Well, much has happened in the world since I last posted the first post of my brother Leo's visit to Cuenca, followed by our travel to Peru, and then I and some friends continued on to Argentina, while Leo returned to the Chicago area. The Coronavirus and the world's reaction to it is like we passed through a time warp; or what life was like just a week or two ago is like a parallel universe to the almost total lock-down in Ecuador now. Needless to say, I have all the time in the world to work on my blog.
In late January, when my brother arrived, and which now seems like eons ago, we had spent a very enjoyable evening with my good friends, Gil and Deborah Castle, as we celebrated Gil's seventieth birthday. What better place to celebrate than at Tiesto's Restaurant, owned by Juan Carlos, who is the many times award-winning chef of one of the best and most popular restaurants in Cuenca.
The Birthday Boy and His Lovely Wife,
Gil and Deborah Castle
If one knows the right thing to order, Tiesto's has possibly the best and most tender steaks in Cuenca. The word, tiesto, describes the preparation of the meals in clay pots. The right order allows the customers to be presented with medallions of steaks with different sauce toppings of choice from an Italian variation, to blue cheese, to mustard, to a delicious sweet sauce, etc.
The waiter minced no words when he announced that the steaks would be served medium rare. Truly a man who knows how a steak should be served.
There are many side dishes that are served with the main dishes. The meals are first served with bread and various tasting sauces. One does not leave Tiesto's hungry.
My brother, Leo on the right, and me to the left.
On another evening in Cuenca, Leo and I dined with my good friends, Mike and Betty Jones. We had dinner at Cafe Alonso Gourmet Restaurant, in the Alcazar Hotel. Elegant and beautiful, with a garden setting that extends to a large courtyard garden to the rear of the restaurant, which we very much enjoyed as we strolled the garden after dinner. Many evenings, especially on Wednesday's, the hotel has a baby grand piano or other entertainment with light snack offerings like smoked salmon, various hors d' oeuvres, and salads; in a courtyard setting surrounded by the wood carved balconies and staircase. Even the coffee shop is adorned with exquisite, imported Italian marble furniture. Mansion Alcazar is one of the most attractive boutique hotels in the city.
Mike and Betty Jones at Cafe Alonso.
Yes, the steak below was quite good.
Our last Sunday in Cuenca before leaving for Lima, my friend, Esteban Arevalo, who also was about to lead a tour to Argentina with a group of about fifteen expats at the time I would be returning to Cuenca from Argentina; took my brother and me to a high hill area that I had never been to before to get an aerial view of outlying Cuenca valleys. The view offered us a different perspective from the usual Turi view that most tourists see when they take the city bus tour.
Much of the valleys are open spaces; but towns, some old, and other new developments are filling up the valleys. I find it sad to see the beauty of the valleys destroyed.
James and Leo
James and Esteban
Much to our surprise, there were vaqueros riding horses on the hillside in circles. We never had the chance to talk with them, and had no idea what they were doing.
Our destination for the day was to Dos Chorreras Restaurant, about a twenty minute ride to outside from Edificio Palermo where I live in Cuenca and before one enters the Cajas National Park.
I absolutely love this hotel and restaurant. I did a blog post on it a few years ago, and for anyone interested you can click on the link below or copy and paste it in the URL, and see the magnificent architectural gem, surrounded by the mountains with its interplay of nature and interior design. The place is even nicer now than it was then.
Our goal was to enjoy the Sunday buffet at Dos Chorreras, whose current price is $25 and well worth it.
There are many side dishes, salads, and tasty sauces as seen in the three photos below:
The Main Entree Table of Excellent Trout, the specialty of Dos Chorreras, roast pork with an assortment of potatoes, breads, soups, and cerviche.
The restaurant has a number of different levels, dining rooms, bar areas, and a reception hall. The buffet is in a separate area from the other dining areas.
The cerviche was hands-down the best cerviche I ever had, whether in Ecuador or Peru. My companions and I loved it. It was the first time any of us had cerviche with a milk base. Rich with shrimp, and as memory serves possibly some corvina. Two servings of cerviche were not out of place, even with all that there was to eat.
Room for dessert wasn't easy, but we each made the supreme sacrifice, and tried practically one or more of each.
When I returned from my trip to Argentina and Peru, and told my friends, Michael and Betty Jones about the buffet at Dos Chorreras, they were very excited and want to try it ASAP. Ironically, we rode out there last Sunday, on a perfectly beautiful day, and had a marvelous meal and a marvelous time. They were very pleased. I say, ironically, because the next day, this past Monday, was the beginning of closing everything down because of the coronavirus.
When I had visited a month earlier with Esteban and Leo, I noticed that Dos Chorreas added a new building, which is a large pastry, candy, and ice cream shoppe. Having put away the desserts at the buffet, we didn't bother to visit the shoppe. However, with Mike and Betty, we stopped by, and we were amazed at its attractiveness, size, and variety. It truly is a sweet shoppe for any kid or adult who is young at heart.
Below is a convertible Cadillac from the 1960's.
Did I mention it was a candy shoppe as well. Hardly an understatement, with candy bars from our childhood that we had no idea were still being produced.
Donuts and pastries prepared on site.
Awesome scenery while one indulges in whatever sweet delight of their choosing.
Michael above, just making a purchase. Betty presiding over the dug out canoe of goodies.
The three of us were mesmerized by the mules in front of the pastry shoppe. We are accustomed to seeing llamas and alpacas around the grounds, even horses. We've never seen a mule like this long haired shaggy creature. Yep, it's a mule, not some shaggy mountain goat.
No doubt much has changed in a week. The world was due for an economic reset, I thought it most likely would not come until after the autumn elections. However the virus changed all that. What tomorrow brings is anybody's guess. Ecuador, economically, is very fragile and vulnerable, there may be many impending changes.
The weather here has been incredibly warm, sunny, and dry since last weekend. I think last Monday evening may have been the last time we had rain. Such weather is very rare in cloudy Cuenca, and especially during what is now suppose to be the rainy season. On one hand, it is sad that folks can't be out enjoying the sunshine and warmth. On the other hand, my windows are flung wide open. I listen to the tranquility of the day, interspersed by the crowing rooster in the afternoon, and to the almost total silence of the night. Even the barking dogs that my brother, Leo, complained so much about have no one to bark at. The sunny weather truly prevents the days from being gloomy under any circumstances, and especially under the current circumstances. I am truly blessed. In the meantime, all of you take care of each other, and stay very safe.
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