Ladies lunch at Hector's Bistro and we celebrate International Woman's Day with 15 women!

 

Wednesday was International Women's day and also our ladies lunch day.  What better way to spend part of the day than with a group of 15 women.  Most of us have known each other for many years and that made the day special.  We were off to Hector's Bistro in Centro which is a well known and favorite restaurant for  the ladies. With Covid in the way its been a few years since we've been there.  When I made the reservation I asked for one of their back rooms and that was where we were seated.  Unfortunately I was also informed that they do not do individual checks over 8 people.  In hind sight I could have booked two tables of eight but in the end Ruth brought post it notes and we all kept track of oumor totals. 

I start with a group picture of us that Pat kindly took.  We were going to get the waiter to take one later but...we forgot!

We traveled down to centro with some in an auriega or red truck and some on the bus.  The truck held 8 and they picked up Georgia and Connie on the way.  Liz, her daugher, Marilyn and Mar Didi'd it. Cathy and I went on the bus together and Susie went down by her self. I will mention that the buses, especially the green bus that goes all the way to centro and then to Playa Sur and the Ferry docks has been unusually busy this year.  Not just with gringos but also with nationals here on holiday.  It would seem everyone is desperate to travel after two years of Covid.  

Not a very good picture of Hector's but you get the idea.  It is a well known top notch restaurant where you can always rely on the food to be good.  I should also mention that Hector, the owner and chef at the restaurant donates 300 loaves of bread a week from his bakery to the Vineyard church so that they can make sandwiches for those in need. That's putting your bread where your mouth is!!

We had excellent wait staff and this young man spoke excellent English and was happy to help us with anything we needed. 

Here we are perusing the drink and food menus.  So many choices and such a hard decision!

The prices are upscale here but so is the food.  The only thing I can say is that I think they could use a bit of a menu revamp.  However Ruth did point out that lots of diners come here for specific dishes and they wouldn't take kindly to not having their favorite dish on the menu.  Each to their own I guess. 

As you have noticed I have been sticking to non alcoholic drinks at lunch.  I really get too tired if I drink in the middle of the day.  This is a ninjito or type of mojito without alcohol.  This was tasty and refreshing with the mint in it.  

Some had coke, lemonade, water, beer or mixed drinks.  This is Diane and Ruth having a gab.

The decor in this old building is amazing.  This is a picture of the ceiling. 

All very tasteful and ever so interesting to look at.  

Homemade honey roast ham sandwich with brie and tomato chutney.  Quite a few of these were ordered.  

Sandi had the pan roasted salmon filet which was good but the center was too under cooked for her.  She sent the last piece back to be cooked more but decided it was still to raw for her.  I do understand the chef not wanting to overcook it as salmon becomes very dry if it is over cooked. 

Spaghetti calamari with pepperoncino and anchovies.  Very good. 

Shrimp tortellini. 

Susie ordered a plate of mussels in broth and shared with anyone who wanted to taste.  You can see one of her favorite dark beers in front.  Ruth and Georgia had Old fashioned and Negroni cocktails.  

I chose the beef tenderloin in green peppercorn sauce with salad and sweet potatoes.  The steak was tender and a perfect medium rare.  The menu had fries with this dish which I switched for the pureed sweet potatoes.  The sweet potatoes were a bit to pureed for me.  All very good.  Good beef is hard to find in Mexico so I was really craving a tender steak. 

Ruth and Georgia shared plates of appetizers and Ruth said this type of quality dish is hard to find here.  This is octopus carpaccio which she said you can only find at Hector's. 

The very colorful salmon carpaccio.   Delicious. 

Almost all the food is on the table and I've taken pictures.  Time to eat!

Liz's daughter-in-law is visiting and wouldn't you know she was the last to get her meal!

As Hector's also has a bakery we were served plates of fresh bread...yum!

Connie's ravioli with provolone...I think!

 

The shrimp bruschetta for Tennielle which she really enjoyed.   Her mother-in-law Liz said she wished she'd ordered this instead of the shrimp tortellini!

Everyone happily eating.  The meals were good.  Some wished they'd made a different choice but....isn't that always the way!  This time I was very happy with my choice. 

And now for dessert!  They do some mean desserts here and this is Sandi's guava tart.  Very good. 

Ruth and Diane shared " Chocomania"  I have eaten this before and it is " to die for!" Very decadent and very good. 

It was an all round good dining experience.  Just what you would expect from a top notch restaurant.  We did manage to handle the payment of the checks without too much trouble.  We got two bills with eight on one and seven on the other.  The ladies were very generous with their trips.  I wonder where we'll go next week?

At this point we all dispersed in different directions and Cathy and I went up to fabric shop by the mercado where we catch the bus.  I bought 8 meters of fabric to make some light curtains and paid about $38 dollars.  The fabric is amazingly cheap here and there is an endless variety.  Too bad I wasn't still sewing.  

Just to finish off with a chuckle this cockroach was resting on some fabric in the store.  I didn't even bother to tell anyone.  Just part of being in Mexico!

Cathy and I were then off on the green bus home and it was a wild ride.  Sometimes you get a really crazy driver that drives the bus like a sports car.  I guess you have to be a fatalist to ride a bus here!