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Best of Cabo San lucas


ellenesk

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I was there last friday, we had a nice shrimp meal at the shrimp factory downtown...a little expensive though...I would shoot for some of the smaller places I also had some great meals at the small taco stands....There are some nice looking places along the marina walkway too but I didnt get toeat there this time.

I have heard that the whale watching bar at the finesterra is really nice as well.

Moo, Cluck, Oink.....they all taste good!

The Hungry Detective

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I posted this a few months ago and if you haven't read it then here it goes.

You might need to bare with me because the names of some of the restaurants might have slipped a little but I will give it a try.

First thing you need to know is that Cabo can get very exp when it comes to food. A moderatley priced restaurant in Cabo would be somewhere in the $25 for an entree range.

For upper moderate

Ediths (pronounced edeets) is just above "the office"(Bar/rest) near playa medano (the main beach. They serve mostly fish/lobster dishes and steaks. The atmosphere is wonderful and the food is very good. The have a huge grill right when you walk in outside that is a raoring blaze. The make ceasar's sald table side. When it is cold the wait staff will get you a blanket. For drink I recommend a shot of tequila with sangrita chaser.

Lower moderate

Mi Casa

Micasa is a little further in town near the town square (that isn't its officail name but that's how I call it). This restaurant has a great outside dinning area that puts you in the mood for great food. I had what is one of my all time favorite steaks there one night. It is part of the Tampiquena plate which includes an incredibly tasty skirt steak and an enchilada. The carnitas are also very good. Other very good dishes are mole pollo, chiles en nogada, roasted pork in bannana leaves (I forget the real name).

The tortilla's come in 2 different ways. First is a big thick corn tortilla that is more like a bread and then with your meal you get a nice fresh thin corn tortilla.

Cheap

Gardenia's is a taco place kind of behind the Mcdonalds that is on the eastern side the city. If you are driving from the corridor you would go towards town and take a left at the McDonald's. It will be just a little ways on the right side of the road. The fish tacos are out of this world. You get a tray of condiments to dress your taco any way you want. The tacos al pastor are also very good. I think a taco runs a buck or so. This place is not to be missed!

Crazy lobster

it is pretty close to mi casa. Its easy to find. Lobster and fish dishes are whats good to get here. They also have an absurdly cheap breakfast. Don't let the name full you the food is good. Cleanest cabo bathroom.

El Michoacano...all they cook is the pork carnitas cooked in huge pots. You can specify what you want as far as shoulder, butt, crispy. It's brought on a big platter accompanied by different salsa, vegetables. Wrap in a fresh made tortilla..just awesome. Not sure how they price things but its cheap as hell for what you get.

In San Jose there are two places I liked, one I think I remember the name and the other I forget.

The one I remember is a fish taco joint called Rossi's? If you are comming form the corridor it is on the left side of the road at an intercection. If you are comming from the airport it is on the right hand side of the road in a little strip center. Their fish tacos were just as good as Gardenia's. They have a condiment bar which looks very good but it sits in the middle of the dinning room. It is chilled but I just hate community food in general, but I had to have the stuff that was in there. Try it with the cole slaw or the Mexican salso or with mayo. Very good.

The other place was a small joint called ceaser's that was outside with a tent with dirt floors. They serve a good snapper at a good price. The bathroom was one of the cleanest in cabo.

I also went to a restaurant on the beach just east of the Melia resort complex. The food was good but the prices were extraordinary for what you get. I would skip the food at most oceanside places and just have a drink instead.

There is also an Italian rest that is on a hill on the ocean that offers a great sunset view. Go early grab a seat and order a drink and relax. Great place to watch a sunset. This place is on the western edge of the corridor.

I liked Cabo and found some good inexpensive places. If you don't try then you can end up paying an arm and a leg at the more touristy places. Yes there are a ton of time share people. Also the beaches aren't the best, the water is very rough. But if you like food and nightlife than cabo is better than san jose. And for more quite Todos Santos is better than San Jose.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Second the El Michoacano rec..btw they charge by weight..kilo, 1/2 kilo, etc.

I've been travelling to CSL for 10 years. In general, the best local dining is off the main streets. For seafood, I like Mocambo. It's expanded from a tiny storefront to a large palapa style restaurant. It's been discovered and gets a lot of tourists but it's still excellent. Even better is the smaller Mazatlan.

On the marina, behind the Plaza Las Glorias is Solomon's Landing. Owned by a guy from LA, they serve very good tacos..fish and beef..They buy their fish right from the local boats and get their beef from Sonora...in a great spot.

I've been disappointed in Mi Casa; but I'm definitely in the minority. I've had a few great meals at Mole Mio..another resaurant that they own..a more contemporary take on Mexican food..on Marina Blvd.

For lunch, I like to go to Medano Beach..I like the Office and mango Deck. These places have gotten a lot more expensive than they used to be, but they're still good and a lot of fun.

There are a lot of other good places but you need to get a few blocks away from the marina..sorry but I can't recall any more names.

Have fun. I'll be down there in a few weeks.

If you have time, check out Todos Santos..hour or so North. I like Los Adobes, a taco place on the way into town, and there's good seafood place..can't recall the name but ask in town.

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  • 1 month later...
I'm going in a few weeks, staying at the recently reopened Palmilla.  Does anyone have any experiences with this property?  I understand Charlie Trotter, from Chicago, is to run the fine dining restaruant "C" there.

Thanks!

You can read about it here: http://www.oneandonlypalmilla.com

Trotter is responsible for the food in "C", which includes room service. I heard recently that the hotel chef will be Larbi Dahrouche, formerly chef at Tacquet outside Philly.

Mark

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Palmilla is a "first class" resort. Beautiful, well maintained resort, fabulous golf course. It's one of the first developed properties in the area. I can't speak specifically to the food at Palmilla; but I'm sure it's high end, to "Americanized" tastes. It's a short cab ride ($20 1 way) or drive from downtown Cabo San Lucas.

You can stay there and miss (or avoid..:)) all the "local color" or journey into town.

Read my post above about local spots..I'd add El Pescador,..seafood and Tacos el Paisa..carne asada(beef) and baked potatos on an open pit fire..These are local spots but people that run them are very friendly and accomodating to gringos.

Enjoy!

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Thanks for the advice, Mark and 9lives! It's scary to be going to a place like Palmilla before reading about the success of the renovation. But the way I see it, I'll have a nice, relaxing time. I love "local color" too, but don't necessarily want to stay in the midst of it!

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Don't be scared.:)

Wanted to mention Mocambo Seafood again.. in CSL. It's a good way to get local color..without being too colorful..:)We went 3 times over a few week period. Get anything with shrimp, or fish filet. They also do a whole fish..usually red snapper, either fried or grilled..called huachinango. . They also offer lobster; but I live in Boston and I'm not a huge fan of Pacific lobster.

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Just to followup on our recent trip.

Had another great meal at Ediths, Wally's special(local fish, lobster and shrimp with garlic sauce) AND Baja Shrimp(with garlic sauce) A great table side cesar salad.

The office still is the requisite zoo, spring break with young families, beach vendors selling tthings marked "made in china" Decent food, but watered down drinks(could be the 2 for 1 margaritas)

We stayed at Esperanza(worth every penny) and found the food much improved over last year(although I think the main restaurant at Ventanas is better than the main restaurant at Esperanza) The palapa grill is a greatl alternative at Esperanza for those who want to have a meal at the resort, without springing for the dining room.

I dont believe Charlie Trotters is slated to open for at least another month.

If you do want to bring back tequila, we found the prices at the Europea market preferable to the duty free shopping

Wish I was there now, as for some reason the Mexican Food in NYC is mediocre at best.

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  • 2 weeks later...
We stayed at Esperanza(worth every penny) and found the food much improved over last year(although I think the main restaurant at Ventanas is better than the main restaurant at Esperanza) The palapa grill is a greatl alternative at Esperanza for those who want to have a meal at the resort, without springing for the dining room.

So is Esperanza THE place to stay? I've heard it's toss-up between here and Las Ventanas. How was your room at Esperanza? Anything else to share?

Thanks!

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  • 1 year later...

To revive the topic....

We're heading down in a week or so and just wanted any updates. I've made a list from the restaurants recommended so far and they are:

El Toreador or El Toro for the stuffed peppers

Salsa bar at Felix's (anything specific to eat there? still worth trying?)

Alexanders in the San Lucas Marina for fish tacos

El Michoacano for carnitas (LOVE carnitas!!!)

Mocambo for seafood and shrimp

Soloman's Landing for fish tacos

El Pescado for seafood

Any further help is great! thanks

oh, and I am very willing to rent a car for a day and see smaller towns and villages if they're food-worthy. Please suggest away!

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We're definitely considering C, but I can't get the menu to download. Could you tell me about how much $$ we'd be spending in dollars? thanks!

We went last July so my memory might be a bit hazy, but I think we paid about $400 for two people. We got the tasting menus with wine pairings. I think that $400 also includes the "service charge", but I'm not sure. Between the setting and the quality of the food, I would say it was worth the money. In fact, we liked it better than Trotter's in Chicago.

-Josh

Now blogging at http://jesteinf.wordpress.com/

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just back from an excellent trip. We ate like kings.

First night--Nick-San, where we let our sushi man make us whatever he felt like, which included an outstanding lobster roll with mango, torched local bluefin in cilantro sauce, and much much more. oustanding.

We had tortas (mine with chorizo, his with flank steak) the next morning with papaya con limon...a nice way to get started. for all the coffee freaks and starbucks addicts, cabo coffee does a great little blended coffee shake. I like the hazelnut.

That night we ate dinner at Mariscos Mazatlan, on a rec from our sushi guy. From the just-barely-cooked shrimp ceviche to the outstanding garlic shrimp, and with beers just $15 us, a great choice.

We took a road trip up to todos santos, which is a must-do in my opinion. Packed the cooler with ice, pacifico and lime and hit the road. There's a wine bar there that is set in the most lovely garden. I think it's attached to the Todos Santos Inn, which is where we'd stay if given the chance and if it hadn't been packed. After a rather disappointing start at a place recommended by the guy bringing us our wine, we ended up having a desperation dinner at the Hotel California, but luckily the herrachera steak (flank steak) rocked! Then we went to Santanas and danced to a live reggae band with a bunch of surfers under the stars.

The next day we hopped from surfer beach to surfer beach along the pacific coast and stopped at Beer & Art, our favorite kismet stop of the entire week. The owners are two hippie ex-pats who make a rockin "dirty ceasar" with real raw clams they open right before your eyes!!!! insanely good. great ceviche tostadas...we wished we could've stayed there for the remaining 3 days, just letting them bring us their outstanding drinks and fresh, awesome food.

Alas, we thought we might go to Charlie Trotter's C....and then we didn't feel a) up to getting dressed up, or b) interested in being in what would probably be a rather formal service setting....we just were too chilled out I guess.

Instead I think we went to a taco place I read about up-thread (the one with the salsa bar), which is 5 blocks from the stop light in the center of town. Our waitress spoke nary 1 word of english and though I had been able to navigate in similar places, this one didn't work out. We had ok tacos but left hungry and a little frustrated.

By the way, we did go to Cabo Wabo just for the hell of it and I'm so glad we did, because it was hilarious people-watching. They had a band playing all of my dad's favorite zztop rock tunes so the dancing was fun.

Went to Mi Casa for our final dinner and had good mole and just-ok fish. Probably should've gone back to Mariscos Mazatlan or Nick-san.....

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Like historical novels, where the beginning and end are already known, holidays of re-creation demand compelling middles, strong characters, a common thread. At One & Only Palmilla, a resort of easy beauty on the toe of the Baja, that thread count ran to superior linens, the staff-to-guest ratio was 4.3 to one, and the welcome was as warm as the Sea of Cortez: The staff greet guests by touching their heart with their hand, then letting it slowly fall away.

Unlike Dylan Thomas, I don’t sing in my chains like the sea. On a holiday designed for idyll and laze, the sea serves to release us, just as it releases itself in drumbeats on the sand. At Palmilla the serenity unfurled quickly, then admirably slowed. And our serene highness was found on a large veranda above the azure sea—off a lovely suite decorated with fine Mexican furniture and art. By special request our butler made up an expansive outdoor couch into a bed. We passed a week of siestas there, and some nights returned later to sleep under the stars.

Palmilla grew up slowly. The resort was founded modestly in 1956, when Los Cabos was accessible only by private yacht or aircraft. It offered just 15 rooms in which it hosted the mighty and famous: the Eisenhowers, Ernest Hemingway, John Wayne, Bing Crosby, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Two years ago John Travolta threw himself a monumental birthday party shortly after its reopening following a $90-million renovation that expanded guest rooms and suites to 172. It also welcomes a more proletarian clientele, if only slightly: it’s probably not the best place to disparage the life work of Dick Cheney.

On 250 acres of a 900-acre master-planned community, the resort includes the 27-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed Palmilla Golf Club, an elaborate spa, Hammock Hill, several restaurants, a library and various infinity pools and bars. There is also the requisite wedding chapel, although several ceremonies took place on the beach beneath us. The resort is minutes but years away from the cacophony of Cabo.

The solace of our beach days was plenty but still allowed for occasional trips into San Jose, more charming than Cabo San Lucas because the barrios still hug it politely and its citizens shop there. The cafés claim a certain insouciant sense of the autentico that has fled its touristic sibling.

On this visit our only trip into Cabo itself was to visit a favourite taqueria, where for a couple of dollars we ate crispy-fried, Baja-style dorado tacos. We also stopped at Mocambo for a Veracruzan-styled shrimp cocktail.

On the way home, and at the direction of our resort driver, we dodged into the new Costco to visit its elaborate tequila collection. The prices were half those of the hawker tourist stores.

Like Napoleon’s army, I travel on my stomach. Palmilla offers several options. Breakfast and lunch combine influences but are driven by carefully chosen local ingredients such as spicy pork chorizo, cadmium-yellow-yolked eggs, and local shrimp and fin fish. It’s at sundown, when the resort’s population shakes off siesta and margaritas are shaken off in syncopation with the waves, that the food announces the beginning of the evening.

At C Restaurant, celebrity chef Charlie Trotter’s satellite restaurant, we found ourselves in an Adam Tihany-designed, air-conditioned room, detached from the stirring breeze. The food also seemed detached, too-dressed up for the holidays, too fussed for its muscular setting. I asked the manager if C was named after the world-famous C Restaurant in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was as unamused as the food.

[Free advice: Order the Mexican wines. Foreign wines suffer a 101% tax before mark-up and we found much greater value locally, especially in the whites such as Chateau Camou (pronounced like the French existentialist).]

It was at Agua that the power of the sea and soil was fused. The open dining room, also designed by Tihany, is centred by an open bar, jewelled with Moroccan-style lanterns and the more rusticated cooking of executive chef Larbi Dahrouch. Dahrouch spins his Moroccan provenance and French training (he was a protégé of the legendary Jean-Louis Palladin) squarely into the local farms, ranches and fishing nets.

But Darouch is not afraid to shop long distance, as we found in a starter of sautéed foie gras served with blue corn polenta and a grenache reduction. A tagine of lamb was served with artichokes, dried tomatoes, chèvre and ras el hanout; a grilled veal chop would have been merely ubiquitous without its cloak of plátano macho estofado and dagger of black mole. Again, the Mexican wines, tremendously improved in the last five years, stood up to the dishes in bottles of Monte Xanic cabernet and meritage; old tequilas, as soft as the night, softened us too.

We walked the beach through warm air, with glasses of that old tequila in hand and then each other: The waves collapsed on the beach like spent lovers.

Edited by jamiemaw (log)

from the thinly veneered desk of:

Jamie Maw

Food Editor

Vancouver magazine

www.vancouvermagazine.com

Foodblog: In the Belly of the Feast - Eating BC

"Profumo profondo della mia carne"

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  • 1 month later...

Just got back from a week in Cabo, here's where we ate...

La Dolce (San Jose) - Perfect meal for our first night in town with everyone tired from traveling. We had been to the Cabo location on a previous trip and the San Jose location was just as good. Very good pizzas (I had the San Danielle, which is topped with prosciutto di parma). Great casual eating.

Morgan's (San Jose) - The restaurant probably has my favorite decor in Los Cabos. We were seated in the open air courtyard on the lower level. The menu is a little bit of everything, French, Meditteranean, Italian, but all locally influenced. I had the whole red snapper which was basically prepared Veracruz style but with a couple of modifications. The fish was extremely fresh and perfectly cooked. The only downside to our dinner at Morgan's was that everyone's clothes and hair absorbed the smell from the open air grill in the courtyard.

Pancho's (Cabo) - Tourist trap? You bet. However, dinner was still great. I ordered the globo margarita and wound up with a cocktail the size of my head. Not necessarily a bad thing since I was on vacation. Many in our party started with the tortilla soup, which is advertised as the best soup in the world. I'm not sure about that, but I did enjoy it. The chilis gave it a great smokey and complex flavor. In the interests of full disclosure, most others at the table did not enjoy it, so order at your own risk. For my main course I had the John's special which contained grilled chicken (just ok), pork ribs (very good) and carne asada (outstanding). The carne asada had been marinated in beer and tequila, which made the meat both tender and sweet. One of my favorite dishes of the trip.

Edith's (Cabo) - The previous night, Pancho's claimed to have the best tortilla soup in the world. Most people in our party weren't nuts about it and some claimed that the soup at Edith's was better. So, in service of my fellow eGulleters, I ordered the soup at Edith's as well. I did not think it was better than Pancho's. In fact, I thought it was a little bland. The verdict: Pancho's has the best tortilla soup in the world (if by "world" you mean "Pancho's and Edith's"). For my main course I had the Wally 2 combination (that's right, 2 nights of tortilla soup, 2 nights of combo platters...I'm on vacation damnit, don't make me think). The Wally's 2 had grilled lobster tail, shrimp and a petit filet. Everything was great, but the petit filet had the added bonus of being wrapped in bacon. Score.

C's (Las Palmillas Hotel) - On our last trip to Cabo, my girlfriend and I had one of our most memorable meals at C's, Charlie Trotter's restaurant at Las Palmillas Hotel. Our return trip was good, but nearly as memorable as the first. C's got a new chef a few months ago and the menu now seems to be more heavily asian influenced than the last time we were there. We opted for the tasting menu (which is not actually on the menu, we had to ask our waiter). The dinner started with roasted abalone (which my girlfriend heard as "roasted baloney", good times), and continued with a tower of sushi, seared tuna (which was cooked a bit past seared), a pasta dish with buffalo mozzarela and arugula (way to heavy to be in the middle of a tasting menu), grilled yellow tail, short ribs in a mole sauce with coconut foam and banana (my favorite of the night), and a dessert of a chocolate terrine. I should emphasize, this was a very good meal. I just felt like I could have gotten it at any fine restaurant in any other city. There was nothing uniquely "Cabo" about it. Next time, we'll be going to Ventanas.

To be continued with nights 6 and 7 later...

-Josh

Now blogging at http://jesteinf.wordpress.com/

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Week in Cabo, Part II

Nick-San (Las Palmillas) - I like to think of myself as a sushi purist. I prefer to eat straight-up sashimi, maybe a couple of rolls, just don't mess with my fish too much. When we went to Nick-san, our hosts and the chef did all of the ordering for us, which got me excited. However, just about everything that came out was swimming in some kind of sauce, dressing or whatever. All of the fish seemed to be of very high quality, there was just no way to appreciate it given how busy each plate was. I will say that we went to the Nick-san in Cabo the last time we were there and had a great dinner. I think that's what we'll probably do on the next trip. That and order for ourselves.

French Riviera (Cabo) - The last night. A great dinner, but this restaurant has serious issues with the menu. It was quite possibly the hardest menu to read that I've ever encountered. It looked like the menu was orignially written in French, translated into Spanish, and then translated into English. The result were menu items like "roast breast potato". If anyone can tell me what a breast potato is, feel free to PM me. Anyway, the menu aside, the food was very very good. The meal started with two amuses. The first was comprised of three items, salmon tartare on a mini potato pancake, olive tapanade on a little piece of toast, and a mussel with s sauce I forget served in a little spoon. The second amuse was a very pleasant brandade. For my appetizer I had seared foie gras, served with some sort of fruit (again I forget) and a little salad. My main course was herb crusted rack of lamb and for dessert I had an assortment of mini creme brules. Everything we ate was great. The pace of the meal was quite leisurely and made for a very relaxing last night in paradise.

-Josh

Now blogging at http://jesteinf.wordpress.com/

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French Riviera (Cabo) - The last night.  A great dinner, but this restaurant has serious issues with the menu.  It was quite possibly the hardest menu to read that I've ever encountered.  It looked like the menu was orignially written in French, translated into Spanish, and then translated into English.  The result were menu items like "roast breast potato".  If anyone can tell me what a breast potato is, feel free to PM me.  Anyway, the menu aside, the food was very very good.  The meal started with two amuses.  The first was comprised of three items, salmon tartare on a mini potato pancake, olive tapanade on a little piece of toast, and a mussel with s sauce I forget served in a little spoon.  The second amuse was a very pleasant brandade.  For my appetizer I had seared foie gras, served with some sort of fruit (again I forget) and a little salad.  My main course was herb crusted rack of lamb and for dessert I had an assortment of mini creme brules.  Everything we ate was great.  The pace of the meal was quite leisurely and made for a very relaxing last night in paradise.

Menu translations do tend to vary throughout Mexico. Reminds me of the time I saw "Pork Shops" on the menu. But at least language glitches are easier to overcome. Not like the time the "peppercorn steak" came studded with cloves! :sad:

Thanks for the report!

Edited by gmi3804 (log)
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Also just returned from a trip to Cabo. Stayed at the Pueblo Bonito Pacifica, which was all things relaxing, restful and mellow. Excellent all around.

Highlight of the trip was Las Ventanas. From the minute we were greeted by name at the entrance, I knew it was going to be special. We were led down winding pathways over pools, past lit torches to the restaurant. Cocktails in the lounge. Lovely.

It was a bit chilly out when we were seated at our table near the pool and heat lamps. The hostess offered to bring us ponchos to keep us warm. Decided we were all having the tasting menu, which was as follows:

"Tlacoyo" with spicy cactus paddle and mozzarella cheese & "Ceviche" marinated with olive oil "Campeche" style

"Albondiga" with lobster and tomato sauce & "Sope" with crab meat and "chile chipotle"

Roasted red snapper fish with green tomato rice & parrot fish with corn puree and mole rojo

Grilled loin lamb with asparagus & roasted prime filet mignon with "Mocajete" sauce

Dessert deserves its own post.

Each course consists of both tastings described, so there was quite a bit of food. My friend who cannot be in the same room as cilantro explained her aversion to our server. Each course was delivered and described to us, with an observation to her that whatever cilantro was in our dishes had been thoughtfully omitted from hers. They also served us a soup course which was not on the menu, black bean and smoked potato for two of us, tortilla soup and smoked potato for the cilantro hater b/c the black bean was prepared with it.

OK, I'm going to cut to the chase. The food was phenomenal. Never had lamb quite like this before. Really, fantastic food. I do believe that the service was nearly the best I've ever had (exception is Per Se). Our waiter, Alejandro, was attentive and approachable, anticipated all of our needs, and made our night very special. By dessert it had become chillier, so he just moved a heat lamp closer to us. We didn't have to ask. The whole night was like that.

Desserts were outrageous. We all agreed that the banana and chocolate creme brulee was the most sublime. I loved my apricot souffle with chocolate sauce - very interesting texture.

Last night had dinner at Mi Cocina in San Jose del Cabo. Beautiful candlelit garden with waterfalls and attentive service. I don't recommend sitting right next to the waterfall though, as I could barely hear my friends speak during dinner. Started with a watermelon cocktail which was refreshing and delicious. I had a chile relleno with spicy lamb and cheese, really good, and lamb for an entree. Very good, perhaps a little fatty, but well-seasoned and tasty. Friends enjoyed sea bass and seafood risotto.

Edited by daisy17 (log)
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