30th Wedding Anniversay -- Hatteras NC July 2023

 It's been a while since I've blogged about travel or food.  With the advent of covid it just didn't seem worthwhile and we did so little.  But now that I have some free time, it's good to get back to it. And last  year was travel with a vengeance.  Let's start with the most significant -- our 30th wedding anniversary.

To celebrate we went back to our favorite family venue -- Hatteras, NC.  There we renewed our vows among family and friends.   Nothing terribly momentous happened, save that Katy got 75 penguins as a birthday gift.  But it was far and away the most special event of the year.

Unconventional Dinner (4 Stars)

 Spending time in DC is always an opportunity to go out and eat interesting food.  We went to the Unconventional Diner last nigh (1207 9th St. NW, a part of the Washington Convention Center) and the trip was well worthwhile.

We started with a round of drinks.  The "Heard it through the Grapevine," pisco sour was truly exceptional.  They made it with passionfruit and simple syrup and it really was smooooth.  OTOH, the Licia Albarinio wine we had was just fair -- not as much tang and taste as some other Albarinio's we've had in the past, so when we go back (and we will!) we'll try a different bottle.

And  yes, we will go back because the food was magnificent.  We were there with friends Nancy and Jocelyn and so we had a chance to taste a bunch of stuff.  Our starters were stars -- the corn bread (that's it in the photo) came with a habanero spiced butter that was simply stunning.  We also had the cauliflower salad with spicy tahini sauce and the shitake mushroom roll with salad wrap.  My personal favorite was the crab fritters with red peppers and jalepeno and a calming remoulade.

The main courses were just as interesting.  Katy had a sweet potato curry with coconut rice and a falafel protein.  Nancy had the same thing with shrimp.  Jocelyn had the vegan Mexi-Cali "Chili" with squash, kale and avacado.  The side of lebneh was as good a lebneh as I've ever tasted.

I had the Peking Duck confit.  It came with bao bao rolls and a homemade hoisin that was ... really different.  Most hoisin is cloying and too sweet.  This one was much less so, and it was great -- it let the duck taste shine through.

We had outdoor seating that was fine and pleasant -- a bit too close to the street for my taste, but those are the sorts of compromises you have to make these days, and it was well worth it.  We will, as I said, go back.

Cranes (4 Stars)

 After nearly 18 months of the pandemic, it was good to return to the idea of eating out, traveling, posting on this travel blog, and reviewing good restaurants.   This past weekend, we were delighted to be able to dine out a a new-ish place in downtown DC called Cranes.   It won a Michelin Bib Gourmand last year.

Cranes styles itself as a Spanish Kaiseki, by which they mean that it serves a mix of Spanish tapas and Japanese sushi style food and drink.  To give you a feel, Katy ordered an Albarino white wine to drink, and Paul started with a jumaji-style sake.  

The interior of the restaurant looked magnificent, since we didn't yet quite choose to eat indoors, we sat outdoors.  Even the outdoor seating was good quality.  We were delightfully surprised to get real silverware and a real menu, not plastic and the QR code.  

For our meal we chose to try to mix styles as much as we could.  Katy chose to start with an Iberico Ham platter with a tomato salsa (pictured above).  If you love Iberico (as we do) this was just perfect. She followed up this quintessentially Japanese main course of an Hamachi crudo of sashimi-style fish with bits of roe and avacado.  Together we shared a really fun plate of thin-sliced zucchini with a hazelnuts and pesto (and some cheese sauce on the side, for Paul.

Paul in turn started with two braised bao buns with short ribs in them and a spicy/sweet Japanese mayonnaise spread. He followed that with a very small cup of cherry gazpacho that had a wonderful manchego panna cotta at the bottom and two half cherries floating in the nicely chilled soup.  But for Paul the star of the evening was an Unagi paella -- yes, you heard that right.  Take the Japanese style cooked eal add some fresh snap peas and a jalapeño aoli and marry that all to a traditional rice paella and you get ... something really different and delicious.  That's a picture of it to the left.

We finished up with an order of churros (more than enough to share) and two dipping sauces, a black sesame chocolate and a miso caramel.  Yum.

In short, this was a return to the type of "foodie" dining that we love.  Service was prompt and attentive but not overly so.  Pricing was reasonable (though a bit high) -- we did all that plus 2 more glasses of wine (the sancere and the pinot noir ) plus tip for around $240.  Not an everyday place -- but we definitely will go back. 

Lapazul Boutique Hotel -- Dominical, Costa Rica

It has, naturally, be a long while since we've written on this travel blog.  There isn't much to a travel blog when the whole world is shut down and there is no travel.

It is, therefore, a real joy to return to these pages and also a real joy to be able to tell you about a wonderful place we visited this weekend -- the Lapazul Boutique Hotel (https://www.lapazul.com/) just outside of Dominical on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.  Beginning this month, the government here permitted some hotels to open up, mostly for internal tourism, at 50% capacity.  We took the opportunity to go to Lapazul, a retreat that was recommend by a friend of ours, George, who had gone in November when they opened (talk about bad timing for an opening).

First things first -- in this time of Covid-19, we felt safe. The hotel has only 10 rooms and only 3 were occupied.  Everything was deeply and frequently cleaned, the staff wore masks all the time, and the guests were all practicing social distancing.  Nothing is, of course, guaranteed -- but we felt as though we were safe and sound.

The venue itself is magnificent.    It sits in the hills about 500 meters up and about 2 kilometers from the coast.  To get there you have to climb a rough road, but the trip is worth it and the views are all stunning, as are the west facing sunsets.

The hotel itself is very modern in style with fine wood furnishings, an infinity pool and all of the amenities  you would expect -- lush beach towels, comfy lounges and "fancy" soaps.  

But what we liked best about the venue was that it was hidden away in the rain forest so we were close to nature. Birds galore (including toucans and eagles) as well as tree frogs serenading you into the evening.

The staff (and most notably the manager Esteban) were a joy to meet and talk to and tended to our every need.  Since our need was mostly to be left alone and sit and escape, they were happy to do that for us.

The visit came with breakfast and dinner included -- and the food was truly special.  Some of the best we've had in Costa Rica for sure.  We are told the chef used to work at a hotel in San Jose and it shows.  In particular, we would call out -- at breakfast, the home made granola and the gallo pinto; at dinner the ceviche appetizer and the medallion of beef which was probably the most tender we've ever had in Costa Rica.

We didn't explore the area that much, because we didn't want to, but the next time we'll head down to the beach in Dominical and watch the surfers for sure.  Or maybe plan a day hike.  This time around it was pure relaxation, and we got what we wanted.

The best way to put it is this -- we'll be going back.  Once the virus restrictions are finally removed, our hope would be to return with visiting friends to show them this special gem of a place.  5 stars for sure.

A Joyful Evening

We had so much fun last night.   It was simple fun, but it was pure and life is good.

Here in Atenas, we have a restaurant called La Terraza.  It's run by two local guys, Wilber and Omer.  They are nice enough and trying really hard to be a part of the community.  And we've been there often enough that they know us by name.  [Katy is a hard name to say in Spanish -- and the only Katy that these guys know is the singer Katy Perry -- so every time we come in they shout out "hola Katy Perry."]  So far, they haven't quite been making a go of it, but they are working at it. 

Another thing we have here in Atenas is a local band called Flashback.  These are all retired musicians who've moved here from the States (or in one case Holland) where they were very good.  The drummer played on a couple of Michael Jackson's albums.  The keyboardist was a session musician in Nashville.  And so on. 

Their audience is the local Atenas retired Gringo crowd.  They play oldies, like "Peacful Easy Feeling" and more recent stuff like "All About the Bass."  And they play really well.  The crowd is filled with people of a certain age who still like to dance -- but also prefer their concert to start at 5 PM on a Saturday (like it did last night) so that they can be home and in bed by 9 PM.

And that's the joy of it.  Last night Flashback played at La Terraza.  The owners had a great night and made a mint.  The band played and we danced and danced and danced.  Drank wine and had pizza.  Ran into a half-dozen of our neighbors and said "hi" to those we hadn't seen in a while and ... just listened to great rock and roll, with the entire crowd signing along. 

Was it great art?  Nah.  Was it the best food we've ever had?  Totally not.  But in truth it was one of the most enjoyable evenings we've had in a long while.  Music, dancing, drinking, food, and friends.  What more can you ask for.  Life is good.

El Remanso -- Oso Wildlife

We just got back from El Remanso, a rainforest wildlife preserve down on the Oso peninsula.  We flew down on a 12-seat puddle jumper from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez.  PJ is a tiny airport with one runway, no tower and a tiny tiny little store that is the "terminal."   After that its an hour drive on dirt roads and across at least two rivers with no bridge to the resort.

The resort is like a magic castle inside a jungle.  Cut out of the forest, they have their own water, electricity and fine dining.  Throw in good accomodations (some of the newer buildings have their own plunge pool) and a decent wine list and it would be a nice place to stay just on the merits.  But the height of value, of course, is being in the rain forest.  We took three hikes -- a night time hike to see evening animals; an early morning birding exhibition and a mid-morning hunt for birds, insects and monkeys.  Pretty successful all around.  Here's a gallery of pictures:

 Sunset at the lodge, over the Pacific Ocean

The red-eyed tree frog -- national frog of Costa Rica.

Scorpion at night.  Turns out they shine under UV light and are easy to see.

 Scarlet Macaw

Keel billed Toucan

Horned (?) owl.  He was reluctant to be photographed.

The white-tailed plant hopper.  Believe it or not, this is a  bug.  The tail is grown so that it looks like it is infected with fungus.  And that, in turn, stops the birds from eating it.

 Spider monkey

 Red crested wood pecker -- Woody!

 Howler monkey.  Huge noise for a small animal.  Woke us up at 430 AM every day.

 Tiger heron.  So named because of the stripes.

Scarlet taniger

 Anteater (of course), hanging out by the side of the road for his portrait.  And below is the world's tiniest air terminal at Puerto Jimenez

Everything You Need To Know About Atenas

We live half the year in a small town in Costa Rica -- Atenas.

We love it.  It's tranquil and off the beaten path.  We have one good restaurant, one good pizzeria, a nice supermarket and a quiet town square where the kids hang out at night to "snog" because they can't do it at their parent's house.  And that's about it.  No movie theater, no haute cuisine -- just a small town, a lot like Costa Rica must have been like 50 years ago.

And the sunsets are to die for.  This one is not the one from two nights ago -- it was better.  I just didn't get a picture.

So, what's it like to live in small town Costa Rica?  Here's a story from today that pretty much captures the town in a nutshell.

Yesterday, we ran out of gas in the tank for our grill.  So I put the tank in the car and drove into town to the one, and only, gas supplier.  In the past, when I've gone, they've done an exchange for me -- take my tank and give me a different full one.  Not this time though -- they didn't have one to exchange.  So they told me that I could leave the tank and it would be back the next day.   To identify me, they asked me my name and I told them Pablo (since "Rosenzweig" is a mouthful even for native German speakers!).  They took my phone number and said they call when it was ready.

The next day (today) … no call.  I waited for a while and then went into town for other stuff.  On a whim, I stopped at the gas store.  As I walked in the woman behind the desk looked up, gave me a big smile and said "Hola Don Pablo" and told me that the tank was read.  I paid my $17 (9000 colones) and left.

And that captures the town.  It's a place where they know your name and they don't need a receipt or anything -- just a smile and a "hello" when you come in.  But it is also a town where they tell you that they'll call you when its ready and then …. just don't.  Life here is slow and easy and if you can get used to the way people operate it's delightful.  Pura Vida.