Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘lex cargo’

Wrong Again

Posted in Guatemala, Living in Antigua, Restaurants, Travel, central america, guatemala, tagged , on October 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

or still: this is an ongoing event with me…suggesting that a local bar or two is slowly dying….from a usually reliable source, La Taverna is now serving Guinness on draft (55q the pint) and is the only bar in Central America to be dishing up Guinness in this fashion..

Today? Spiros and Alabama Bob officially take over La Calle in the Nido Antigua mall (to be re-named as the Exit Inn)and no word on any kind of ‘grand opening’…and since this is the official Day of the Child here, hats off to Don Marco, who supposedly had his 12th offspring recently…12 kids! in  his new capacity of a financial advisor, this works…12 kids plus parents, on welfare? do the math…12-14 thousand bucks a month? 

sorry, but I missed Lex Cargo’s local film debut yesterday in the movie, aptly titled ‘Ambiguity’….Tall Bill leaves us tomorrow, returning in November…the ‘Perfesser’ arrives next week, on the heels of Nazi John and where is Hogan?

tuk tuks…do they have a license or go to school? why do they travel in packs or two somes? and is six calle the new center of town? north 5th ave is dead, and what was the old Tacontento space is still vacant(prime location).

and yes, we’re going ‘on the road’ again…next week back to the scene of ‘The Wheel Came Off’ in Salama, with better planning and a better vehicle. Obviously I haven’t learned my lesson yet, but then I’m always the last to find out.

Read Full Post »

Caramel Knowledge

Posted in Guatemala, Living in Antigua, Restaurants, Travel, central america, guatemala, tagged , , on September 19, 2013| Leave a Comment »

or is it ‘Camel?’…this town never/ever ceases to amaze me and I like to think (sic)that i’m somewhat septical…er, skeptical…Cindy C, recently ‘let go’ by Ricardo at Tabacos y Vinos, starts again tonight….er, where’s Lex? still there? actually, the combo of he/Cindy might be amusing, given enough vino.

‘ran into Nicole Nossiop today….she’s been back for two weeks…I thought she still was in France…wrong, Merlot breath (again)did she and Brendan really get married? marriage, the event that turns into a bath? (after a while, it’s not so hot)…..Fernando and lady doing the deed in November (Fernando el Chocolote) and I thought, all this time…yeah, typical…

so, I go to my old printer’s shop to pick  up 50 covers of ‘Our Man in Antigua’ for the new printer, Copia Fiel….and the ground floor space is now a candy/soda tienda…wtf? yep, he’s off on another trip down insanity lane…which explains why he didn’t have time to do the 2nd book….off in the Milky Way, or Mars or just Snickers….

Piano Mike Chrisman returns October the Foist (east coast accent)…Oktober fest food?> Sunday, 3pm, Bavarian Garden, 7th ave north….sauerbrauten et al…75q but hurry…6 tickets/spaces left…contact Bill at the American Legion but hurry…go by the library or the park bench between 8-11…in the park, silly…don’t let your weiner schnitzle, unless that’s what you had in mind.

and yes, we’re losing one of my favorite couples soon, going…….nope, promised I wouldn’t say anything until…but their leaving will leave some holes in the fabric of A-Town…alas…Cath D in town for a while, doing some photo restoration work at CIRMA…she is so sweet…’reminds me of a ‘gentler/kinder’ version of Wife #2…Nurse Ratchett…(One Flew over…Clue #1)

Ponzi Bob in contact from Chicago, now the #1 Murder Capital in the US)…no, no connection…he says that’they’re close to closing the deal’ for the Rancho de Panning the Gold’ thing on the river….ah, if only someone would step up and be the concierge/bar manager/meeter and greeter…Ed and Frank?  hah! Duane? nope…he gets sick every time he goes out there…hey! Cindy and Lex! and that’s a sick thought,even for me.

 

 

Read Full Post »

The Un-Labor Day

Posted in Guatemala, Living in Antigua, Restaurants, Travel, central america, guatemala, tagged , , , , , on September 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

this just in…Dishualded aka Dishwater,is quitting…various factors added up…not a big surprise…and Laurel Baker of Reillys? going to work at Ocelot Wednesday night?

‘Action’ Jackson, good pal/roadtrip buddy, is playing his unique brand of roadhouse music at Travel Menu, Fri-6:30, Reilly’s La Esquina, Sun-3pm and Cafe No Se, Mon 9:30 or so…drop in or by…

‘funny how certain holidays in the US come/go without any sense of personal involvement…had I been ‘up there’ by now, the bbq would be underway, maybe the talk of school starting, the renewal of a football season or the trading stories of what our children are doing. Here, in Antigua, there’s little, if any of that, to remind us of the changing of the seasons, yet again.

About all we have here is the monthly go-around of closing restaurants, newly opened places of hopes and dreams and yet again, another tale of ‘WTF’ were they thinking….the Cargo Room is gone, space taken over by a friend of Jim O’s….the new guy supposedly has a degree from the Cordon Bleu(pronounced blew)in cooking,,,as i recall, Lex had this dinky 4 burner gas range which might not encourage fancy cooking….Lex? pulling shifts at Ricardo’s Tabacos y Vinos on 5th ave norte…Marbel, working at Reilly’s La Esquina and I heard that the previous incarnation at Dos Mil is about to expire..for a number of reasons, of course..

Travel Menu now doing burgers…heard that they’re good.  What was Caffe Opera on 6th Ave norte is now some kinda spanish paella place….opening night was dismal and their signage is, like Punto Zero, made of vinyl banners…not conducive to a sense of permanence or  optimism.

the 2nd edition/local print run of ‘A Year of Driving Dangerously’ is ‘under way…Frener says 2-3 days, except he didn’t say  ‘which’ 2-3 days…I’ll know more on Wednesday night about this…yeah, the first run sold out, Sophos, the big book store in the City wants some ($$) and the beat goes on..more little ‘hole in the wall’ coffee shops opening around town…hoping against hope, that somehow they will be different..Monica’s jungle Party expanded, into a deli/small restaurant…great idea! capture those hostile…no, hostel people before they leave the premises and take even more of their money…how much long can Pan y Fantasis keep the doors open? that $$ deli on 3rd calle, that was Deliciosa…count the freezers/refrigerators/electricity-sucking devices and multiply by a few thousand quetzales  per month and then count the foot traffic…um, damn little..and there’s a new frenchy kinda restaurant in Fusions’ mall…Fleur de Luis?  no, Lis! in what was Rafa’s Bistro(and they’re sucking for biz also…this is a tough town, baby…four or five restaurants have a lock, four or five bars lo mismo and if you think  you can buck that, go right ahead….buck away, buckaroo!

Read Full Post »

Bungle in the Jungle

Posted in Guatemala, Living in Antigua, Restaurants, Travel, central america, guatemala, tagged , , , , , , , on August 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »

what was the old ‘Riki’s’ space on 4th Avenida  has been totally buffed out, from a new roof on down, per the owners putting up the $$….rumor has it that the new tenant will be: A, Taco Bell, B, jade store, C, spanish school, D, travel agency, new bar/restaurant or E, all of the above…’B’…go figure…

Lava packed, Ocelot empty…the Butt Patrol came around earlier this week (Health Dept)and slammed Whiskey Den for people smoking on the patio…ergo, if you’re puffing it’s either upstairs or in the street..where you can suck some diesel smoke.

Casbah’s little bar? packed! Ricardo’s Tabacos y Vinos? Lex Cargo  working there, two nights a week…..stopped in at Hector’s…sign on the chalkboard reads ‘#1 on TripAdvisor’ …if that’s the case,it’s old info from when Hector owned/ran it…six people and and an expensive cocktail (I needed change for the tuk-tuk)…44q for a shot of Stoli? i didn’t bother looking at the menu, after that..44q? at least, at Dishwater, I get music..and change.

YES! local copies of ‘A Year of Driving Dangerously’ finally out of the printer!…5 tonight, 20 tomorrow and a new print run for September, along the with the September edition of ‘Our Man in Antigua’…with all the latest updates unlike Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor…they’re good but behind the curve/times…

and La Rumba, the short-lived ceviche place? didn’t have a business licence(or a clue)…and the new back garden of Sobremesa? smashing and that’s where customers are gravitating (going) to…who knew? it works…how much longer will Papas y Beer and 13 continue to pay their rents/suppliers? or Mango Verde? the venerable La Antigua Vineria, on south 5th ave, next to San Jose el Viejo? great new paint job, changes, upgrades.,..Bepe just doesn’t quit..looks great!

Read Full Post »

Nocturnal Submissions

Posted in Guatemala, Living in Antigua, Restaurants, Shopping, Travel, central america, guatemala, tagged , , on October 4, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Neil Craig! back with a vengeance…no, back with a great %$#@! location, right in the heart of Glitter Gulch (4th calle)…’taking over Michos and expanding a bit…a new menu next week and so on…whew…what a coup…

thank you to the “Canadian’ who gave me a couple of Tylenol #3’s this morning (my P.I.T.A) still here/there…whew…those are some serious tabs, my friend…thanks also to Michael Raymont who gave me a couple of Gabapentin tabs (some kinda pharmaceutical heaven, per Google)…’haven’t road-tested them yet but Michael says he’s been taking them for a long time(which might explain a few things)..

Lex Cargo and lady friend, out and about on 5th calle….another store going in around the silver shop…’hard to keep up with the revolving doors on that street.

Alex of Fusion kicking out the jams/doorways and such in Fusion and expanding into the patio…a grand opening of  Nido Antigua scheduled for Friday the 19th (this month)starting at 6pm…G.S.T?

El Periodico reporting that they(the authorities)are going to ‘extinguish’ our Mayor’s properties…as in confiscate, take and do what with? does someone get to bid on them, take them over or what? enlighten me, please on how this works in Guatemala…Adolfo has now been in the clink for 17 days…o durance vile..o dirty clothes

and the red, white and blue SAT sticker is still pasted on the door of that place…a little problem with the paperwork?….and just where in the hell did all the day-trippers come from today…100-150 easily, all walking around with name tags, lanyards, white legs and cameras, followed by the mayan ladies..

per Walter Fischer, the Antigua City Tour bus thing starts this Saturday, details in Revue…good…’hope it works, this time…Juan Carlos had a great idea but shallow pockets…Walter and his partners don’t seem to have that problem (yet) and thanks to Jim aka Bull Durham for yet another great batch of pork ribs…jamesdurham2@gmail.com, the best, outa Tecpan…I picked up a frozen pound and since my butt was hurting…figured, what the hell…gotta defrost ’em one way or the other…stuffed the plastic sealed packet in my pants, walked home and bingo…defrosted ribs, frozen butt…a twofer..hmmm, Gabapentin?  Michael…if i turn into a howling freak later(what’s the difference, eh?) I’ll know who to blame..

Read Full Post »

Weird Stuff

Posted in Guatemala, Living in Antigua, Restaurants, Shopping, What to Pack, tagged , , , , , on September 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

like where’s the action? where are the tourists, diners and folks with the $$$?

maybe it’s just post Independence Day for Guatemalo and maybe it’s just a rainy Friday night…the air has gone out of the balloon and it’s starting to resemble a condom on the sidewalk.

the 5th Anniversary of the Bistro by Merced? doin’ fine but the owner not there at 7…Ron Fortin, he of the great sax…recently laid off per lack of business and talking of creating a new group of musicians with an ‘act’…the music scene in town has evaporatated, dispersed and taken a dive…Luke playing at the Escargot Room?…totally weird…Piano Mike and Moriah did one night at Caffe Bourbon, scheduled for two…2nd cancelled per lacka  $$…next time you see PM, ask him about this great/insane project he’s taken on..guaranteed to make your head spin, as it did a guy at the bar in o’Lot last night..

major congrats to Linnett D for selling another piece of art…no, she didn’t offer to buy me a drink..but that fact that anything is selling in town is a major accomplishment.

the Marvelous Miss M and girlfriend having dinner at dos Reilly’s..thanks, Ryan, for the free cocktail..it was raining, I left my umbrella at home and….thanks, dude..

the new ‘Tapas  Orientales’ place on 6th ave, norte? ..’Izakaya’? where Luna Miel used to be? I’m thinkin’ that their ‘ costillitas en BBQ China’ might be something to try…their’s is an interesting twist on menus..who knows?   and AyRobot? has Dan pulled the plug?  he mentioned looking for another place, closer in…Jungle Party is closed for 2-3 months…renovations and ‘seasons over’..

how much deader can things get?…MM has opened a gelato place/coffee bar next to La Casaca…great location..will gelato outsell Marco Polo or Sarita? or Helados Exoticos, Alex F’s great 40 flavors and counting?  Nido Anigua, Alex of Fusion’s place, looking xlnt…but empty…is it the rain or the season? bit of both, one suspects..’ran into Peter the G this morning…he’s touting the City as being the ‘place’ to be…from what I’ve heard about Zone One…i guess it’s time to get over my dislike for the ‘city’ and go take a look.

Read Full Post »

Honk If You Love Jesus

Posted in Guatemala, Living in Antigua, Restaurants, Travel, central america, guatemala, tagged on September 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

apropos of nuthin’, btw…maybe because it’s Sunday and the bells of La Merced went off when I walked by earlier. the day? overcast and gray…the town? dead, with a few zombies walking around with dark glasses on. Did it get a bit drunk out last night or did the fireworks cause retinal burn?

t he parades? on and on and on…’caught (inadvertantly) one of the last, going down 3rd calle and left on the ave to the plaza: there is a whole new crop of nymphets in cheer leader costumes doing the ‘bump and grind’ this year. Am I shocked or complaining? RU serious?  they’re not my daughters, etc..also ran into the first part of the parade in the morning, minus Da Mayor amidst the usual dignitaries, followed by folks in military uniforms and then came the female detachment, dressed in cafe au lait chocolate brown uniforms….crack troops, all of them.

upper/mid 6th avenida going thru changes again(still) Ay Robot is closed, altho Dan said he was moving ‘closer in’ a few weeks ago…there’s some kind of Oriental cafe in the old Luna Miel space, with nice decor/short menu….Riki’s? supposedly settled the multi-owner/back taxes issues and is said….to have been bought by some kinda chain/franchise…maybe it’s the Elvis Presley Group: you know, the GreaseLand Cafe…

Luke playing at the S’Cargo Room? apparently…hey, a gig is a gig…what a week….Fuego goes off bigtime, the mayor goes away in color-coordinated handcuffs, Independence Day is over (anyone with half a brain left town) and we have a slow/quiet Sunday to recuperate.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »