Phil arrives

 So Phil arrived in Spain on Friday afternoon around 4PM. He said the trip went smoothly so he was only very tired. We went to Islamorada for the firts night of his return. Dinner at 6:30!!! I didn't get photos of everything as we were mostly catching up after nearly three weeks of not seeing each other. We had our usual favorite and not shown the carrillera (pork cheeks) which was wonderfully tasty as usual. 

Then the folwoing night we went to Casapuerta to see Blanca and let her know we were back- she was very happy to see us. Again - not everything is shown - I had a special roulade of beef with spinach and Phil had a steak. 

Then on Sunday, we went to Barra Canabota. Celebrating Phil's birthday. Service was very good. It would be better in a larger group (4+) as then a whole fish would be appropriate. Loved the ginger soy sauce they served with the fish. It was translated into "forkfish" Bròtola. "It's a prized white fish in Mediterranean cuisine, especially popular in Spain. Its meat is incredibly lean, tender, and delicate." (AI told us)  Also on offer Merluza and something they translated to "dogfish." Since we had previously tried the other two of three choices, we chose the unknown. My fish review: nice flavor and texture, but way too many little bones. The "cocktail" of seafood and fish was really tasty and an "order again" item. Oysters briny but a tad on the large side for my taste. Amazing stuffed giant olives and an "always favorite" of anchoas rounded out our choices. Overall, I think it would be a better venue for 4+ people but I'd go back if we had a group.

Monday we visited the new location of an old favortie of ours (we went the first month we came as residents to Spain.)  Here's a little baclkground on our now revamped Manolo Mayo on Reyes Catolicos. From a very recent review:

"Restaurante Manolo Mayo first opened its doors in Los Palacios (Sevilla) over fifty years ago . In 2021 they opened their first Sevilla location in Calle Reyes Católicos, offering dishes that defined their culinary journey over the decades. This month a new chapter begins as the Mayo family moves to new premises in the 5 Star GL Thompson Hotel in Plaza de la Concordia." (from Tapas Bars in Sevilla website)

It was pretty abysmmal in some ways and lovely in others - the server was super nice but the kitchen was extremely sluggish. Tehy weren't really that busy with diners - some tapas stuff at the bar. But it literally took hours so a simple two course meal. The outdoor space is beautiful (as befitting a five star hotel) but they aren't ready for prime time. 

by the time our two rice dishes arrived I was clealry not intrested in reocrding hte evening LOL.  The next morning we weere up early for a government appointment to get Phil updated for his empadronamiento. Another trip across the river, this time to get Phil's registration renewed. A success, mostly due to the fact that we were now familiar with the process. It's good to have a scout!

Some local signage that I saw along the way these last few days 

Wednesday night we have Augurio and Thursday Desacato.... so more to follow before I leave town for a day trip on Friday. 

We went to visit our buddies at Augurio. We dined outside. We had all our favorites. The crispy tacos with pez mantequilla. The steak tartare bombitas with quail egg. The tuna triptico (three ways.) Foie gras with sliced apple compote.(Not shown - the presa Iberica.) We followed with a late evening visit to Helena at MITO where we had two free gelatos on our rewards points.

Rounding out his first week home - Desacato.

Now he's been here a week and is mostly back on the right time zone and into the groove of Living in Spain.