Love was definitely in the air on our recent vacation to Isla Mujeres. There was a family wedding held on the island while we were there and the romantic and heartfelt betrothal set the tone for the rest of our vacation. When we arrived at The Sunset Grill’s new location (Rue Medina South), co-owner Margarita escorted us to a table for two set just outside the restaurant with a view of the marina and water.

Years’ prior I had my first taste of coconut shrimp at the original Sunset Grill on North Beach. On another occasion with my girls, my sister and her daughter, I recall having a late afternoon lunch at the Sunset Grill when a wedding was taking place. The bride arrived by boat to meet her groom as strains of “Come Away with Me” by Norah Jones floated all around us. We all swooned and agreed at once that Isla Mujeres would be the perfect place to have a destination wedding.

Suffice it to say, that memory stuck with me as I watched my beautiful niece wed her handsome man recently, but I digress. At that romantic table for two at the new Sunset Grill, D and I shared our last dinner together on the island. It was a special time in every way and we hoped that the food would complete a perfect holiday and evening.

We commenced with frosty cold beers as it was still warm in the setting sun.

We consulted Sunset Grill owner Felipe as to what he might recommend. He read us perfectly and the shared appetizer, soup and entrée was the correct amount of food with both subtle and bold tastes.

We started by splitting the most enormous shrimp (oxymoron?), that had been stuffed with hearty bacon pieces and a tart and silky cream cheese. D carved it into four bites and each was delicious and satisfying.

Next up we shared a decadent seafood soup which is Felipe’s own recipe utilizing a splash of brandy. As chunky as a chowder, it tasted closer to Lobster Thermidor with tastes of heavy cream and butter. The abundance of seafood was a lovely surprise-every spoonful containing a piece of huge shrimp, baby shrimp and other fish. The creamy stock was so luxurious that I had wished we had some bread on the table so that we could have mopped up every dollop.

The Sunset Grill is definitely a family affair as the next dish was a recipe of Felipe’s mother. Usually the dill sauce would adorn grouper but in this case it enhanced red snapper. Everything on the beautifully assembled plate was delicious.

Felipe added that next time we may want to try a dish such as his beef tenderloin in cherry wine, chicken livers and Dijon. In truth I spotted a number of dishes that I would love to try again including the Coconut Shrimp, which brings us back to the beginning of this story and

our on-going love affair with Isla Mujeres and the Sunset Grill.

The Sunset Grill has much more to offer, stay tuned for the next installment.

Kath’s quote: “Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sautee it. There’s, um, shrimp kebabs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep fried, stir fried. There’s pineapple shrimp and lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich… That’s, that’s about it.”-Forrest Gump

 

Love never fails.

 

 

Share on Facebook