Travel

Published by Girls Getaway April 2011:

For the best food in New Orleans, look to the road

I took my very first trip to New Orleans recently. Why I waited so long I don’t know, because it is a town that does a lot of things right – hospitality, architectural preservation, music and above all, food.

New Orleans’ cuisine can be roughly divided into two groups: the fancier, French- and Spanish-influenced Creole cooking, and the more down-home Cajun and Southern style, cooked up in backyards and diners. The food gods must have been smiling on me, because after I booked my trip I discovered that the annual New Orleans Roadfood Festival coincided with my visit.

Foodies graze their way through New Orelans Roodfood Festival

This two-day festival, now in its third year, has become a mecca of sorts for foodies across the land, as five blocks of Royal Street in the historic French Quarter are shut down to traffic and opened up to food worshipers.

Lined along the stretch of road are two dozen booths with grills, smokers, BBQs, ice chests, bars, bands – whatever it takes to make a good food party. Some of the purveyors are local restaurants – like the Court of Two Sisters, which is renowned for its daily brunch buffet, set in a gorgeous courtyard with a sublime jazz trio on hand. Others are from out of state – like the Memphis-based Central BBQ that had folks lining up for their sloooow cooked ribs and pulled pork sliders. Or the Tucson Tamale Co. which offered up three types of tamales including earthy green corn. (Try eating one of those standing up!)

Expert oyster griller

But the Roadfood Festival is only two days of the year, so if you can’t get there then, there is a head-spinning range of options for the dedicated foodie. The famous TV chef, Emiril Lagasse, has several restaurants in town and I tried the mid-range NOLA, on St. Louis Street one night and had a small foodgasm over the pizza with duck confit, arugula, truffle oil and fried egg. Then at Mr. B’s Bistro the next night I practically needed a shower after getting elbow deep in a dish of peel your own barbecued shrimp in a peppery butter sauce.

The only sub-standard (for New Orleans) restaurant experience I had during my visit was at a wine bar called Grapevine on Orleans Street where, although the setting and service were charming, the food was indifferent. What was worse was the computer-run player piano sitting in the corner churning out lame tunes. In a city like New Orleans with musicians on every corner eager for performance experience, having a fake piano player in a restaurant is just a crime.

Home in historic Garden District

For a little break from the gustatory indulgence there are plenty of themed tours available like cemetery, garden district historic homes, and voodoo, but I decided to get out of town and get swampy. What surprised me about my visit to the bayous with Jean Lafitte Swamp Tours was the focus on the preservation of wildlife and its surroundings. Set in a large privately-owned wetland reserve, there are lots of alligators, turtles and Great Blue Herons cruising by during the leisurely and entertaining two-hour float down the canal.

Cajun cabin on the bayou

New Orleans has many charms, but for me what stood out and got me hooked on the place is their ability to take whatever they’re doing seriously – whether it’s food, music or nature – yet still have a very good time doing it.

Published by Girls Getaway December 2010:

Jazz fest offers cultural alternative

It begins to tell,
’round midnight, ’round midnight.
I do pretty well, till after sundown,
Suppertime I’m feelin’ sad.
But it really gets bad,
’round midnight. – Thelonius Monk

The Manhattan Transfer performing at the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival

I find one of the biggest challenges when travelling on my own is figuring out what to do with myself in the evenings. During the day I can find plenty to do, whether taking a language class, going on excursions or just lolling in a cafe reading and eavesdropping.

But after dinner’s done, I often find myself asking “Now what?” Sometimes I’ll brave a bar on my own–especially if it has live music–but there’s nothing quite like hanging around a place where friends are together having a great time to make you feel like an outsider.

And there’s also the Lothario factor. You know the guy. He thinks any woman on her own is fair game and must be dying for whatever it is he’s offering and won’t leave you alone no matter how firmly you reject his advances. Awkward.

But I’ve discovered a nice alternative to sitting in my hotel room watching TV: the festival. In my case, jazz and dance festivals are what usually draw me, but I’d bet there are festivals for all types of music and arts all over the world.

In particular, the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival (RMJF) in Playa del Carmen, Mexico has been my choice for two years running. The combination of a beautiful and interesting destination, a range of accommodations (see “Check In” below) plus a really terrific line-up of performers for four nights, makes for a lively and satisfying vacation. (This year’s festival included such big name acts as Al Di Meola, George Duke, John McLaughlin and The Manhattan Transfer.)

John McLaughlin

The setting of the festival is the first thing that caught my attention. It’s held right on the beach in a stylish outdoor venue – Mamita’s Beach Club – and it’s big enough and has sufficient facilities to accommodate thousands of people a night. A giant stage with two huge video screens and a state-of-the-art sound system means even if you’re at the back of the crowd, you can still hear and see. (In fact, I found the sound a little muddy when I was right up front near the stage, so being further back is just fine.)

With over five hours of music on offer from 7 p.m. until midnight, there are a couple of ways you can approach the festival. Arrive early with your blanket and beverages (anything goes) and stake out your chunk of beach and settle in for the evening. Or–since there is no admission charge for the festival–you can come and go as you please. So if sitting on a beach for five hours is too much, you can swing by, see the first act, go have a bite to eat and come back later to check out more music.

You can also wander around the club checking out the scene. The people who come to the festival run the gamut from young locals (mostly) to whole families, to aging hipster tourists. Great people watching.

Check Out
Playa del Carmen is the hub of the Riviera Maya and a former fishing village that developed largely because the ferry to Cozumel docks there. Fifth Avenue is the main drag and a big strip of it is pedestrian-only and is packed with clothing and jewellery stores, restaurants and bars. Busy day and night, a woman on her own can feel completely comfortable walking at night. To escape the bustle, hang out near the north end which is more residential and upscale and has some very good cafes and restaurants, such as:

Chez Celine is an authentic French café with excellent pastries and coffee (and Paris prices).

Gambas al ajillo at Cueva del Chango

In a world of its own on a side street off of Fifth Avenue, La Cueva del Chango has a funky back garden, open kitchen and resident gato who will patiently sit by your chair until you feed her your leftover shrimp tails. Specializing in natural, whole food, the menu is mostly Mexican and offers margaritas made with freshly squeezed fruit juices. Grapefruit ruled.

Playa del Carmen - Mahekal Beach Resort

If snorkeling, sightseeing or cave diving are your scene, the Riviera Maya has much to offer. Unique to the region are cenotes (underwater caves) and you can take either a guided excursion or jump on a local bus and head to one of the sites such as Ecopark Kantun-Chi. Mayan culture and ruins abound in the area too, and the nearby village of Tulum is unique in that it has one of the only seaside ruins in Mexico.

Check In
The Riviera Maya has a range of accommodations from family-run B & Bs, to stylish boutique hotels to large, luxurious all-inclusives. Since the RMJF is in Playa del Carmen, it’s more convenient to stay nearby and walk to Mamita’s every night. But staying at one of the properties just outside of town is possible too, as long as you don’t mind taking taxis back and forth. Two places I stayed at recently are:

Mahekal Beach Resort

Mahekal Beach Resort is a mid-range, oceanfront property with a lovely laid-back vibe. A palapas style hotel with private casitas that come equipped with a hammock on the front porch. No TV, phone or Wi-Fi in the rooms mean a person can really unplug and relax here. A bar with pool tables, TV and ping pong, plus a lobby with computer, Wi-Fi and well-stocked library, provide plenty of diversion. A yoga studio is slated to open early in 2011, too. Upside: Mahekal offers single room rates, although not posted on its website; the resort is located in the quieter, more residential and upscale part of town. Downside: the food is just average, but the resort is within short walking distance of excellent cafes and restaurants.

Secrets Maroma Resort

The gorgeous Secrets Maroma is a large, all-inclusive property on Maroma Beach, north of Playa del Carmen on the way to Cancun. Tastefully decorated rooms, superior service and gourmet food are features of this luxury resort. Upside: private whirlpool on your balcony; premium alcohol brands. Downside: a 20-minute drive to Playa del Carmen makes taking in the jazz festival a bit of an excursion, but not insurmountable.

Published in NOW magazine – Travel:

Blacked out in Cuba
For a richer experience, avoid the resorts – but expect a bit of hardship

Havana – There’s something kind of quaint about being awakened in a city of 3 million people by a crowing rooster. On the other hand, when the rooster is crowing at 4 in the morning and you were out listening to Latin jazz and salsa till the wee hours, less quaint and more quiet would be good.

Cyclists pause in front of historic cathedral in Cuba

But this is Cuba, a country where, along with all its beauty and history, contradictions and frustrations are the order of the day.

I’ve arrived in Havana after a five-day visit to the seaside town of Guanabo, where I stayed in a casa particular (bed and breakfast) and cycled around the area with a group, enjoying the natural beauty of the countryside and historic sites.

Casas particulares have recently been licensed in Cuba, and they are a great way to make your visit more real and avoid the big all-inclusive resorts that are rampant in the beach areas of the country.

Staying with a family in their impeccably clean house, sharing delicious, simple meals with them and attempting to breach the language barrier are all experiences not to be missed for a traveller looking to lift the tourist veil.

With that reality come the aforementioned frustrations, illustrated one evening while returning from dinner at a local restaurant. To our delight, we found that the restaurant we chose was both open and stocked with food, things that aren’t taken for granted here.

We thought we were in for a glitch-free evening.

Then, as we were walking home, the area was suddenly plunged in darkness. The ubiquitous salsa music fell silent.

Making your way home in Toronto when there’s a blackout is no big deal, but sidewalks here are broken and uneven, and the streets are pocked with holes and strewn with dogs and their by-products.

At a snail’s pace and with only the illumination of occasional passing car headlights, we made our way back to our casas, which we were grateful to find had full power.

The locals shrug off such events; blackouts and water shortages are everyday occurrences.

Contradictions abound: a man driving a horse-drawn buggy, which he’s using for transportation, not because it’s a tourist draw, past a man standing on the sidewalk talking on a cell phone; the guard at an elementary school telling us during an impromptu tour that the children don’t have enough pens or paper to do their schoolwork, even as he proudly shows us the computer lab.

Cuba is a beautiful quandary, with much to see besides beaches and all-inclusive resorts. Just bring your flashlight.

NOW | September 20-27, 2007 | VOL 27 NO 3

From Jazz.FM91 blog:
Jazz in Unexpected Places – The Riviera Maya Jazz Festival
Written by Cathy Riches
Tuesday, November 24, 2009

I don’t know about you, but when I think about escaping the cruelties of winter for somewhere tropical, the thought of spending a week just lying around on a beach leaves me cold. It seems most of the beach resorts that are close and affordable lack the kind of cultural experiences – particularly musical experiences – I’m looking for when I travel. So when I heard about the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival on JAZZ.FM91, I thought “aha!” the best of both worlds: A beautiful beach destination AND jazz every night for four nights.

But I wondered how good a festival could be in a location that isn’t exactly known as a hotbed for jazz. So when I saw the lineup of acts they’re bringing in, I got really psyched. The programmers have struck a nice balance between showcasing local acts and bringing in internationally-known musicians. The first two nights, November 24 and 25, feature seven Mexican bands, none of which I’m familiar with, but which seem to run the gamut of jazz styles from traditional to funk/rock/jazz fusion and some mashups of folkloric sounds that look interesting. There’s also one Canadian act: Colin Hunter, founder and full-time CEO of Sunwing Vacations and part-time crooner, accompanied by piano player extraordinaire, Joe Sealy.

Then Friday and Saturday night they pull out the big guns with Spyro Gyra (one of my faves from the 80s), Sergio Mendes, Pat Martino, Al Jarreau and Herbie Hancock! The icing on the cake (the salsa on the taco??) is that all of the concerts are free, courtesy of the Riviera Maya tourism board.

I touched base with a few of the winners of the contest that JAZZ.FM91 ran in partnership with Sunwing Vacations to see how they’re feeling about the trip and festival.

Mike Wain said, “This is our first time to Mexico, let alone the jazz fest – a far cry from the downtown Oakville festival on a hot night I would guess! It will all be a new, and I hope, exciting experience for us. We are looking on it as a surprise 46th anniversary present. The line up according to their website looks really impressive. This will be a blast.”

“I just want to thank JAZZ.FM91 and Sunwing for letting us go to this very special jazz fest and of all places Riviera Maya, Mexico! How great is that!” said Shirley Bowman. “We are quite excited to say the least. We love jazz and we should all have a wonderful time.”

I’ll be checking in with updates from the festival later in the week. Stay tuned.

Jazz in Unexpected Places – Dispatches from the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Two things happened yesterday that are practically unheard of in the Riviera Maya. First, it – gasp – rained in the afternoon and second, there was a jazz concert at night! The first occurrence affected the second since the stage for the opening night of the festival was set up in a public square and the sound checks and start time got delayed by a couple of hours. But the people who crowded into the square to see the concert were undaunted. The Riviera Maya Jazz Festival is timed to coincide with the U.S. Thanksgiving for maximum tourist draw, but the audience for last night’s free concert was made up of more locals than tourists.

And so were the bands, as three of the acts were actually from Playa del Carmen, the town at the heart of the Riviera Maya. I have a theory about why there’s so much musical talent in a relatively small tourist town like Playa: as is true in a lot of places, being a musician doesn’t always put bread on the table, and the hospitality industry seems to be a natural draw for musicians (and actors and others in the arts) looking to supplement their income. So with thousands of people here employed in tourism, I guess it shouldn’t be surprising for local talent to surface and a sax player to be introduced as the head of the hotel association.

The Royal Band opened the evening and did a handful of originals that leaned toward the funkier, R&B side of jazz. Billed as smooth jazz, the 12-piece group draws from a mix of countries like Cuba and Argentina, and although there were touches of those cultural influences, the music was more L.A. Express than Latin American.

The second act, Aguamala, powered their way through a set of muscular fusion tunes that had the appreciative crowd head-bopping and cheering after extended solos. The tight four-piece outfit was totally in sync as they nimbly switched tempos mid-tune without batting an eye.

The last act I caught was the Chairman of the Board, a.k.a. Colin Hunter, CEO of Sunwing Vacations and crooner. Given how much the audience was into the hard-driving fusion of the previous band, I thought they might not be receptive to old-school swing and standards, but the crowd was with them all the way. Hunter’s Toronto-based band will be familiar to JAZZ.FM91 listeners, as Joe Sealy heads it up and Paul Novotny, Daniel Barnes and Perry White round it out. Hunter paid tribute to the masters as he covered classics like Sinatra’s “Come Fly With Me” and Dean Martin’s “Sway”. The audience wouldn’t let up until they did an encore, and Hunter vowed to be back next year.

For the next three nights the festival moves to the beach and organizers are expecting 10,000 people for the closing night line-up of Pat Martino, Al Jarreau and Herbie Hancock. Hasta luego.

Jazz in Unexpected Places – Final Days of the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival
Thursday, December 03, 2009

The fest moved to the beach for the last three days and when I first heard that the organizers expected 5,000 to 10,000 people to show up I was afraid the place would be bedlam. But the locale – Mamita’s Beach Club – is a big chunk of beachfront real estate with Miami Beach-style outdoor lounge areas and enough room to comfortably accommodate the crowd and the massive stage with two big video screens on either side. The sound was great too.

So on Friday night the folks at the back of the crowd could still see their hero Sergio Mendes, as he transported us to Rio de Janiero circa 1966 with his trademark take on bossa nova. Mendes was one of the early masters who defined the new Brazilian sound in the 50s and 60s and he’s a big star throughout Latin America. Although Mendes stays current by collaborating with younger musicians like the Black Eyed Peas and Seu Jorge, he knows what his audience wants. So he took us through a parade of bossa standards like “Agua de Beber,” “One Note Samba” and of course his mega hit, “Mas Que Nada.”

Earlier in the day at the press conference, Jay Beckenstein, the leader of Spyro Gyra, bristled at the suggestion that the group played “smooth jazz.” And rightly so, because their show totally rocked the crowd. Sure there were some breezy moments courtesy of their hits like “Morning Dance,” and “Shaker Song,” but they’ve also kept it up-to-date with funkier urban sounds largely courtesy of bass player Scott Ambush and drummer/singer Bonny B.

The last night of the festival opened with guitar legend Pat Martino who is sounding great although he said he is still coping with the effects of a serious health problem that caused him to lose his memory, forcing him to relearn the guitar mid-career. His inventiveness certainly hasn’t been affected though and with organist Tony Monaco and drummer Jason Brown propelling the tempo, the trio drove their way through a set of modern swing and bop tunes.

It was hard to imagine the energy getting any higher after Martino’s set but Al Jarreau and his 9-piece band managed to ratchet it up while totally charming the crowd. Aptly opening with Elton John’s “Your Song” Jarreau’s joy at being on stage and performing for his fans was palpable. His agility, playful approach to music and obvious love for singing haven’t diminished despite a career that spans 40 or so years. And the audience gave the love right back singing along and sending their voices out over the ocean waves.

The great Herbie Hancock closed out the night giving us an hour-and-a-half set with a little taste of each of the many musical phases he’s moved through over the years. A deconstructed and extended version of “Watermelon Man” gave way to a moving performance of “River” by singer Amy Keys from his latest album, an homage to Joni Mitchell, then everyone got very funky and bluesy on “When Love Came To Town.” Earlier in the day Hancock had spoken about how in the last ten years he had an increasing desire to work on projects with a purpose. For his next album he travelled to various countries to bring together diverse musical sounds, with the aim of encouraging respect for other cultures through musical collaboration. A little like what happened for four days at the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival.