Azul Bistro – Riveted

Casa Kimberly and The Iguana

Laura Domela — Fri, 16 Mar 2018 21:00:10 +0000

Last night was our last night in Puerto Vallarta. One of the things I did when we booked this trip originally was to make a dinner reservation at The Iguana Restaurant up at Casa Kimberly. We’d heard good things about the restaurant, and the history of Casa Kimberly is kinda cool, and…the place looked amazing (and fancy!) in photos so we thought it would be a nice last night in PV (and an excuse to celebrate our anniversary…again!)

We arrived up at Casa Kimberly after a difficult (for the driver) Uber ride from the Zona Romantica. The streets in these hills are narrow and steep!

Casa Kimberly originally was a casita belonging to Elizabeth Taylor. In the 1960s, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton came to Puerto Vallarta to film Night of the Iguana. They had met a few years prior on the set of Cleopatra, and apparently were “in the whirl of a scandalous romance.” Richard Burton bought Casa Kimberly for Elizabeth Taylor for her 32nd birthday, and the place across the street from his own casita, and had a bridge built over the street that connected their two homes. Not much of the original structures still stand, aside from the bridge and a few other things. (Ms. Taylor’s heart-shaped jacuzzi is in what is now the “Elizabeth Taylor Suite“, and Mr. Burton’s azure pool is still on the grounds as well.)

Upon arrival, we noticed the glass door at the street level is locked (to keep the riff raff out, I assume) and we were to ring a big bell hanging over the door to announce our arrival. (The rope hangs just far enough down so you can grab it and ring…well, it’s more of a “clank”…the bell.)

We were met for our reservation and led upstairs to The Iguana, where we were given a lovely table overlooking the city, right atop the bridge that previously joined Taylor and Burton’s residences.

Because it was our anniversary, they started us out with a cold glass of prosecco while we took in the beautiful view.

We decided that the mariachis here at Casa Kimberly were the best we’ve ever heard, and between Kevin and I (growing up in Texas and Los Angeles, respectfully) we’ve heard a LOT of mariachi music. These guys were really, REALLY good. They’re called Mariachi La Joya de Mexico, and they’re apparently one of Mexico’s most famous Mariachi troupes. I get it. They’re super good.

The cocktail menu has two different tequila martinis, which sounded intriguing. We ordered the reposado martinis, but our waiter, Miguel, said he much preferred the one made with blanco tequila. We decided to trust him (which would prove a very wise choice for the rest of the evening). The cocktail is made with blanco tequila, lime juice, orange juice, Cointreau, and something else I missed, with a cucumber and a berry on a stick with Tajín rim. (Tajín is a blend of lime, chilies, and sea salt, and I have two bottles in my bag now as we head home. This is apparently a very common condiment/seasoning here, and it turns out you can get it on amazon, but I found it for less than half the price in the PV airport.)

This tequila martini was delicious and I’ll be attempting to replicate it at home.

We had a perfect view of the sunset from our table.

We ordered a couple starters: ceviche (scallops, octopus, and shrimp marinated in a roasted habanero vinaigrette), and squash blossoms (filled with requesón cheese and poblano chile, served over breaded panela cheese with a black bean and poblano chile sauce). Both appetizers were fantastic. Miguel said we really shouldn’t miss one of his favorites though, a cup of the black bean soup (I can’t find the description of this) but wow, we definitely would have overlooked it — because soup, hot day, Mexico — and it turned out to possibly be our favorite thing of the night!

Of course after the martini and the soup, we let Miguel steer us toward our entrees: grilled salmon served over huitlacoche, squash blossoms, roasted sweet corn and a jalapeño cream, and a sea bass dish with a tamarind sauce that was incredible! The sea bass dish was really different…the richness of this fish combined with the tangy tamarind sauce was such a cool balance of flavors. Of course after this we couldn’t ignore Miguel’s recommendation for dessert. A guava tarte type of thing that I never would have ordered over flan or something else with chocolate… We probably wouldn’t have gotten dessert in the first place, since we were a bit on the full side by this point, though the portions were perfect and not too big…but OMG this guava thing!! Super wow. I told Miguel he should have the “Miguel’s Choice Server’s Menu”

After dinner we walked around the grounds a little and took in the beautiful architecture and environment, and then walked back to our hotel (much easier going back than it was getting here).

Wall art on our walk home along the river:

You could do a whole tour on the street/wall art in Puerto Vallarta. There’s some great stuff!

It was a lovely evening!

This morning we returned to Azul Bistro for breakfast, and Cesar made us two totally different dishes from what we had yesterday: 1) tostadas with mole, feta, and an over easy egg (amazing! the mole!) and 2) an omelette with bacon, gouda, feta, and another cheese I forgot, topped with some delicious red orange salsa. Cesar and his wife are ALL ABOUT the sauces/salsas, and they do a great job experimenting to find interesting combinations of flavors. If you are in Puerto Vallarta and need a non-touristy breakfast spot that will become your new favorite, check out the Azul Bistro!

We are at the airport now waiting for our flight back to Portland, doing some work and people-watching. We used Uber this time to get here (Uber has been here in PV for about 6 months) and it was SUCH a nice change from the crazy taxi ride we had on our first day in town. Our Uber driver was chill and awesome, from Guadalajara, and says he’s working to learn English in ONE MONTH! He’s killin’ it, too!

I thought we’d be disappointed spending two days in Puerto Vallarta after 9 days in Yelapa, but we weren’t at all. It’s definitely different, and more crowded and more touristy, but if you seek out something other than the beach and the tourist shops (unless that’s all you’re into, then cool), you’ll find a lot more here than what you might have expected.

Exploring Puerto Vallarta

Laura Domela — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 22:29:43 +0000

We left Yelapa (and might or might not have shed a couple of quiet tears as we said goodbye to our glorious room) and hopped on the 11am water taxi to Puerta Vallarta. (But guess what?? We booked our same room at Casa Pericos for later this year, so see you again in November, Yelapa!)

Waiting on Playa Isabel for the water taxi, while they chat with our buddies aboard Iza (Garcia Charters)

Burros were getting loaded up and sent down the path, carrying groceries, water, and other supplies. As soon as they had their load, they’d just slowly wander down the path, munching on greens along the way.

The water was relatively calm, so we had a nice chill ride to Puerto Vallarta that took only 30 minutes from our last stop in Yelapa to the Los Muertos Pier in Puerto Vallarta.

Waiting to dock at the Los Muertos Pier while passengers load onto another water taxi.

We walked the couple of short blocks to our hotel, but we were a bit early for check in, so we opted to spend the two hours sitting at a lovely table in the shade in the courtyard, doing a bit of work and reading.

From the courtyard at Casa Doña Susana, looking back out toward the street.

Stairs in the inner courtyard at Casa Doña Susana.

Looking straight up from the courtyard at Casa Doña Susana (there’s a pool on the roof!)

Courtyard vines

Two hours turned into three and a half or four, but by the time our room was ready we were happy for the air conditioning (and the couple of free drink coupons the front desk gave us for being so patient). I’d have to say though…based on watching other interactions besides ours (as well as my experience booking online in the first place) this is not the most organized operation. Our room (No. 202) is fine, but the one they first showed us as an option if we didn’t want to wait had two double beds, zero windows, and opened out directly into the traffic path. I said “It’s our wedding anniversary, so no thank you, I think we’ll wait.” The concierge said “Yes, this one is not so appealing, I agree.” Anyway, we got settled, hung out a bit, and then walked over to dinner at the Merida Grill, which came highly recommended by our friend Joni.

Cool birdcage/light fixtures hang from the high ceilings

Everyone here is super friendly, and they go out of their way to make you feel welcome (and not at ALL in an annoying way…SO genuine and wonderful). We ordered a bottle of champagne, because (1) anniversary, and (2) we’ve had plenty of margaritas in the past two weeks…it was a nice change! We shared some ceviche, and a nojol salad (grilled cactus, greens, some delicious cheese, tomatoes, avocado), and then shared two entrees: cochinita pibil and grilled octopus.

The cochinita pibil was my favorite, but both were delicious.

A soft, low-light photo of the cochinita pibil taken with my iPhone, but you get the idea.

Grilled octopus with vegetables…gorgeous presentation.

Cochinita pibil is a traditional Mexican slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatán Peninsula. Traditional cochinita pibil involves marinating the meat in acidic citrus juice, seasoning it with achiote paste/annatto seed which gives it a vivid dark red/orange color, and roasting the meat while it is wrapped in banana leaf. At Merida Grill, they cook it in a big pot that’s lowered into a pit inside a brick oven, and I had a ringside seat when they opened the oven doors.

After dinner, we walked around a bit, then down to El Malecon boardwalk, which is basically just a wide sidewalk along the beach populated by mostly tourists, bordered by shops, buskers, sidewalk vendors, and restaurants (and in our case last night, some really drunk chicks belting out “YMCA” by the Village People–might have been karaoke, but I could only hear them—trying to get people to join them…no thanks).

We slept well, considering the sound of the surf crashing below our room in Yelapa had been rudely replaced by the erratic hum of an AC on the wall above our heads here in PV. Heh.

After a little work this morning, we ventured out for some breakfast. Originally I’d picked out a place for us to go down on the beach that had good reviews, but last minute changed my mind and opted for a more local vibe (still with great Yelp reviews) and we ended up at Azul Bistro, a few blocks from our hotel.

Azul Bistro is small, and has a few outdoor tables (which is where we sat…nicely in the shade)

We ordered the Huevos Azul (poached eggs, breaded/fried and served on a spinach puree) and the Bienadictos Mexicanos (english muffin, skirt steak, poached eggs, chipotle sauce). Both dishes were excellent (that chipotle sauce!!), and we decided to go back tomorrow morning for breakfast so we can try two new things. Cesar said he’d make us something completely different tomorrow, but I heard our table-neighbors RAVING about the mole sauce on their order (and how they were ALSO coming back tomorrow), so I’m pretty sure we can’t go wrong. (Note: they do dinners here on Saturday nights only. This Saturday it’s Chile en Nogada…reserve early because the place fills up!)

Huevos Azul, payapa, cantaloupe, and a potato/coconut hash.

Bienedictos Mexicanos, cantaloupe and papaya, and the potato/coconut hash.

After breakfast, we walked the neighborhood a bit, and decided to stop in Galleria Dante. (It’s #7 of 172 Things to do in Puerto Vallarta on Trip Advisor!) This place is packed with local and mostly/kinda/localish work, and there were quite a few pieces we liked, including these paintings by Emilio Rama:

These are some of the paintings we liked…

…and I think we’re coming home with this one

After the gallery, we just wandered all around town randomly. Here are some photos, in no particular order.

Typical street in the Zona Romantica

No one here seems very fond of Trump (shocker, I know). There are “F@#$ Trump” t-shirts, signs that say “Don’t worry, you’re on the fun side of the wall”…stuff like that, but I really liked these Trump piñatas we walked past today.

We took a break from the sun and are doing some work (and some blogging, obviously) back in our room now. Later this evening, we’ll go out for our (fancier) anniversary dinner up at The Iguana at Casa Kimberly. Casa Kimberly was once the vacation home of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. According to the owner, Burton bought the property for Taylor back in 1964 for her 32nd birthday. The two vacationed in Casa Kimberly for decades, and Elizabeth Taylor eventually sold it in 1990 after Burton’s death in 1984. (I think they filmed some of “Night of the Iguana” in the bar there.) Reviews of the food on both Yelp and Trip Advisor are very good…we’ll let you know tomorrow. There’s a dress code, and you’re not supposed to wear “beach or board shorts, t-shirts, or flip flops” so I’m hoping I don’t get ousted for my flip flops (they’re fashionable flip flops, not the usual beach rubber ones, so I’m hopeful they pass because it’s what I’ve got).