February 11Feb 11 We go every year and rent this house in the San Antonio neighborhood just to the southwest of Centro. It’s 4 stories with a kitchen on the roof. The kitchen deck is awesome for having coffee and taking meetings and staring off into the city. For some reason I can’t find a link to the house, but it’s at 26 Alameda. We’ve stayed at the Belmond and Rosewood as well- very nice, but not as relaxing as getting your own place. Lots of great restaurants and bars, etc within town, but there is a place called Mama Mi Campestre that is out in the country that is a great place to kill an afternoon. They have a buffet of Mexican and Italian dishes and it’s all outdoor. They have goats and all sorts of animals just hanging out. They have a brewery too so you can try all their beers. Fabrica La Aurora is a cool place to kill and afternoon as well. We have several paintings here in Austin that we bought there at various galleries. It’s such a peaceful town.
February 11Feb 11 Might also hit up City Market. Grocery store that is as nice or nicer than anything we have here, but relatively inexpensive. I made dinner for 6 adults and a bunch of kids and went there to get steak, veggies, cheese, bread, wine etc. and I was out like $250 total. They had USDA prime steaks but I bought the Mexican version for less than half the price. Same cut, same marbling, everything. First time I went to SMA I was reluctant because I thought it would be a bunch of blue hair Americans. They exist, but vast majority are Mexicans and there is plenty of opportunity to party if you want to. Here are some pics of the house we rent. There is a dumb waiter that allows you to send dishes back and forth between the kitchens. Simple things like that entertain me.
February 12Feb 12 17 hours ago, Gucci_Suit said: Here are some pics of the house we rent. There is a dumb waiter that allows you to send dishes back and forth between the kitchens. Simple things like that entertain me. Much like the Oxford comma, spaces can really change the interpretation of a sentence. Dude is out there just making a living, and fucking tourists are calling him dumb.
February 12Feb 12 22 minutes ago, Wiler77 said: Much like the Oxford comma, spaces can really change the interpretation of a sentence. Dude is out there just making a living, and fucking tourists are calling him dumb. Yeah I noticed that a bit too late to edit. Probably had a dumb waiter at some point too. Edited February 12Feb 12 by Gucci_Suit
February 13Feb 13 49 minutes ago, troph said: Who is the lovely woman on the window sill ? My wife runs a small jewelry line. So when we travel, we sometimes try to hire a model and photog to try to get some shots in different places. Her name is Kary and she’s amazing- so pretty inside and out. https://www.instagram.com/kary.dei?igsh=cnpoZngwaXZ1ODRk Check out some of the finished photos.
February 15Feb 15 On 2/12/2025 at 10:17 PM, Gucci_Suit said: My wife runs a small jewelry line. So when we travel, we sometimes try to hire a model and photog to try to get some shots in different places. Her name is Kary and she’s amazing- so pretty inside and out. https://www.instagram.com/kary.dei?igsh=cnpoZngwaXZ1ODRk Check out some of the finished photos. madera
June 23Jun 23 We made it… it’s raining but it’s lovely. we are in San Antonio too. Got my home office set up from Office Depot and we stocked up at city market. enjoyed a social food group lunch at a Peruvian restaurant and met some lovely people. Food was a 7 so that was great. We have 2-3 more of these social food gatherings on our calendar. Met a chef will take tapas class with him. tomorrow we will get the boys set up with a bike/moped, they have some Spanish informal immersion not really classes 2x a week starting tomorrow. boys and I will hit the gym tomorrow afternoon. setting up padel, pickleball and tennis early this week too. next Saturday morning doing an art walk. we have a third floor roof top I’ll snap some pics during morning coffee tomorrow… Edited June 23Jun 23 by troph
June 23Jun 23 4 minutes ago, troph said: We made it… it’s raining but it’s lovely. That looks like a sweet villa.
June 23Jun 23 7 minutes ago, royiv said: That looks like a sweet villa. It’s fucking dope. 3 large bedrooms with private baths. Base for 3 weeks and I’m working 10-5pm ATX time (9-4pm here) so the pad has to be on the mark. second floor balcony during the rain… (there’s a floor higher than this). IMG_6930.mov Edited June 23Jun 23 by troph
June 25Jun 25 Spent the morning on Monday scoping out the meat and produce markets, tortillas too. Found a gym near us and signed up for a month membership, decent pizza joint down the street. Going to find a massage therapist tomorrow - I have one I think. wifey is playing pickleball tomorrow, she’s found a tennis hook up (I’m taking a few weeks off to heal tennis specific ailments). Clay courts so that’s fun and good on our joints. tonight we walked from our neighborhood to el centro - about a mile - and saw a classical guitarist, about 20 attendees, gringos and Mexicans. He’s highly touted and he was fantastic. Met up with the wife who was at Berlin Bar & Bistro talking up a Mississippi gay man about rainbow culture here. I think the pride parade is our last weekend here. Going to try and make a drag bingo too. a few pics from today…
June 25Jun 25 On 2/11/2025 at 11:51 AM, Gucci_Suit said: Fabrica La Aurora is a cool place to kill and afternoon as well. Seconded @troph we just went over Mother’s Day to do a clay tile factory tour, among other things. Best breakfast was at Rustica, and best dinner was at Tostevere. Quince was very disappointing, basically it’s the Cheesecake Factory menu on a really nice patio. I’d probably get a drink there to check the box, then go eat somewhere else.
June 25Jun 25 I nixed quince last night on the theory that places with great views rely on the view - not the food - to sell. Glad to hear I wasn’t wrong. we have another ex pat dinner party tonight not sure where but we will check out Tostevere before we leave. more work 930-4 for me, kids Spanish immersion today.
June 25Jun 25 Crazy enough there’s a quince ‘sister location’ in Fort Worth, it’s held on for a few yrs in a not great location. Been happy with meals the two times I’ve gone.
June 25Jun 25 9 minutes ago, bluto said: Crazy enough there’s a quince ‘sister location’ in Fort Worth, it’s held on for a few yrs in a not great location. Been happy with meals the two times I’ve gone. There's one in Austin, too. It's a restaurant that serves sushi, tacos, and hamburgers, so totally random menu with American prices. 1 hour ago, troph said: we have another ex pat dinner party tonight not sure where but we will check out Tostevere before we leave. We had the beet tostada, the octopus, and several smoky mezcals, all were great. I didn't mention the Rosewood because that's kind of a no brainer, but the rooftop restaurant has better views than Quince and a better menu (both are full of gringos, as might be expected). So I didn't love this place because it was vegetarian (in Mexico? the home of delicious carnitas!??!?!?), but the rest of our group really liked Don Taco Tequila.
June 25Jun 25 Atrio’s rooftop view at the Parrocchia is better than Quince and the food is outstanding.
July 11Jul 11 Best dinner so far, not even close… Smokey mezcals were so good, basil drink was fun too. Octopus, corn truffle, cauliflower and short rib tostadas wow.
July 11Jul 11 Hanks New Orleans happy hour / taco Tuesday is a happening gringo spot. Food was meh but the atmosphere was hopping. zumo roof top was great, views great didn’t snap a pic of the Parroquia not sure why, no food pics either. The guac with pork belly was great, I had the short rib sopes very good. Edited July 11Jul 11 by troph
July 11Jul 11 We also ended up finding our gym and tennis community. Courts are pure Mexico but so is the hospitality, we are already friends with the owners.
July 11Jul 11 Pics from a street art walk in the Guadalupe neighborhood. The pistachio pastry roll at Bakery Sucre was so good! Edited July 11Jul 11 by troph
July 11Jul 11 Miscellaneous street pics mostly el centro at least one is San Antonio and one is Guadalupe hoods
July 11Jul 11 Rosewood view food was ok but the kids wanted to go back for a Fourth of July buffet and it was surprisingly good. Edited July 11Jul 11 by troph
July 12Jul 12 Belmond roof top tonight, a speakeasy actually. You go to the hotel ask for the roof top they act like they can’t help you then they walk you two blocks down and unlock a door on the street and through a hotel garden and to the roof. food was great, fried pork dumplings, tuna tartare, hot wings lol, mushrooms with potatoes, avocado puree, corn puree and chipotle mayo, Peruvian chocolate cake, and a to DIE FOR Mexican Can Franc.
July 12Jul 12 Oh and there’s a Waldorf being built down the street from the Rosewood, includes residences.
July 13Jul 13 Went to the pride parade - go to LGBTQ thread in the CR for the drag queens blowing me kisses… then to the blue bar at the belmond for drinks and snacks and fantastic Latin trio. Edited July 13Jul 13 by troph
July 13Jul 13 From the blue bar sexy black woman on the clarinet… has to be a top 5 bar in SMA. Small but superb. IMG_7439.mov
July 13Jul 13 One thing not well discussed is the quality of Mexican wine. Much like Greece, they keep the wines in country. Cuna de Tierra is an absolutely fantastic winery, enjoying Dos Buhos as well with a day in the countryside after enjoying Mexican wines the last few weeks in the restaurants. The Malbec below beat out Spanish wines in a Spanish wine festival. The Nebbiolo below was out of this world. We’ve been blown away at how good their wines are. Edited July 13Jul 13 by troph
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