Our hotel in Zihuatanejo was the glorious La Casa Que Canta (“singing house”), built into the hill at the point between La Ropa and La Madera beaches.
La Casa has everything one could possibly want – really, I could stay all day and be perfectly content – open-air breakfast and lunch, a wide variety of places to sit and read (from high on the hill to practically water-front, far below), two pools, and stunning views. And most importantly, wonderful and welcoming people working there.
The food was among the best I’ve had at a hotel anywhere. For breakfast, my particular favorites were the lime pancakes (ricotta and whipped egg whites gave them an amazing light texture) and chilaquiles, made with the fantastic corn tortillas that I quickly became obsessed with. They simply taste different – and much better – than any I’ve had in the US!
For lunch, I loved everything made with those tortillas – from fish tacos to simple quesadillas folded around fresh cheese. Or sometimes I’d have ceviche, especially the tiritas that are a specialty of the area (thin strips of fish, onion, and chiles). Once or twice I had a frozen mango margarita – yum.
One note about La Casa – it’s not a place for anyone who wants to avoid stairs. They are everywhere – from the lobby down to the rooms (and sometimes back up), down to the restaurant, and waaaaay down to the lowest level of chairs and the saltwater pool. We went a few times to a particularly nice and quiet shady nook that D’s mother discovered, and the trip up and down was somewhat vertigo-inducing.
Once there, however, it was a perfect spot to watch free divers collecting oysters and count the fish leaping from the sea.
I departed with stronger calf muscles and wonderful memories!
Stay-at-home chocolate cake
Snow day lasagne
The Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island MI
Tokyo by night