She Said...

Then, as I turned on my computer to check my email, with a cup of nice strong Starbucks coffee to warm me and wake me up, I found a message from one of my regular readers which I want to share with you. Mark wrote: «Question ... do you know why the Starbucks (omg, how great they are finally here!!) don’t have bathrooms in their stores? Neither the one in Centro nor the Peninsula have them ... is there not some city code that requires them? I hear so many tourists asking and others demanding. Thought maybe you would know ... cuz then you know so much! Was at Immigration January 7, the day they reopened after being closed since December 20th ... what a line! But, then to all the whiners ... I just smiled and said «Oh, but they have come soooo far in the past 10 years!»

So? Does anyone out there have the answer to Mark’s question? I don’t. Guess I don’t know «so much» after all.

And then, too late to be inserted in the «Letters from Readers» section in this week’s issue, I got another email from a lady named Jodie that read as follows:
«I have lived full time in Vallarta for the past 24 years and have always had good service from the merchants in this town, until recently. I am 76 years of age, a woman living alone with my dog and cat and a TV is a big part of my life. On October 20th, due to the fact that my old TV finally gave up and at the suggestion of a Mexican friend, I went to Electra located behind Sam’s on the road to Pitillal and purchased a new Phillips TV. For cash. Exactly 2 months and 4 days later, on Dec. 24, it conked out. On Dec. 26th, with the help of my Mexican friend, we returned the TV to Electra. After and hour and a half, they told us they would be in touch. To date, Jan. 15th, three weeks later, I am still without a TV (all during the holidays) and have received no satisfaction from Electra. I would like to advise any and all, expats, Mexicans, visitors, etc... Do not purchase from Electra! This would not happen with any other merchant in PV or the U.S. or Canada.»

Which makes me wonder: Don’t these establishments realize that such poor service is going to result in a loss of customers? Especially now that the competition is becoming so fierce, what with Gigante and Wal-Mart and Sam’s, and the soon-to-open Costco? There are more and more places for customers to purchase appliances …and electronics. I would think that the smaller businesses would make a concerted effort to offset their prices with better customer service, but then that’s only my humble opinion.

Now that my out-of-town friends have left after three fabulous, event-filled weeks, I’ve been seeing my local friends with whom I had very little contact over the holidays. (They too were busy with visiting relatives and friends…) I had the chance to have dinner at Barrio Sur which, as I mentioned before, came highly recommended to me by others. Their praise was well deserved.

Here’s a restaurant that should really have much more clientele than they do. Yes, they’re a whole half-block from Olas Altas, but believe me when I tell you it’s worth the extra twenty steps or so.

Some will recall that the property used to be Hank and Conrad’s famous «Chiles». Then it changed hands and the new owners kept the name, but not the menu that had become such a favorite among both tourists and locals. Now it’s all changed. New name, new menu, new ambiance, good music, great food and excellent service. I’ll tell you more about our dining experience in another issue, but for the time being, I do recommend it most highly to you all. Try it, you won’t be disappointed. They’re at 122 Pulpito, open for breakfast and dinner every day except Sundays.

There’s one thing more I want to share with you about this place. The names of the dishes on the menu are very humorous - IF you understand Spanish. One of them is called «Cojones Verdes», which we could translate politely as «green testicles». Outside the restaurant, there’s a huge tree laden with small, round, light green fruit, whose exterior skin resembles peach fuzz. Many have fallen to the ground, on the sidewalk and street below. Some have cracked open, revealing a fig-like interior. We asked the restaurant manager if he knew what they were. He didn’t. Perhaps they’re «cojones verdes», we suggested. Passers by all turned around, wondering why we were all laughing so heartily.

Here’s to a wonderful week to all of you, dear readers! Take good care of yourselves and of each other. Hasta luego. pvmom04@yahoo.com