FORT LAUDERDALE: FINAL DINNER

Esther and I had our final dinner at a restaurant called 15th Street Fisheries for another chef's tasting. Because the restaurant is located on the waterways yachts can pull up at the dock. We sat by the window to look down at a hangout for tarpons and jackfish.

There is this special kind of mozzarella that is solid on the outside and soft on the inside, as if there were ricotta cheese in the middle of it. At some point we'll get a description of the food but for now, just check out the photos. Of course we got a photo with Carlos, the Executive Chef that was preparing his signature dishes but not before getting one with the pastry chef.

It was back home the next day as we JetBlueing to a cold and snowy New York. Seems that Merle got sick not too soon after being home. I can't say that we would recommend chicken soup.

DINNER AT THE HOTEL AND LUNCH WITH MERLE'S COUSINS

Esther and I met Maryann, one of the hotel staff and then had a tasting at the hotel's restaurant. We ate all kinds of food and then met the chef. The food was delicious.

We met Merle's cousins, Molla Bolnick (the older one), Dorothy Stoloff, and her daughter Jennifer, at the Pelican Resort Hotel located along that beach strip. Lunch was the focus as we hung out on the porch that faced the beach. I'm told that this hotel is one of the few that is located on the beach. I started my lunch with a Bloody Mary. Molla made sure that it wasn't too spicy.

Afterward we all went to the main bakery of Pan'e Dolci to taste the pastries. There was a lady from Canada that we talked with so we asked if we could get a picture with her.

WARMER FORT LAUDERDALE

It was so cold in New York City that our faces froze and it looked as if Eunice and I would have the same expression the rest of our fowl lives! We decided to make our way to Fort Lauderdale, Florida via Jet Blue. Got a shared shuttle ride to the Riverside Hotel where we'd be staying for the three nights.

The hotel is located on E. Las Olas Blvd, a more artsy and trendy area as opposed to the strip on the beach. There is a cafe called Gran Forno, located just down the block from the hotel. We decided to meet Sal, the owner, and check out the pizza that is comparable to one that you would get in Naples. It did have a thin crust and just crispy enough with tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella. They also have a store made ice cream that is different than gelato.

Directly across from the hotel is Pan'e Dolci where we met Roberto, the owner but didn't get to have our photo taken with him until we later went to his main bakery.

That evening Eunice and I went to see a performance of Les Miz at the Broward Center for Performing Arts. Merle happened to be there so we took a photo with her.

The next morning we got a tour of the area via a pedicab. Brogan Graham owns a company called Ocean View Rickshaw. I suppose it's kind of like a rickshaw, but instead of your being seated and someone pulling the "cab" on foot, they do it with a bicycle. It was great but I don't think Brogan realized that he was nearly chocking us chickens. Hey, you can see Pan'e Dolci in the background! We stopped at a coffee shop called Brew and sat at an outside table waiting for service. Didn't know that you had to go in and purchase the stuff at the counter and then bring it out, which we eventually did.

Then we met with Jessica Taylor from tourism who took us on a tour of some of the other areas of Fort Lauderdale and had lunch at Galanga Thai Kitchen and Sushi Bar located in the "gayborhood" area called Wilton Manor. Great lobster sushi roll! Eunice insisted on taking a photo with Jessica to look as if she were biting her nose. Eunice can be so silly at times. Aside from Wilton Manor, we were also able to see the beach strip.

Back to E. Las Olas and to the waterways where they have water taxis, tour boats and even a gondola. Although the gondola was pretty and romantic looking, it lost it's romance with the gondolier who doesn't use oars as the boat is powered by a motor.

SEARCHING FOR POSSIBLE RELATIVES IN MCCLUCKEN

Esther and I had such a cool day and the weather was just fine. McClucken is a great place for bird watching and we took the opportunity to see if any of our relatives were around.

We started off by visiting Quinta Mazatlan both an historic home and nature center. One of the rooms in the home had some great bird paintings. Outside we hiked around noticing how many places that these birds get fed...especially in the trees. Then we made friends with a few small tortoises.

Couldn't get fed there so we went to a Mexican restaurant called Koko's and met the owners Albert Suarez and his bro. We didn't mind how hot the food was as long as we didn't smell rubber burning.

More nature. This time is was the Butterfly Park. It was early in the afternoon and many of the butterflies were not out. However, where there are butterflies there usually are birds.

We wanted to view the Rio Grande River and found a bench to hang out at that was on the US side where you can look across the river and see Mexico. Someone must have left their beer. ha ha.

Now came the biggie on birds as we went to the World Birding Center headquarters. It was a huge park. We tried hanging on one of the feeders to see if any of the birds would make friends with us.



Our last attraction was going to Hidalgo, a city just on the US border. They were having Hidalgo Lights with a whole bunch of lights in forms of people, animals, etc. They were doing this for Christmas. We renamed this city Chicalgo.

Dinner was at a Japanese restaurant, Yoko's, of which the owner's name is Cesar Derdugo. No Japanese or Asian staff. As long as one can learn the art of making sushi! It was really good!

Sleep and breakfast at The Spanish Room for French Toast and Migas. Time to depart for NYC!

RENAMING MCALLEN AS MCCLUCKEN

Eunice and I went through this machine that looked like an MRI as we went from Beako to McClucken. When we arrived dinner was at a restaurant called Mamma Mia's where Eunice had her eye on the fried olives stuffed with mozzarella cheese. We then headed for our hotel, the Drury Suites.

Breakfast was at El Pato for a freshly made tortilla and then onto a place called McAllen Creative Incubator where artists get to have their own studio to do their thing. It's located in a school. We met Greg but there was no one around "doing their thing".

We went to a few places to do some "Mexican shopping" being near the border and then had lunch at Bad Bob's. It was a barbecue joint and did in no way compare that delicious bbq at Uncle Dan's in Beako!

After that we visited Bell's Farm to Market where there was lots of fruits and veggies. I think that corn is out of season as we didn't see any.

With all that running around, we decided to treat ourselves to a massage at Frida's Spa. Hector made us feel so great that we were ready to take on dinner at The Patio on Guerra followed by a Viper's basketball game.