Vamos a comer!

  This past week saw visits to two restaurants here in Mazatlán Centro, the Jade Chinese restaurant and the Molika Bakery. The Jade is truly an institution here; it's been open since 1955, and it's our favorite Chinese restaurant in all of Mexico (not that we've been to that many). The Jade is located at the corner of Morelos and 5 de Mayo, near Zaragoza Plaza. The prices are quite reasonable and it has a nice atmosphere and friendly staff.

The sweet and sour shrimp is yummy

  The Molika of course is a favorite of seasonal visitors and expats from Canada and the U.S. Our visit today just happened to be a birthday lunch for Bryan. Theirs is among the best food in all of Mazatlán; I would describe their menu as a combination of California Cuisine and International leaning perhaps to Mediterranean. They are also a bakery and sell fine breads and desserts. Molika is located at 1503 Belisario Dominguez in Centro.

The Chilean salmon was excellent

The vegetable quiche was sabroso

The pesto pasta was perfecto

  

Parroquia Cristo Rey

Today we took a walk over to the Parroquia Cristo Rey, which we affectionately call 'the blue church.' It's located at Calle Cañonero Tampico y Germán Evers, in the Centro (more or less) district in Mazatlán. We'd viewed it many times from our bus rides; it's also visible as a distinct silhouette on the MZ skyline anywhere from a high vantage point. Unfortunately it tends to be overshadowed by the cathedral in the main plaza in Centro and is not otherwise on the usual tourist routes. Anyway we finally got there and took a few pictures. Alas, it was all closed up and we couldn't get inside to take some more pics. Next time ..... 

Plazuela resplendent

The Plazuela Machado in El Centro, already one of the more photogenic of all tourist sites in Mazatlán, recently has the double benefit of some general facelift work and blossoming of some exotic trees, all of which make the area even more magical than usual. (I’m sorry that I don’t know the name of the trees). Here then are a few recent photos.

Mexico Deco

One of the advantages of residing in Mexico is the wondrous quality and variety of architectural styles -- historic, modern and in-between -- sprinkled throughout the country. One of my favorites is the Art Deco, or moderne look popular in the early 1930s. Here in Mazatlán, however, to my untrained eyes anyway, Deco is far from the predominant or most memorable style (I would say the prize goes to the ornate nineteenth century French/New Orleans look). Nonetheless, there’s a nice sampling of Deco and Deco-ish architecture in the city. Here then is my modest tribute.

Carnaval '11

The Carnaval ’11 just finished here. As it’s our first year as residents in Mazatlán we made an effort to attend a few of the goings on. It’s said to be the third largest such event in the world after the Rio carnaval and Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I’m not sure how these things are measured but I’ll just accept their word for it.

Anyway, some of our favorites were :  the vendors - love all that stuff they sell; a fabulous symphony and opera concert at the Angela Peralta Theater, featuring guest soloists soprano Elizabeth Balncke-Biggs and tenor Stuart Neil and the Symphonic Orchestra Sinaloa de las Artes, conducted by Enrique Patrón de Rueda; the parade of course;  the many food booths and music stands along the malecón at Olas Altas beach. Despite its reputation for large, noisy crowds, it all seemed rather subdued to us but then again we tended to clear out at ca. 8:30 pm well before things got in full swing around 10 or 11. Anyway Roberta took some great photos . . . . . . . 

Flan!

The candy man is one of the most popular vendors.