The Yum Yum Factor

the open air restaurant,  Azul Historico  is one of the prettiest places to spend an evening New Year, new Week in Yum: Our first getaway of 2019 was a four day trip to Mexico City. Although I had been a few times a decade or three ago, it was Shack's first time. It took a couple of years to get him there but after that first, short trip, he loved it so much that when an opportunity to take another four day adventure came up a few weeks later, guess who chose Mexico City? the view of this sprawling mega city from the Hilton Reforma read my recommendations on what to do and see here   here  and here So, it seemed fitting that we started off 2019 in Mexico City so we might as well end it there too. We flew out of Toronto on Christmas morning, coming home on New Year's Day. Flying on Christmas Day is generally a pretty low key time as most people prefer to travel before or after Dec 25. After reading a ton of travel blogs, I came to the conclusi...

Ziggy's Beach Club Tulum has changed so much since I started going there almost 30 years ago. Back then, we rented a palapa on the beach for a couple bucks, slung our hammocks and just hung out on the beach, eating cheap tacos and fried fish to the sound of hippies playing bongos in the sand. Soap was optional. The beaches of Tulum are pristine and are not as badly plagued with seaweed as the more northern beaches closer to Cancun and Playa del Carmen Now, Tulum has become this laid back, boho chic beach community that is chock full of eco friendly beach clubs, boutique hotels, shops selling carefully curated and very stylish lounge wear. Even acclaimed Danish chef, Rene Redzepi, opened a pop up restaurant there in 2017. There are still some affordable places to eat and sleep scattered about Tulum but most of those are in town. The places that line the prime beach front tend to be a bit more on the upscale side, all instagram ready and full of beautiful people,...

Tulum Ruins Hello there, my peoples! Just want to check in to let anyone who is paying attention that I am alive and well and am home after, what feels like, non stop travelling since the New Year. I have soooo much more to share about my two trips to Mexico City and my recent week near Playa del Carmen - yes, I have been to Mexico three times so far this year. Yes, I love Mexico. In the meantime, my upcoming Peruvian supper club at the Depanneur has sold out but  There are still spots left for my next Instant Pot Class  so if you are in the Toronto area, click that link and grab one before it sells out. These daytime classes are a bit of a new addition to the Depanneur and they are proving to be quite popular. So, I had to let my Friday roundup feature, The Week in Yum, lapse for the last couple of years because I was insanely busy cooking. I was working with the Kingston Social for their first 6 months, I was teaching regularly, doing recipe features for Vita...

Palacio de Bellas Artes For the best of Diego Rivera To understand the modern Mexico, you have to look to the art of Diego Rivera. He was not only one of the main artists involved in the Government sponsored Mexican Mural Movement, he was invited to the USA in 1930 to paint a mural for the City Club of the San Francisco Stock Exchange which led to more American commissions, an exhibition of the MOMA and then his famous series of panels at the Detroit Institute of Arts. His leftist politics got him into some hot water in the States which brought him even more notoriety. At the time, his intriguing third wife certainly gained attention for her exotic looks and style of dress and her strong communist views. She was known mainly as Diego’s wife until the late 70’s when her work was rediscovered and by the 1990’s, the roles had been switched. Diego Rivera was now thought of as the husband of Friday Kahlo but in Mexico City, his stamp covers the city and his murals are glorious. ...