The Hacienda

Today, Mom and I both packed to head back to the states. My vacation is over and hers is just beginning. We will leave the house around 4am tomorrow to get to the airport, and I will make it to Rochester by about 5pm, IF (and that's a big if!) there are no delays this time around! After buzzing around like busy little bees this morning, Dad picked us up to go to Mexican lunch at the Hacienda. The building basically looks like a castle and you eat in the courtyard. It feels about a million degrees cooler in the shaded courtyard then it did getting out of the car! People are known to start "lunch" here around 2 or 3 and not leave until after 8pm. I can see why! We started with a plate of Carnitas... and by a plate, I mean one plate with meat and guac, another of cilantro and onions, another of limes (YUM!), a bowl of green salsa, a bowl of red slasa, and 2 baskets of tortillas. That alone could make a lunch. Then came the menus. I wanted to be Edith Ann and eat THE WHOLE THING! So, we picked 3 items to share - a sweet chili rellano, enchiladas in a green sauce, and Dad's favorite - Aracherra steak and chorizo sausage. The rellano looked similar to the one in Bernal, but was very different. No cinnamon this time! There were pecans in the sauce, almonds in the stuffing, and the pepper had not been breaded and fried. It was, however, equally delicious. The enchiladas and steak were quite good as well. All the while, Mom and I were sipping on a Margarhita. The first few sips made you go, "BLEACH! TEQUILA!" but, after a few minutes, they had you singing the Tijuana Brass song, Tequila! Dessert, however, was the crowning jewel of the day. We all split a mousse with a name that I don't remember, but it didn't translate to English anyways. It had a white cake bottom, white mousse, white frosting, which I think was really white chocolate, but Mom disagrees, AND a fruit gel layer on top with a hint of dark chocolate hidden inside. The fruit tasted like nectarines mixed with mango and something a little more tropical. Can I just say that it was the best thing I'd ever eaten and leave it at that?! We boxed up what we couldn't eat and rolled ourselves out of the restaurant. Since then, I've been moping around the house not wanting to leave Mexico. It is absolutely gorgeous here, there are amazing sites to see, and did I mention just how delicious the food is?! I'm sure you'll miss Mom's musings while she's in New York and Ohio for a few weeks, and you won't know what to do with yourselves each morning with those extra few minutes back in your life. Might I make a suggestion? Look up flights and plan a trip down!

Heather