During the months in between our visits to Isla Mujeres, we crave Mexican food and put a squeeze of lime and cilantro leaves on every opportunity available. So it might seem strange that our first restaurant visit on Isla Mujeres was to an Irish Pub.

We traveled to Ireland a number of years ago and loved the food, libations and the local music. The same could be said for Neal’s.

At our server’s suggestion, we started with a Bahama Mama and a classic Margarita, neither of these offerings were available in Ireland but it was a refreshing way to start the evening.

Our appetizer of creamy spinach and artichoke dip was served in a carved out bread bowl. The Italian bread-sticks and Mexican tortilla chips made the appetizer an international dish. We were so enamored with it, we even ate the bowl.

To add to the ambiance, a local sax musician serenaded us throughout dinner.

I took the opportunity to sneak a peak into the glassed-in kitchen, to view one of the chefs carefully plating our dinners.

The chef”s twist on a classic Shepherd’s Pie:-it was topped with a tasty, crispy potato crust rather than pastry. The scrumptious pie was served with honeyed carrots and mushy peas (which were surprisingly delicious!)

I recommend that if you go to Neal’s and order the Reuben sandwich, you make plans to share it or take half home with you as I did. It was so huge, I could hardly take a chomp out of it. The beef had been house-smoked and enhanced with a subtle sauerkraut, gooey Swiss cheese and a side of Russian dressing for dipping.

The process of curing and smoking the beef commenced 10 days prior and concluded with 4 hours in a slow oven. I expected something quite different, but was very impressed all the same.

D and I were both so stuffed it would have been nice to walk back to our suite on the Airport Strip, but our helpful server had already called us a cab and we were risked away, enjoying a cool breeze coming off the sea.

Kath’s quote:  “Bless us with good food, the gift of gab and hearty laughter.  May the love and joy we share, be with us ever after!” – Irish Blessing

Love is all.

Besides staring at the turquoise water, walking the beach and visiting friends, eating on Isla is our favourite past time! Here are a couple of our Isla Mujeres restaurant visits. More blog post are on the way.

Asia Caribe-I have visited before but never for a full dining experience. Excellent Thai soup and sushi.

Dulzara Argenta bakery-lovely owners, great empanadas, brownies and coconut “pie”!

Fredy’s x 2-Once for his anniversary, once with newbies, pork chops sensational as always.

Geisha Valentina-Thought a hibachi dinner was something different- Teppanyaki Chef was amazing! Excellent scallops and rib eye!

Green Verde-We created our own Surf & Turf, Tampiqueña Steak and Shrimp Mezcal. Delicious!

Grill Garden-Pablo our server was 1^st class! Presentation of the Tomahawk Steak & Whole Fish were blow away.

Limone-Our choice for special birthdays. Chef’s Choice: Filet, Lobster, Shrimp! Oh my. Our newbie friends were blown away.

Mar Abismo (delivery only)-had we more time, we would have ordered a greater variety of items. Such well prepared food!

Neal’s Irish Pub-the most enormous Rueben I have ever eaten! Spinach and artichoke dip in a mini bread bowl was such fun.

Richo’s by Chef Rambo-Another surprise. You must try his conch in three kids of garlic. Best conch ever!

Rinconcito Kahlo-Loved the kids that run the restaurant with Mom. As down home as you can get. Birria Tacos and Los Gordos were scrumptious!

Sabores Posada del Mar-mega drinks and top drawer lunch, will be our sunset place next year!

Sardinian Smile-The best regional Italian food outside of the boot itself! Why this place isn’t always packed, I will never know?

Tiny Gecko-Chef Paulino is the island’s best kept secret. His creates delectable food art. Unique and inventive. A must visit!

Kath’s Quote: “Life without Mexican food is like no life at all”-unknown

Love is all.

I was on Isla Mujeres in March 2020 when the world shut down. When you are a food and travel blogger, it is a tough gig during a pandemic.

The good news is that my little family has thrived over the past couple of years. Boo and the Frenchman had a baby boy. He is my Little Bear and an absolute delight!

The Wee Ones grew by leaps and bounds and the youngest who will soon be three is my special joy (named in my honour), I sometime see her in myself. As a family, they took on a new business-an Air BnB at Lester Beach called Family Fun Paradise that I will have lots of excuses to write about.

Our eldest daughter fell in love (the love part actually occurred previously) but they solidified their relationship by acquiring an apartment at a wonderful Housing Co-op together. That too is a neat space that I will want to share.

Through it all, we followed the rules and stayed home and didn’t dine out. We did eat some amazing food at home, at the beach house and occasionally with friends but for the most part it would have felt contrived to share these times with you in this space. I knew I would be ready to be back when the time was right and the time became right.

I was on Isla Mujeres recently visiting my favourite handicraft market stall, when a woman said to me “I know you. You are Kathryne right?” I had never seen or communicated with her before so I was intrigued. “You write the Isla Mujeres blog right?” I confirmed by saying, well it is actually about more than Isla Mujeres. She agreed and said “Oh I know. I love going with you when you travel to other places, and when you are up at your Beach House and your Wee Ones are adorable”. I apologised for being unhooked for two years and she said “I understand, but I want you to know that had you kept posting, I would have kept reading. I love how you live your life and your positive attitude about all things”. “Oh” I replied, just oh.

And one last story: on the final morning of that fateful trip to the island in 2020, I said good-bye to a number of restaurant friends before I boarded the ferry. I was very, very worried about all of them. I had word from back home just how bad things were getting very quickly, and there didn’t seem to be that same urgency on the island. I had met two wonderful servers that year at Lola Valentina. I called them Evening Abel and Morning Abel because there were two waiters with the same name. That last day I chatted with Morning Abel and we shared hopes for the time ahead. All through the pandemic, I was constantly worried about my immediate circle of family and friends but I was also concerned about my island friends. And my worry was not for naught. My friend Ruben passed away, my friend’s husband became gravely ill and my restaurant friends had absolutely no income. So just this past Monday, on the evening before I returned to Canada after our wonderful time on Isla, friends asked us to join them for a nightcap at Morgan’s. And there was Morning Abel, none the worse for wear. He greeted me and said “I remember you!” Now since the island ferries carry something like 19,000 visitors daily, I tucked his response away and said to myself: “The time to resurrect my blog posts is now!”

Kath’s quote: “Be Kind. If you stopped writing because it got too hard and you gave up, don’t beat yourself up too much.”

We have enjoyed Lola Valentina’s for many years. On my visit and subsequent blog post last year http://foodmusings.ca/restaurants/lola-valentina-isla-mujeres-2019/, I linked to a number of other wonderful dining occasions.

On this visit we started with a sampling of their artisan cocktails.

In the red tiki glass was a Classic Mai Tai concocted of Bacardi Blanco rum, Bacardi Anejo rum, Captain Morgan rum, orange liquer, orange juice, pineapple juice and lime juice. It was stellar!

Not to be outdone in the accompanying green tiki glass came an Aloha Isla, made from Captain Morgan rum, Malibu rum, Licor 43, lychee and passion fruit. I couldn’t decide which one I loved more.

We started food service with guacamole garnished with green apple, bacon goat cheese balls! The apple provided sweet crunch, the bacon savoury saltiness and the cheese ball a creamy pungent hit. OMGoodness! We hoped the rest of the evening was going to be this delicious.

I enjoyed a second cocktail of an avocado martini. Since avocados are supposed to be good for you, I pledged to drink one a day (JK).

One of the first dishes we sampled was from the “Bowl” section of the menu. The Mexican Bowl was chock full of rice, corn, cheese, avocado, pico de gallo, green salsa and sour cream. The hanger steak which occupied a quadrant of the bowl was so tender and perfectly prepared. Lorena who was a part of our gang LOVED IT!

We also enjoyed tempura cauliflower tacos that were a sensational vegan choice. Meat? Who needs meat! They were accompanied by yummy cole slaw, guava/chipotle sauce and guacamole.

Another tempura taco choice was Lola Valentina’s shrimp tacos. The shrimp were enormous and snapped when you took a bite-my barometer that they were fresh and perfectly cooked.

The first time I ever saw Lola Valentina’s Pablano Fish it was on the table of a diner next to me. I was so enthralled by the dish and how he avidly dived into it, that I asked him how it tasted. Well he oohed and awed and I knew that I just had to order it. Unfortunately by the time it was set down in front of me, I was too full to make a dent in the dish. I did appreciate the creamy stew with shrimp and vegetables crowning amazing mashed potatoes. But the sauce-the poblano sauce was simply divine! Lucky for me I had some family members sitting close by who agreed to help me eat the dish because I absolutely refuse to waste food.

Lola Valentina’s consistently delivers exceptionally well prepared food. Whether you are taken care of “Morning Abel” or “Evening Abel” you will be in very good hands.

Kath’s quote: “You cannot make everybody happy. You are not a taco.” -unknown

Love never fails.

My husband D doesn’t like to accompany me on my Isla restaurant visits. He is not able to stay as long as I do on the Island (he is younger than me and still working full time) and when he is here, he has his own lists of favourite restaurants to visit. One of a very few exceptions is Lola Valentina’s!

D adores Lola V’s coffee so that was the first order of business. I had already had my coffee quota so I enjoyed a smoothie instead. I can’t specifically remember all the fresh ingredients but I do recall green apple, celery and pineapple juice. If this is also one of your favourite smoothies, let me know what the other ingredients are.

Lola Valentina’s plates photograph like works of art!

Every single layer of Lola Valentina’s Avacado Toast was fabulous starting at the bottom with the homemade gluten free toast. Guacamole, poached eggs, hollandaise and pickled red onions were stacked high and accompanied by arugula spinach and cherry tomatoes. The creaminess of the guacamole and the poached egg were offset by the pickled red onions and cherry tomatoes creating the perfect combination of textures and tastes!

D chose Lola’s Gourmet Chilaquiles and was well pleased. Lola’s soak their tortilla chips in adobo sauce then they are sprinkled with cotija cheese. I don’t typically like Chilaquiles because the tortilla chips are too crunchy but these were tender and full of the acidic, sweet and spicy flavours of the adobo sauce. These were served with perfectly fried eggs and a juicy & tender beef tenderloin. You may notice that my husband ordered this menu item, but I tasted it. In fact, D and I split most of our meals. When he thinks something is really exceptional, I get a bite. Such was the case with his Chilaquiles.

“Morning” Abel was our server that morning. His exuberance for the food and  all things Lola Valentina overflows from Abel. He is more than attentive, he is someone you would like to invite to sit down with you. Covid note: I hope “Morning” and “Evening” Abel and the exceptional staff at Lola Valentina’s fared well when the island was shut down and I am sure that visitors to the island are delighted that they have reopened!

Kath’s quote: “When you  wake up in the morning said Piglet at last, what’s the first thing you say to yourself.  What’s for breakfast? said Pooh. What do you say piglet? I say, I wonder what ‘s going to happen exciting today, said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully, it’s the same thing he said.”-A.A. Milne

Love never fails.