Randomness Rincon Notes

A few random thoughts...

Uno, our "foster" dog is too sweet to give away, Cyndi's waaaay too much in love with him and I'm developing a little crush on him myself so I think we have 3 dogs now.....

We added a pet adoptions page to our 413 geek site, just because we hear of all sorts of puppies being droped off at people' houses and what can we do?  Not much, but if anyone sends a pic and contact info we'll put it up there....

We've had a lot of luck with renting "La Olita", our downstairs studio, despite the water being turned off from time to time and roosters at 5:30 am, the guests seem to have really enjoyed their stays, $55/night, what's not to like?

Had a really bad dining experience at Brumas Bar and Grill, a restaurant on the curve toward Anasco, we only went there 'cause the fish restaurant we wanted to go to was closed for a private event, but what a waste of $50...

I decided that cooking with coconut milk is pretty cool, add it to rice and veggies for a soupy curry with a little lime and mint, it's pretty rich, but sooo good...

We went to The Best of the Fest, a screening of a film from last year's Rincon International Film Festival.  The movie called This is a Robbery was a funny documentary about a 91 year old bank robber and was pretty good, definitely gets me interested in what we'll see from this years event....

Last Saturday we helped install some trash cans at the Black Eagle Marina with the Surfrider Foundation, thanks to all those that helped, hopefully they'll get used and picked up regularly by the city....

Fernando of Villa Orleans put a post on his blog about a group coming to Rincon this summer to prepare to excavate the shipwreck off the coast of Rincon.  Seems there's a group looking to build a maritime museum filled with what they find.  How cool would that be?

Cyndi's still working on standing up on the surfboard, she's tenacious, I even went out yesterday, but it was too blown out, I'm was having problems just paddling out, she seems pretty comfortable, maybe just afraid to commit to the wave...


A 90 lb Wahoo was caught off the coast a few days ago, great pictures provided by our friend Pablo...

The surf contest on Saturday and Sunday at Domes was packed, we went Saturday for a little while and couldn't believe how many people were on the beach, cool to see thankfully only once a year...

I guess there's a Haiti fundraiser at the Pool Bar on Friday night, our friend Yaro will be playing some music, check rincon.org TAR member events for a posting soon...

We're enjoying Rincon as much as ever, even more so as we meet more people and become more integrated in the fabric of the community, it's a special place, salud to those who recognize that!

Where to Eat in Rincon....

We finally started making some money here, Cyndi through massage and the rental of our "La Olita" unit downstairs, and I've been working with a catering chef, Organic Surfer Chef, at a large villa near Corcega Beach. So, we've been trying a few of the restaurants around town.

A few nights ago we went to The Spot at the Black Eagle, a restaurant near the Black Eagle Marina that serves steaks and fish and pasta and is mostly overpriced and definitely geared to the tourist crowd. It's a great location, and at sunset the sailboats and katamarans floating by provide a dramatic setting, but the place itself is mostly a dive. The menu is prety limited with most entrees over $20. We ordered the Flatiron steak for $23, but to share there is an $8.50 charge, so we didn't order an appetizer. The food was too salty for Cyndi, but I thought it was good. The biggest problem I have with the Spot is that their menu is very limited, no burgers or cheaper entrees, even in the bar and their prices suggest some better service and decor.

Calypso Cafe is just above Maria's Beach and is what you would expect, good burgers and burritos at reasonable prices. The view from the bar is great, surfers and Desecheo island in the distance and Happy hour drinks that are actually pretty good.

We also tried the Shipwreck Bar and Grill, also located near the marina, and while not great, it was better than the Spot, we had Mikeys Famous Fish Kebabs which were very good and there was plenty to share, we also had calamari, which was a huge portion, but a little greasy. There is no view, but the decor was a little nicer than the Spot and the service a little better too.

In the plaza, there is a Mexican restaurant that recently changed ownership so we thought we'd give it a try. We went on Tequila Tuesday so shots of Jose Cuervo gold were just one dollar and Corona's were two dollars. Once again Cyndi and I shared a dish, the fish wrapped in banana leaves. It was about $16. The fish was good, but the plate came with about 3 tortilla chips and nothing else, I guess we were expecting rice and beans. The decor is nice and much like any Mexican restaurant in the states and the service was ok. I think the food was overpriced for what we got, but the drink specials, made up for it.

The best food I've eaten since I've been here has definitely been with Pedro, The Organic Surfer Chef, who I've been working with. He made a rabbit stew one night and whole red snapper another night and recently he served an Asian influenced duck breast with noodles. The food he makes is fesh and from local ingredients and just tastes better, not overly seasoned or just thawed out like so many dishes we find here.

I would also recommend the pizza truck on the 413, near the Lazy Parrot, the crust is very good. And Tapatio a small Mexican restaurant on the 115 toward Aguada.