Frank and Lola's Part Two - Margaritaville Island Reserve

Last night was Part 2 at Frank and Lola's.  We tried some dishes we weren't able to on Friday night.  We wanted to get a bottle of a different Tempranillo but they didn't have it.  Instead we tried this Cab/Merlot blend from Copernicus.  It is from El Cielo Winery which is a resort operated by Karisma in Guadeloupe. It is on our bucket list to visit, so this is the next best thing to being there.  Another great wine with deep bold flavors. I prefer the Tempranillo we had on Friday but this is a very good wine.  It was $1083MX peso or about $55USD which I felt was an amazing  price for this wine.  

We started with the Italian Cold Cut platter and the Bruschetta trio.  

The salami and prosciutto were really delicious.  Smoky and salty and seemed to be freshly sliced.  There was a nice assortment of green and black briny olives and huge chunks of parmesan reggianno. That was great dipped in the balsamic oil from the bread service.  It also came with a freshly made pate.  I couldn't tell what it was made from but very sure it was not liver.  It didnt have a strong flavor and was tasty on the charred bread.  

All the Bruschetta were delicious.  

Whereas we didn't get any arugula (rocket) on our first visit, it was plentiful in the dishes we ordered tonight.  Mild peppery greens complimented the toppings, especially the mushrooms.  That was my favorite one. 

Next course was mushroom risotto and the Mediterranean pizza. 

 The risotto was cooked perfectly for me.  Some prefer it soupier so it moves about the plate. I like the rice grains Al dente and for the risotto to hold together just enough so that it doesn't fall through your fork.  I sensed that the broth they used was, at least partly, a beef stock.  This gave the risotto a beefier flavor with more umami compared to mushroom risottos where a mushroom stock is used.  Very delicious and I would order again. 

The pizza was also excellent. 

Thin crust and crunchy with a thin amount of sauce topped with eggplant, mozzarella, rocket, mushrooms and pesto.  A whole bunch of flavors that worked well together.  

The chefs special risotto was four cheese. 

  It had the same creamy consistency as the mushroom risotto with well cooked grains.  In addition to the bold cheese flavor, I detected a hint of onion in the broth.  

Dessert was terramisu which is plated before you.  They bring you a placemat which shows you all the ingredients use to make it.  And then a small bowl appears that has the marscapone and espresso soaked lady fingers. 

 They also bring out a shot of amaretto and a metal strainer that has cocoa powder.  They then pour the shot of amaretto over the marscapone and dust it with cocoa.  Very creative presentation.  And it had all the flavors and textures you expect in a good terramisu.  

This is by far our favorite dinner restaurant at the resort.  Great food and very deep wine list.

QUICK BITE: Late lunch at Beach House

A late lunch at Beach House.  I tried the Licensed to Chill Burger.  And I had learned in this group they also had chicken tenders that are not on the menu so I had to try.  Why not?  

The burger was very good. Cooked to medium, but still juicy.  There was some crisp bacon along with sauteed mushrooms,  tomato and raw onion. I didn't detect any cabbage which was listed on the menu. It would have been nice for some added crunch.  Very flavorful patty and it is fun to see the hotel name branded on the bun.  

The chicken tenders were the surprise highlight for me.   Very crispy but still juicy and flavorful.

Sunrise Breakfast at Margaritaville Island Reserve

We did the sunrise breakfast today at 8AM. It costs $45USD/couple.  You can pick any time starting with 8AM.  So not technically sunrise, but close enough.  There were two Adirondack chairs in front of a low table and some beach pillows if you wanted to sit in the sand.  The umbrella was a nice touch to block out some of the rays.  You also get an up close excursion for the seaweed cleanup.  And the yoga class was also right next to us.   Namaste!!!

It includes a bottle of sparkling wine.  This one was from Spain and very good with the fresh squeezed orange juice and by itself.  They started with a fruit platter and a bread basket. The pineapple was so good and there was a delicious pain au Chocolat!!  

You then get to order whatever you want from the Beach House restaurant.  We had avocado toast (ask for extra sliced avocado) and a bagel sandwich with manchegio cheese and bacon.  Our server also brought out some smoked salmon which was very good.  

If you want to do this, check with your Island Ambassador or the front desk.  We are also doing the Smores experience on Monday night at the fire pit. That costs $60USD/couple.  I will post more about that afterwards.  As long as my fingers aren't too sticky from the Jet Puffs.

Frank and Lola's - Margaritaville Island Reserve

Dinner last night was at Frank and Lola's.  We showed up shortly after they opened and had the place to ourselves for a few minutes.  

When we ate at Latinos we tried three of the house wines. The Rose, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet were all completely undrinkable.  And I am trying my best not to sound like a wine snob. Perhaps with some orange juice, cut up lime slices and some cognac, they would make a nice sangria. But really terrible wines. We felt a nice bottle of wine would be essential to our upcoming Italian feast. They also sat us directly next to the wine room so it must have been karma calling us to get a bottle. 

Miquel brought us the wine list and then had some recommendations.   We have had some great Mexican wines at other resorts so were curious what they had. He recommended two.  One was a Cabernet and the other was a Tempranillo.  Tempranillo is one of our favorites styles so we went with that. We were able to use some of our resort credit. The wine was only $65USD which was a great deal.  And so good.  This style of wine is more full bodied than a Pinot Noir but not quite as bold as a Cabernet. More or less in the middle.  As the wine opened up it got better and better. 

They start you off with some freshly baked small baguettes and cracker bread and a plating of olive oil and balsamic for dipping. The highlight here was the amazing pesto.   Deep basil and garlic flavors with just enough nuttiness.  

First course was beef carpaccio.  A very well composed dish with the thin slices of tender beef.  I am always impressed by carpaccio since it requires a bit of skill and patience to get it right. The beef needs to be frozen to get the slices think enough. And a professionally sharpened knife is a must.  This was a tasty dish. The thinly sliced  parm cheese, fresh greens and large, briney capers provided a bit of salt, crunch and acid respectively to contrast with the tender beef.  The mustard dressing has great flavor but there was simply too much of it.  It really should have just been a drizzle or better yet a few drops off to the side of the plate so you could dip as needed.  Really more of a plating issue since the quality of the dish was superb and I would order again.  Just ask for the dressing to be skipped or on the side. 

I ordered a caprese salad which is a staple of any Italian restaurant.  This was a fine salad with nice chunks of fresh mozzarella. The highlight was the pesto dressing which seemed to be the same being served with the bread course.  

My wife ordered the rocket salad.  And while this was a great salad, it had no rocket in it.  Rocket is a type of arugula, a spicy, peppery green.  It adds great dimension in a salad, especially when you want some contrast to a sweet dressing.  

For main courses we ordered the seafood stew and short rib ragu.  The stew had a great tomatoey broth with the essence of the well cooked shrimp and mussels.  There was also a decent chunk of lobster.  As with most seafood stews, you really crave that slightly charred bread to dip into the broth.  And that was the highlight for me. 

The short rib ragu was the best bite of the night.  Short ribs are something that take patience to make.  They have to braise for a long time to break down the meat fibers.  That was certainly done here.  So well seasoned. It was great over the gnocchi.   The ragu has the savoriness of a great Bolognese sauce.  

We also ordered the lamb ravioli. The flavor was great but the pasta itself was thick and muddled where it needed to be thin and delicate.  The polenta was so smooth and buttery.  I could have just had a plate of that and been satisfied.  I really thought I was eating a delicious celery root puree.  The sage flavor really came though but was not overpowering.  I also loved the crunch of the toasted pistachios.  I wish the flavor of the lamb was more pronounced.   It was there, but only in the background.  Perhaps these are lamb raviolis for people who don't like lamb.

I ordered the creme brulee cheesecake - well just because.  It seemed like an odd combination in one dessert.  How would they pull this off?   To use one word?  Spectacularly.   If they had brought this dessert to me without knowing what it is, my first guess would be to call it a creme brulee cheesecake. It has the brulee candied crust you crave.  It had the smooth vanilla custard.  But creamier like a cheesecake. A really well thought out dessert, executed to perfection.

Latinos at Margaritaville Island Reserve

Dinner last night we ate at Latino which is a latin/asian fusion restaurant.  Some standout dishes. 

The Latin Sushi Bowl was my favorite. Chunks of fresh salmon along with avocado, cucumber, coriander and a sweet and savory chipotle ponzu. So tasty!!  It does have thin sliced serrano peppers which are easy to avoid if you don't want extra heat. Or just ask them to not include.  

The Crab Capacha was a corn crepe, stuffed with sweet crabmeat and cheese.  Very tasty although it needed some heat or acid to break up the sweetness. 

The Poke Bowl was the equivalent of a chopped salad at a steakhouse. Very fresh and crispy greens along with carrots, jicama and cucumbers.  There was a tiny bit of tuna.  It needed more. The dressing was a Pina colada vinaigrette.  A very imaginative recipe.  I think I would have liked it more if so many of the other dishes hadn't been sweet.  It needed more acid to balance out the flavors.  I loved all the textures in the salad.  

Another great dish was Beef Bao-Jitas.  This was a very clever take in a traditional bao bun, but treating it like a fajita.  Juicy, well seasoned flank steak came in a sizzling platter with onions and peppers.  And on the side was a bao bun so you could make a sandwich using the spicy salsa.  A well composed and tasty dish.

The Yellow Chicken Curry Arepa was another clever dish.  It was essentially a pulled curry chicken sandwich served in a tasty corn bun. While it had good curry flavor, it needed to be punched up a little for my taste since the corn bun along with the Asian slaw was very sweet.

I also had the Catch of the Day which was Red Snapper.  This was a very well cooked piece of fish. Flaky and buttery. Served in some Mexican rice along with some fried plantains.  

Not so successful was the Lobster and Vegetable Crispy Spring Roll.  The flavor was okay, but the outside was soggy instead of crisp.  Maybe it has been cooked earlier and only heated up for serving.  I would not order that again. 

Overall some great dishes.  Will be back to get the Bao-Jitas and Sushi Bowl again. They also have some ribs that sound good.  And an interesting Apple Crumble dessert with rice pudding ice cream.

Rita's Taco House - Margaritaville Island Reserve

After checking into Margaritaville Island Reserve resort in Puerto Morelos at 4PM, we needed a quick bite.  Rita's Taco House was the perfect spot.  We arrived at 4:45 and they were set to close at 5:00.  So we had to make some quick decisions.  I ordered two fish tacos, two carnitas tacos and, perhaps because it was Margaritaville, I had to get a Cheeseburger in Paradise!!  My wife ordered.two shrimp tacos and one suckling pig 

The first thing we were brought was a plate of chips and an assortment of sauces.  

While our server had said he would explain the difference salsas, he never did. He did manage to tell us that the two in the middle had the most heat - and he was correct.  The chips were not that crispy, perhaps because we were there near closing time.  And also we are in a hot, humid climate.  Not ideal for foods that should be crispy. The refried beans with cojita cheese were very good.  The green salsa (probably serrano) had good heat and some flavor.  

As for the tacos, they really delivered.  

The fish tacos had a small piece of white fish that was crusted in what seems like cornmeal batter.  Super crunchy and flavorful.  It had some crunchy cabbage as well as what most restaurants call special sauce. We all know it is just some combination of mayo and ketchup.  The carnitas had a great slow simmered flavor, topped with grated onion.  

The shrimp tacos were the best bite.  I expected them to have fried shrimp. Instead the well cooked shrimp were in a sauce that was similar to a new Orleans gumbo.  The suckling pig taco had such rich pork flavor, greatly assisted by the pickled red onions.

The cheeseburger checked all the boxes for a basic burger.  Juicy patty.  A decent bun to meat ratio.  Melted American cheese. And that special sauce. The fries were also served hot and had been dusted with some spices, most likely a Mexican version of Lawry's Season Salt - or the type you see at Steak and Shake.