Google Tag Manager icon Los Mercados Skip to main content

Featured

Starkweather Beer Company

 When I moved back to Madison to attend law school in 1987, we moved to a crappy little apartment near the banks of Starkweather Creek on the unfashionable east side.  Today, the east side is booming, and one of the newer brewpubs is called Starkweather Beer Company. It was Saint Pat's Day.  While Guinness is a decent light-bodied stout, I opted for Starkweather's dry Irish Stout, named "Jamestown Jackdaw." Coming in at 5.9 ABV, it had a malty chewable backbone.  It's a new favorite stout for me.  Julia had Late Winter Haze, a New England IPA that didn't have as much fruitiness as she likes in a hazy.  It was still well-executed. We walked down the street to the Harmony Bar, where Julia enjoyed a complete corn beef and cabbage dinner.  I opted for the Reuben sandwich.  Mine was washed down with an Edmund Fitzgerald porter from Great Lakes Brewing.  Julia enjoyed her Chaos Pattern IPA from 3 Sheeps Brewing.  Both are great beers. Justin update:   After a long h
1 comment
Read more
Labels

Los Mercados

We did a lot of exploring today, but I’ll break it down into multiple posts so that I have something to blog about on pickleball days.

The primary downtown Mazatlan market is about thirty minutes walk from our rental place. We could walk about half that distance on the easy-to-walk Malecón, but then had to take to the streets for the rest of the way. Sidewalks in Mazatlan are dangerous and require a high degree of alertness with one’s head on a swivel. They are often uneven, broken, narrow, and sometimes they just disappear. When possible, I prefer to walk in the street against traffic. 

Before reaching the main market, we unexpectedly found the Saturday Organic Market a few blocks away at Plaza  Zaragoza.  


The customers here appeared to be overwhelmingly Americans and Canadians. Prices were high—about what you would expect in the U.S.  We checked it out in ten minutes or so (it’s very small) and continued on our way.

El Mercado Pino Suarez is a huge market with vendors selling just about anything you can imagine. 




Julia picked up some rings at a sewing supply vendor to complete some pot holders that she has been weaving. Here the customers were overwhelmingly Mexican.  English-speaking vendors were the exception rather than the rule.

I was especially interested in buying some produce and meat, but we had several hours of walking and a steep hike (more on that next time) to do, so that would have to wait.

Labels:

Comments

MFH said…
Did you notice any better flavor in the beef? I've given up on American meat, even the highly touted angus and Japanese specialty stuff seems to be bland.
February 12, 2023 at 8:57 AM
John said…
Almost all of the beef that we eat out has been marinaded, heavily seasoned or sauced. Same with pork and chicken but less so. It’s all been very good. I guess I did eat a hamburger that was grilled and lightly seasoned, but it was served medium well. There was no medium rare option, and I’m not sure I would have chosen medium rare because storage/sanitary conditions are different. It was good but not noticeably better than American burger.

Where I’ve noticed flavor differences are with fruit and vegetables. Much better flavor here. Julia cut up a pineapple that was probably the best I’ve ever had. Carrots, green onions, and sweet peppers are full of flavor.
February 12, 2023 at 9:49 AM
Post a Comment

Popular Posts