Buffalo Chicken Chopped Salad

Tonight's dinner: Buffalo Chicken Chopped Salad.  Spinach, shredded carrots, diced cucumber with sliced breaded chicken breast. Tossed in Marie's Blue Cheese Dressing with a drizzle of Frank's Red Hot Buffalo sauce and some blue cheese crumbles.  This has been a staple item of the Spusk COVID menu.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Bierfest

Had a nice day at Bierfest.  It wasn't too warm, especially if you found spots in the shade. The line to get in was long. It was out along preferred parking.  It took about 30 minutes to wait to get to the temperature check station.  Then another 10 minutes after that to get through security.  

Good news: 100% of the people had masks

Bad news: 30% were wearing their mask only around their chin or only covering their mouth.  Might as well have not wore one.  

Not as many food or beer selections as past years. But I think that improved things. I have found in past years that there are some "clunkers".  Everything I tried this year was very good to excellent. 

Favorite was the Smokey Dog.  Sometimes when you see a hot dog with other meats, the other meat takes over.  Here the brisket really complemented the hot dog which had a nice snap. And the pickles and slaw added some nice briney flavor. 

Second favorite was the chicken slider.  It was a well seasoned and moist. Really paired well with what I would call jardienire - similar to what they out on a Chicago Beef.  

The Impossible Burger was okay. They were definitely going for a Mediterranean twist.  The lemon hummus was nice but I think a taziki sauce would have put it over the top.  

The brussel sprouts were average.  They weren't really roasted. More like a sautee.  The sauce was really great.  Sort of like having a lemony pesto which was great with the smoky bacon flavor. 

And for dessert I always get the griddled cheesecake. The flavor was fine.  In past times it was freshly off the griddle so it was warmer and crispier.  Loses a few points for that. 

I wanted to try the Barley and Cream stand but was too full. The soft serve with Cigar City Maduro Brown Ale sounded really good.

Dinner at Himitsu at Secrets Los Cabos

For this dinner at Himitsu which is at Secrets Los Cabos, we didn't order off the menu.  We sat down and were told that courses would start arriving.  The first course was a miso soup. Savory broth with tofu.

Next course was the most spectacular sushi roll I have ever had.  Normally a sushi roll with have nori (seaweed wrap) for the structure of the roll.  In this case, tuna had been pounded very thinly and that served as the basis for the roll. Then inside the roll was more tuna in a spicy sauce.  Best sushi roll I have ever had.  Not sure how I would be able to order it again.

And dishes kept coming.  Next course was deep fried oysters.  There were in a light tempura batter.  They were so tender but still crispy.

They were served with two sauces, although they didn't need either.  One was a spicy, tomato based cocktail sauce.  The other was the sauce they use in a spicy tuna roll which tasted of mayo and siracha.

Next up was Caribbean Lobster Tail!!  Normally Caribbean lobster that I have had is tough and chewy.  Not here.  This was so tender and buttery.  I am not sure of the cooking method they used here but possibly some type of braising.  Again, served simply which let the lobster speak for itself.

The lobster was served with a pipette which contained a sauce which was both sweet and savory.  I tasted some rice wine vinegar.  It also has freeze dried olive oil which are the white crumbs that you see.  Both added subtle flavor notes to the lobster.

Seared tuna with brussel sprouts.  It has great flavor.  I would have liked it to be a bit more rare but to see this great piece of tuna before us was incredible.

The final dish was some succulent octopus.  I don't know why, but chefs in Mexico really know how to cook octopus.  I have had it many time in Mexico and it has been delicious.  I am never afraid to order it and have not been disappointed.

After the octopus, the server asked us if we needed more.  They were prepared to keep bringing out dishes.   Now, here was the equivalent of an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other.  On one hand, I would love to see what other creative and delicious dishes they had.  On the other, we both were stuffed from all this succulent seafood.  To finish things off, they brought out a chocolate mousse.  It was coated in a crispy shell of chocolate with creamy mousse inside.   If you have had mexican hot chocolate, that is what it tasted like.  Sweet, but a little spicy from peppers.  I have had lots of great sushi at all inclusives.  If you go back an look at what I had at Unico in 2019 you will see what I thought then was some of the best.  This meal definitely had the best spicy tuna roll I have ever had.  

QUICK BITE: Cornbread Benedict

Day old cornbread, a leftover Italian sausage and eggs?   Let"s make griddled corn bread with diced sausage and poached eggs. Cornbread Benedict!!

The sausage is spicy.  The cornbread is a bit sweet and crunchy.   And the egg adds that creaminess you crave.  Perfect combination of flavors and textures.

QUICK BITE:. Snacks at the Los Cabos Airport VIP lounge

Some good options at the VIP lounge here at the airport.  They seat you socially distant from other guests and a waiter takes your food and drink order.   I had a tasty spinach salad with goat cheese, balsamic and blueberries along with Mexican lasagna which is layered corn tortillas with corn, poblano peppers and cheese.  Great snacks while waiting for our flight.

Dinner at Agave at Sandos Finisterra

Dinner last night was at Agave which is the steak house.  Clam "Lorenzo style" was what I am familiar as clams casino but with a Mexican twist of queso and pineapple.  The white chorizo dish reminded me of bangers and mash with the creamy, buttery mashed potatoes and brown gravy.

The arugula and spinach salad had a nice contrast between crunchy, sweet and.salty.  Always love pears "paired"  with goat cheese.  The agave and lettuce salad had a beautiful sliced avocado for creaminess and a tangy citrus dressing.  The lobster bisque was okay but have had better. It could be because it is Caribbean lobster, which is what they have readily available.  

We got both the NY strip and the T Bone.  The T Bone was far superior.  The NY Strip was like the steak you'd get at a Bonanza for.14.99 (including salad bar and baked potato bar).   Edible but nothing special.  The T Bone was a really nice piece of steak that could be served at a fine NY steak house.  Thick enough so that you could actually order it medium rare and see some pink.  And both the strip side and the filet side had great flavor.   I think they cook over wood since I got some of those earthy flavors.  Great grill marks for additional umami.  If you have additional interest in how searing meat brings more flavor, you can look up the Maillard reaction using your favorite interweb search engine.    Since the strip side was so good, it made me wonder why they weren't using the same quality for the standalone strip version.  They have all the usual sides you would expect at a steak house including creamy mashed potato, creamed spinach, bacon au gratin potatoes, toasted vegetables and roasted asparagus.  All very tasty (bit not shown).

Dessert was up at Cupcake Cafe.  Carrot cupcake, chocolate Oreo cupcake and chocolate pecan brownie.  All three moist and delicious. We ate them just as the rock band started their show.  Outside the cafe is a great place to sit, watch the marina and listen to the show.  

No question,  Sandos wins the pastry and bread competition against any other all inclusive brand or location I have stayed at.  And I have stayed at almost twenty across several brands.