s magic. Officially my favorite place in all of Mexico, it’s a small, ancient city rich with atmosphere, the smell of spices permeating the air, baskets everywhere piled high with mole blends or chapulines (fried grasshoppers). Hundreds of years old churches, live bands and street carts enliven cobblestone… Read more →
Exploring mezcal distilleries with bartenders and staff from the fantastic Los Siete Misterios Mezcal, was one of the most unforgettable trips of my life. Besides amazing days in Mexico City (read more here) and the enchanting town of Oaxaca (more here), I had unreal experiences at distilleries where Los Siete Misterios’ different mezcal varietals are produced – there are six… Read more →
Mexico City’s (MX) dining scene is HOT. Gorgeous diners smoke cigarettes while dining on sashimi platters accented by Mexican flavors from chiles to avocado. Experimentation – the likes of which is far advanced even from what one finds in Mexico’s second largest city, Guadalajara – reinvents classic Mexican flavors through an international, cosmopolitan lens (in San Francisco, the recent arrival… Read more →
Fortaleza is truly a special tequila. On my recent visit to Tequila, Mexico, this distillery enchanted with its agave covered hillsides and haunting caves. Fortaleza means fortitude, though in Mexico, you’ll find their bottles labeled Los Abuelos in memory of the grandfathers of Guillermo E. Sauza, the fifth generation producer who passionately runs Fortaleza by old world methods. He comes… Read more →
The gritty air and poverty in Guadalajara faces you as soon as you take a cab from the airport to downtown. But this first glimpse is hardly the make-up of the place. As dusk falls and you wander Plaza Tapatia, an enchanting 17-acre walkway that goes on for blocks in the Centro Historico (historic center) behind the largest and most… Read more →