La Fabula for Ladies’ Lunch

Today’s venue was a new one for us.  The idea behind the whole ladies lunch venture was to try new restaurants in Mazatlan but it’s easy just to drift back to the tried and true.  Today….something new!

We needed a couple of red trucks to take us downtown so…we waited on the street and hailed one down who….calls a second one.  Note the “water” at the edge of the road.  Well…it’s actually sewage that is bubbling out of a manhole beside the Kiosko store. Disgusting and smells awful.  Maybe someone will get around to fixing it and …maybe they won’t.  Ahhhh Mexico!

The malecon reconstruction is moving right along. 

All sorts of artsy additions.  This has a purpose….shade!

Down into Olas Altas area and nothing going on here.

Up Constitucion to the Plazuela Machado where we will get off the trucks. 

Lots of these small streets have been redone and the sidewalks made wider.

The Spanish architecture of the Plazuela.

We unloaded in the Plazuela because the truck drivers didn’t actually know where La Fabula was.  We had passed it about 2 blocks back but not a problem….we all have legs and can walk!

A beautiful side street as we walk to the restaurant.

I can never resist taking pictures as we walk along.

It’s cruise ship day and the tourist buses are busy.  The ladies wave.

La Fabula up ahead.

Another colorful building.  The restaurant also has outside seating.

                          

We seated ourselves at a number of small tables and ours was looking out the door. 

La Fabula has books everywhere you look.  You can eat, drink and read all at the same time.  It’s ad says “ Food, books and beer!”

Pam and Eddie take a small table by the window and peruse the menu.

Six of us at this table.

Pat with her back to us, Anita on the left and Connie on the right.

Down that hallway is the bar and another dining room.  We pretty much filled up the front of the restaurant.

This is Connie’s picture so you can see me sitting with Maureen and Ruth in the front.

                  

A Mexican gentleman and his lady standing out on the street. 

While we wait for lunch this man outside the window is selling his wares.  He is holding a sign that says he is mute.  True…who knows but it really doesn’t matter anyway.  He did sell a few candy type items.  The vendors are rarely allowed in restaurants but he knew how to get our attention.

Lunch is served.  Eddie is having fish tacos which she has had here before.  They were so good she ordered them again. 

They definitely look tasty!

I ordered Tacos Caribbean which the waiter said were fairly hot.  The yellow chili is called Chili Carib hence the name of the dish.

Ruth had tacos chicken mole.  They were sloppy and delicious.

Maureen’s shrimp burger. 

This table ordered last and ate….last!  No problem…they just drank!

Anita had s burger of some sort and I just got a picture before she started eating.  Anita is always hungry!

Robyn had the tacos Caribbean as well.  I’d already started eating and she asked how spicy they were.  Well….pretty spicy!  Rats was her comment… she thought she’d need milk!  In the end she scooped out the filling which had cheese and bacon etc. and Sue ate the chiles.   She likes her food really hot!  I got a bit of a burn but it wasn’t too much.

Connie’s tacos.  Looks like a pretty decent plate.

Down the hatch! 

The menu listed a couple of salads and this one is called Linda or ….pretty in spanish. 

I didn’t get the name of this chicken salad but it looks delicious…and it was!

Enchiladas mole.  The restaurant makes it’s own in house mole and it’s very good.

Robyn prepares to “gut!” her chiles. 

Shrimp in a pepper sauce ….yum!

A couple of “ Cachorros….or puppies!” sitting at the bar and having a beer!  There were lots of tourists off the cruise ship roaming the streets and I think these young guys were probably two of them.  The young guys always remind me of puppies.  Funny.

The back part of the restaurant was full people as well and the food was coming out fast.

So….all in all a really “Fabula” restaurant.  Good food, good prices, good atmosphere, good staff (a bit slow but in their defense it was really busy)  and an all around thumbs up.  The only criticism was there was no running water in the bathroom to wash your hands.  Not good. 

At this point some of us including me left on foot to pick up this and that.  I walked a few blocks back to the mercado and then one more to the Dulceria or candy store.  Time to stock up!  Most of what I bought was available in the mercado but it’s cheaper in the Dulceria’s.  I didn’t take pictures as I walked because the streets were just packed with Christmas shoppers.  Next time.  Back to the mercado for some poblano peppers and a mango.  Mangos aren’t in season here yet and the one I bought came from Equador.  Pricey at 38 pesos or about $2.70.  

And now for the bus.   Would it actually show up behind the market or would I have to walk two streets east to catch it.  In the end I only waited about 10 minutes for a Sabalo Centro and I was on my way home. 

This very Mayan looking young woman and her adorable baby were sitting across from me on the bus.  The baby was trying to eat her shoe and at one point looked right at me but I didn’t want to be too obvious with my camera.   A real sweety!

A good lunch and a nice outing.   All is well!

Just so you know that we are still inundated with machinery and noise here are a couple of pictures.  A dozer, track hoe, loader and ….

lots of trucks moving brush.  This picture is right behind us.  Just look at the black exhuast from the loader…it’s really burning fuel. 

Rain, truck washing, coconut picker and sunsets

The weather has been a mixed bag over the last week or so.  It clouded over last Tuesday and by Wednesday night it was raining.

Pretty wet out there but since Eric was sick he didn’t care anyway.  I was happy to just chill out and read and by Friday it cleared off enought to ….

                    

wash the truck.  It really was a filthy mess but with all the dust from the land clearing I just hadn’t bothered.  It helped that the rain softened up the dirt and by the time I was finished it looked like new.   While I washed the truck Eric was feeling well enough to scrub the front cap of the 5th wheel.  It was still covered in bugs from our travels south.  They were also softened up from the rain and came off easier than our “Canadian bugs!”

                       

                   

Hey there is some old lady up there washing a truck…wait a minute..it’s me!  The truck is a 2005 but it looks just like new when it’s washed.  It only spent a couple of winters in the snow and salt at home before we started going south for the winter so it isn’t rusty and trashed.

                

When I was walking yesterday morning I saw a Mexican out on the front street picking coconuts with a bamboo pole.  Later in the morning he was out back by us.

It’s quite a feat to control that very long pole and hook a coconut.    The bottom part of the pole is dry bamboo, the part he slides out and up is green bamboo and fastened to the top is a hook made out of rebar.   You can see him on the ground in the middle.

Last night we had some amazing warm light on the coconut trees behind us.

Looks kind of like a war zone back there and now they have a track hoe and loader loading all the brush into trucks that are taking it away.   The D7 Cat with a ripper is now busy going up the north side of the park in the old Escondido RV park clearing it out as well. 

Beautiful with all the palm trees still standing but it’s likely they will all be dug out and moved somewhere else.  They really don’t make a good ornamental tree with all coconuts on them.  Nobody wants a coconut on their head or their car. 

The sunset was gorgeous towards the beach last night as well.

Pretty!

Ladies Lunch at Hector’s

Today’s adventure started with 14 of us ready to go downtown in two aurigas.  There was a small glitch to start with when the phone number to call them wouldn’t work so….

….out onto the street to hail one down.  Some of us on one side of the street and some on the other.  Didn’t take long to hail one driving by and when he stopped he called another one and off we went.

Down the street and we’re right behind.

Coming through the Golden Zone and we’re in front now.  Turns out our driver was the one who knew where we were going!

I have to say they are making a nice job of the malecon.

At this point they seem to be moving along quite quickly.  Still, it’s unlikely to be finished for Carnival in February.

Looking south and they have quite a bit done.  Nice place to ride your bike if you don’t get killed by a bus trying to get to the malecon from somewhere else! 

Heading up a side street to Hector’s.  We are in the same general area as we were last week when we went to Angelina’s kitchen.

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We travelled south along the ocean and then went east a few blocks to the restaurant.  You can see how many streets there are on this zoom in.

                

Las Jaibas RV park is #2 and Hector’s is #1.  Quite a long way and the cost was 200 pesos a truck (20 pesos each or about $1.40 Canadian)….cheap and easy. 

Here we are at Hector’s Bistro.  This is a wonderful place to eat.  Claudette in the picture.

Great architecture and art work in the restaurant.

Connie and Bev were waiting for us and now we are 16.  Everyone is perusing the menu to see what they’ll have.

That’s Ruth up close (a.k.a. The Cruise Director!.)  She was late getting to Mazatlan this winter because she spent November on a tour of Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.  What a trip that must have been.

                             

This seems an odd name for the above painting!  It can be yours for about $1050.00 Canadian.  Not sure where I would put that.

Odd but I like it.

Everyone has a drink and lunch has been ordered.  That’s Jeannette, Nancy, Karin and Bonnie. 

Ruth and Bev are good friends.  Last winter Bev hosted Ruth and Jimmy’s 50th wedding anniversary at her home.  It was a super party and we all had a great time.   There was even a live band!

Voila!   Lunch is served.  As usual I ordered tuna.  I think I had the same thing the last time we were here but I just can’t resist it.  It’s served on a bed of roasted vegetables and is just the right size for lunch.

Quite a few of the ladies ordered salmon.  Since we live in an area where salmon is plentiful and tuna is not….I order tuna!

               

Connie is eating fresh bread from Hector’s bakery along with a delicious salad.

Ravioli with fresh bread.

Many sandwiches today and some took half of it home!   A large portion.

This one is beef.

Salmon with salad and roasted vegetables.

This is Jeannette’s Rueben.   Looks good.

Eddie and Ruth shared a sandwich so that they could have….

dessert!   I think it was called Choclomania and there was enough for three plates.  A couple of other desserts were delivered as well but most of us were just too full! 

I did pop over to the bakery hoping to get a loaf of heavy whole wheat or multigrain bread but I was too late in the day.  All that was left was sourdough rye and it really doesn’t thrill me for toast in the morning. 

I think the varied shoe selections are quite colorful…don’t you?

At this point some of us are heading home in an auriga.  As usual after lunch many ladies drift off to shop for this and that and then find their own way home.  Last week I reported that the buses were picking up behind the Mercado and they are but…not the ones that take us out to Cerritos.  They are still picking up two blocks east of the market. Why?…..who knows!   Ah Mexico!

The aurigas always have music playing and it is usually oldies (in honor of all us old gringos I guess!) and it was loud.  There was some singing along and here you can see Sandi playing air guitar! 

So….another good lunch in a very nice restaurant.  Very attentive and  professional staff,  delicious food (a little higher priced) and all well worth it.  A good choice any day of the week.