When I think about the things that shape my memories of childhood, food and music are in the forefront. I have a vivid memory of my mom in the kitchen of our Grand Beach rental, frying doughnuts while Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park” blared over the radio.

Dave Bastin, owner of Sonny’s on Isla Mujeres, based his restaurant concept on his musical and culinary memories. Growing up in his Vancouver Canada home, his parents always played the music of the rat pack, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, et al.  And those are the tunes you’ll hear at Sonny’s as you tuck into the yummy food. Dave, himself a musician has chosen to feature this music as a tribute to his folks, who also taught him to cook.

The night we dined at Sonny’s – a global inspired pizzeria, we sat out front at a picnic table, complete with red and white checkered table clothes. Just feet away from the town square of Centro, we were in direct line of the breeze coming off the malecon. A great location that Dave felt was too good not to take advantage of when he decided to buy the place that he had noticed on previous visits to the island and thought was sadly under-utilized.

The menu features a couple of salads, a wide variety of classic pizzas, available in individual or family size. On this night we ordered from the exotic section where the only option is family size. And they are not kidding. These pizzas could easily feed a family of 4 or 5. Being that lobster season ended two weeks before our visit we were unable to sample the lobster pizza, instead selecting the Barcelonian, as recommended by Dave as well as our friendly waiter. The highlight of this pizza is the Spanish style octopus which is marinated for two hours before being braised to melt in your mouth perfection. Accompanied by tomato sauce, artichoke, mozzarella, goat cheese, red pepper, and green olives, this pizza packs a punch of flavour. Rich and decadent, two slices was all each of us could manage. If I had it again I would have one slice with a salad to lighten things up.

So those who love a hearty, loaded, thick crust pizza should surely check this place out. Sonny’s is closed every Wednesday. You can take in live music from 7:30 – 9:30 every Friday and may even catch boisterous owner Dave on his bongos.

Kath’s quote: “In any world menu, Canada must be considered the vichyssoise of nations — it’s cold, half-French, and difficult to stir.” – James Stuart Keate

Thank you Sister #3 for penning this piece.

Love never fails.

When we took our seat at Mahaché and started to peruse the menu, it was obvious we where in for a delicious evening.  The six appetizers, four salads, and fourteen main selections are beautiful described and had us finding it hard to narrow it down. I was pleased to see two appealing options for the vegan diner. Something not so easy to find on Isla. The rest of the menu focuses on fish and seafood but also has chicken, beef, and pork offerings. 

We chose to dine alfresco at one of the two outdoor tables to watch island life go by and enjoy the cool breezes. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, this beautifully appointed restaurant also features works of local artists and live music around 8:00 each evening. 

Our cocktails of a pisco sour and sangria were simple and nicely presented.

We were brought an amuse bouche of hummus and chips, which was a nice alternative to the usual pico. 

We started with the octopus carpaccio. Typically served in paper thin lengths of meat, the limited octopus on hand caused the chef to be creative and instead thinly slice little circles of the tentacles. We had no idea that this was not the way it was intended as it was tender and tasty and made for a visually stunning presentation. The sesame oil and pink pepper provided a toasty, warm sensation on your palette. Just a hint of citrus and garlic created a delicate balance so that you could still taste the meat itself. 

For our mains we chose the Mahaché shrimp which were wrapped in bacon and grilled, served in a mushroom cream sauce. Packed with flavour, they were accompanied by coconut rice and perfectly al dente broccoli, carrot, and zucchini which offset the richness of the shrimp.

Our second entree was the pollo Oaxaca. Chicken breast stuffed with spinach and Oaxaca cheese was topped with a generous amount of delicious passion fruit sauce. Served with wedges of fried potato and the same combinations of perfectly cooked fresh vegetables.  

Mario, co-owner and transplant from Veracruz has spent the past 10 years on Isla working in the restaurant business. His previous venture, Mi Latte Chocolate, has been a favourite coffee and pastry kiosk on Vicente Guerrero for a few years. We were disappointed to see it was closed this year, but delighted to find out we could still get the same delicious offerings just a few buildings down at Mahaché. 

I would highly recommend Mahaché for its creative twist on the fresh ingredients available on Isla Mujeres. The atmosphere is lovely, the staff engaging, and overall a really nice dinning experience. 

Kath’s quote: “Cheese has always been a food that both sophisticated and simple humans love.”-M.F.K. Fisher

Thank you Sister # 3 who penned this piece.

Love never fails.

One of the many things I (Sister #3) love about Isla Mujeres is how it attracts people from all over the world. This trip alone I have met people from Germany, Netherlands, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Spain and of course plenty of Americans and Canadians. This international flavour not only floats through the air in a variety of languages of overheard conversation, it also shapes the restaurant scene and has for many years. From the nouvelle cuisine of Belgian born Lolo Laurena, to the gang making authentic Israeli food at the Green House. Restauranteurs from across the globe have made Isla home and brought their delicious recipes with them.

One such transplant to the island is Mateo, owner of Pizza & a More. Originally from Rome, he, and his wife (from Milan), and his Mom and Dad serve the best food this side of Italy. On this night, we caught a glimpse of the newest addition to his family-a sweet faced little one carried in Mama’s arms.

Previously located on Carlos Lazo, just down from Poc Na hostel, Pizza & a More recently took over a location on Hidalgo which was until recently vacated by Nash’s Sports Bar. We visited on their first night open after the big move, and the food was superb. Mateo didn’t miss a beat. K and I shared a pizza and a fettuccine as suggested by Mateo.

Our “primavera” pizza was simple with a tasty tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, rocket (arugula) salad and cherry tomatoes. The pizza crust was crisp, light and flavourful and the fresh tastes of the toppings were a good counterpoint to the rich pasta that we also shared.

Freshly made fettuccine cooked to a perfect al dente and tossed with cream, blue cheese and a generous amount of speck (Italian smoked Serrano ham).

We also snapped a few photos of the food on our neighbours tables.

Vivian, a Cuban transplant and former owner of Cubano restaurant, and her New York friends were enjoying a lovely salad served in a pizza crust bread bowl. The gentleman from the table declared: “I am from New York and this is the best pizza I have ever tasted”!

The table to the other side of us happened to be our brother and his wife, true pizza lovers, enjoying the “Chorizo y Cebolla” pie, featuring Mateos Mother’s homemade Italian sausage and plenty of onions.

The menu currently only lists their pizza and calzones, but your server will tell you about the salad and pasta options which are new additions to the previous menu.

You can also pick up Mateo’s thick crust variety of by the slice pizza on your way to the beach at his kiosk further down Carlos Lazo almost at North Beach. We had a couple of occasions to sample it and it was filling and deeply satisfying.

I’m so glad that such a diverse community of people call Isla home. Each of them bring the best from their country and further enhance this place that is already so full of rich traditions, culture, beautiful food, and wonderful people.

Kath’s quote: “When the moon hits your eye….”. You know the rest.

Thanks to Sister #3 who penned this piece.

Pita hearts shot in Italy.

Love never fails.

On our final morning at the Air BnB  we assembled our recycling -it looks like eating and drinking might have occurred the week we spent in Tuscany!

Matteo the Air BnB owner gifted us with his mother’s cakes all that week. My favourite was the treat we received on that last morning. He called it angel bread perhaps because it was so heavenly! Hunks pulled off included the sweet taste of raisins and just the right amount of cinnamon. During the course of the day and into the evening that loaf was very much appreciated but I am getting ahead of myself.

We pulled out of the driveway for the final time that morning. I was both happy and sad. Sad that it was over but so very happy that it happened in the first place.

We decided on a quick stop at Lucca en route to Milan. We ended up taking a circuitous route when we decided to select the route with no tolls. All that could be done was to sit back and enjoy the view.

We loved Lucca when we had made the same plans on our last sojourn to Tuscany. Unfortunately, we spent longer in the town than we wanted (when we couldn’t find our car) so were certain to not let that occur again.

Our destination was the town square on both days (except that the “square” is actually an oval!).

Our lunch was pretty mediocre; such a disappointment on our last day in Tuscany. But the beer was cold and the last aperol spritzer a delight! And I remember thinking to myself: even a mediocre lunch in Tuscany is still on a beautiful square under a shady umbrella and so I was more than content.

This time we easily found our parking spot!

I was able to do a wee bit of shopping for my sisters at a place I visited 4 years prior. The gorgeous woman who only spoke Italian (and me doing a pitiful job of trying) got along as famously as we had previously! I was so glad it was my last memory of the part of the world that I truly love as the next thing you know we were back on the autostrada heading for Milan.

We did get to see this last twilight sky as we made our final approach to Milan.

D1 and J3 dropped us ladies off at the hotel and took the rent a car back. We took our bags upstairs and then went straight down to the hotel restaurant to have a glass of wine and wait for them. We ended up ordering another mediocre meal before we caught sight of them (but at least we had snacked on angel bread all that day). It was a lacklustre end to a glorious trip.

Kath’s quote: “The most beautiful moments always seemed to accelerate and slip beyond one’s grasp just when you want to hold onto them for as long as possible.” ― E.A. Bucchianeri

Love never fails.

With the exception of the beginning of our stay, D and I slept every night with the window open under the eves of our Air BnB loft. I had intended to wake up every morning to watch the sunrise but only managed to sit up in bed to get this one.

After spending a glorious morning in Sal Galgana, we ventured out to explore a vineyard that was in the Chianti region but not far from us in Siena.

We had booked a private tasting at The Tolaini Vineyard owned by a gentlemen from our home town of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

But 1st we had a lovely long look at the vineyard and the bowl-shaped valley.

The clever selection of a bowl shape meant for almost day long sunshine and the perfect amount of irrigation.

We learned as we sat down in this beautiful cellar and tasting room, that Mr. Tolaini upon retiring from the company he built from scratch in Winnipeg, wanted to grow the finest French grapes in his home country of Italy.

The fare which was conducive to the tasting was perfection in itself. Our guide Andrea was so passionate about the Tolaini wines and the chianti region where the grapes were grown. We could have listened to her for hours. She answered every question we had with much thought and great insight.

And those wines were perfection! I am not inclined towards Sangiovese wines leaning more to Merlots from France, Chile and even Canada!

We bought three bottles of Tolaini wine that afternoon but just had to open one of them that very day to go with our left over pizza and pasta from the house as our time was drawing to a close. We gave one of the bottles as a Christmas gift to our son and still have one bottle to drink for a future special occasion.

Kath’s quote: “Men are like wine – some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.”-Pope John XXIII

Love never fails.