Zihuatanejo, December, 2012, Part 4

On Monday evening, we wanted pizza, but when we drove out to Jungle Pizza, near Playa La Ropa, we found it was closed.

Jungle Pizza Photo Courtesy of TripAdvisor

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Later, we called and were told that they were on a reduced schedule until about December 16. All we could do was enjoy reading their online menu.

Click to enlarge

We turned around, and after getting slightly lost in a non touristic barrio of Outer Zihuatanejo and running the wrong way on a calle de un solo sentido, we  arrived at the venerable Atoles y Tamales Any. (web site)

Any's is good, Any's is reliable, but Any's is over priced. It is at Tourist Ground Zero in Zihuatanejo Centro.

We decided pozole would be a good thing for supper, and we were right. A medium pozole is $90 peso. It does come with a lot of supporting botanas, but many were not in their prime of youthful freshness. Sra. Cuevas had a pozole blanco and I a verde. Both were loaded with pork or chicken and sabrosos and were fully garnished to dress to your taste.

Pozole Verde Any's

Here's the Ratings:

Food: ***1/2

Service: ****

Price: $-$1/2 pp

Ambience: Kitsch Mexicano

Rest room: Didn't use it this time, fine on an earlier visit.

Location:

Zihuatanejo, Centro, Calle Ejido #18 (Frente a Banamex)

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Beach entrance to El Manglar

Tuesday afternoon, after breakfast in our bungalow, we drove out toward Playa La Ropa again to have lunch at El Manglar, recommended to us by J.Pierce, a friend in Morelia.

Besides its pleasant, just off-beach setting, El Manglar is noted for its wildlife. Some colorful dining companions emerge to entertain you.

The Maitre d' will seat you.

The menu, as at may Zihua restaurants, tends toward some baroque compositions.

English menu for the Spanish deprived

Sra. Cuevas shared an appetizer with me of 3 grilled fish tacos. They looked unappealing but tasted good. Still, a bit disappointing in that the fish is chopped, not in morsels. They also included some melted cheese, always a cop out in my more snobbish opinion, but I must admit that I like the combination.

Grilled Fish Tacos

We owed a lot to the muy picante salsa. It's for real.

Realmente chingona

But you can order simple seafood or grilled meats. I ordered Sesame Crusted Tuna, but had the chef leave off the Pecan-Coconut Sauce (Really; who dreams up these IHOP type creations?). Instead, I got a simple mojo de ajo sauce, on the side. The tuna was done to my taste and the vegetables were cooked  al punto as well.

Sesame Crusted Tuna

La Esposa had Dorado Cooked in Banana Leaf. (Dorado seems to be Zihua's Fish of the Month). It was stuffed with shrimp and other seafood. She rated it a 3 1/2 on a 5 point scale.

Dorado cooked in banana leaf

Ratings:
Food: ***1/2

Service: ****

Price: $$. Our cuenta was $610 pesos, plus tip. But we had a several drinks and an extra dish*.

Ambience: Jungle Outpost with beach close by.

Restrooms are clean, modern facilities, out back, secured by vigilant security personell.

*Desserts were again limited to CREPES. (Must be a frozen crepes distributor in the region.) We had seen an adjoining table get this other, great looking dish, so we also ordered it, as our "dessert".

Fried Fresh Calamares

I think I enjoyed the calamares as much or more than any other dish we had at El Manglar.

I'll post a map so you don't get lost and eaten by crocs.


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