Hopsaint Brewing UPDATE - Torrance

Second trip to Hopsaint, which is quickly becoming a watering hole for after work. They put the happy in happy hour with great beer and great food all under the same awesomely-architectured roof. The IPA we had that day was freshly tapped, and none of us have found anything better. EVER. No joke; every single person who was there that night still raves about it except we can't remember its name. 

But I didn't forget the food. I couldn't forget the food. There's a Tri Tip Sandwich, with meaty, juicy cuts, dripping with a deluge of gooey cheese, on an impressively crispy baguette lined with a deep, leafy kale. There's a smoked sweet onion jus for dipping; let that sandwich swim. 

There's a Pulled Pork Po Boy that really blows my southern mind. The shredded pork has a stand-out sauce, a sweet n' sour chipotle that takes a strong stance. Pickled radishes and fennel soften the sting and brighten the tangy notes of the barbecue.

I used to hate cole slaw, but everywhere I go, someone has whipped up a really great batch. Either I've changed or the cole slaw recipes have. Either way, the sweet cabbage-mayo is great on both plates.

If an IPA with no equal isn't enough to convince you to give Hopsaint a try, there's the food to up the ante. It's the Jenny to the Forest Gump of beer, and even if you don't drink, you'll find plenty of reasons to eat.

Surfas Cafe - Culver City

Outdoor dining, a sizeable private parking lot, and a store that can keep you occupied for days, attached to a cute cafe. 

Eat first. Don't shop on an empty stomach because this ain't your neighborhood Ralph's. It's Monopoly money inside that store, with affordable and reasonable prices...for very high-end wares.

Outside seating with a picturesque view...of the parking lot. Still, it's sheltered from street traffic and protected from the elements, and it's a great place to grab a bite. The Lobster Club Panini looks irresistible, pressed lines on a thick, square roll with a tolerable and surprisingly light tomato mayo on a layer of gently-bitter baby arugula. The fontina cheese has a gentle touch and doesn't assert itself too strongly through the packaged lobster meat. Would have liked more lobster, but that's just my love for lobster. The sandwich actually has a nice balance.

Oh my, the Surfas Lamb Burger is even better. Gamey patty of seasoned ground, an approachable chipotle ketchup, and a sweet challah bun. Hearty, comfort-combo all around, the kind of burger you'd have with a mimosa for brunch.

Several choices of baked goods in the case, and it's hard to pick just one. The Apple Tarte has a fabulously flaky crust, sweet apples with just the right sprinkling of sugar. Not too sweet with a light finish.

Onto the gorgeously-curated mini-mart, a magical kitchen-world where a modern, multi-cultural Beauty and the Beast would shop. Think Disneyland. Disneyland for home-cooks, chefs, aspiring chefs...and gluttons.

They sell everything a gourmet kitchen needs, from fine china plates to chopsticks. We get "imperfect" soup bowls and a sugar jar for next to nothing and stocked up on fine foods that feed the soul. The soup bowls must have been discarded by a tiger mom because we can't find any visible flaws.

Dinner becomes a charcuterie board after a small shopping spree, better than any restaurant yet at half the cost. A plate of a pungent French cheese contrasts a softer, sweeter Italian, and cured duck breast gets melty with its mouthwatering edge of fat. Jamon serrano is a classic, and it has a sweeter finish after an expensive jar of crisp cornichons. An accurate baguette is soft and chewy, and I'm shocked that a not-quite grocery store can make one so well.

From frozen slabs of foie gras to every kind of seasoned salt to sprinkle on top, with every kind of kitchen appliance with which to cook it, there is very little left to be desired when you take a full tour of the Surfas store. It's not cheap, but you get what you pay for. Just be prepared to want it ALL. In the words of Disney's Ariel, I want moooooore...

Charlie's - Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Hauling all our stuff to the bus is a pain, and we get there early because we're not taking any chances. The bus station is not so comfortable, so we sit for an hour at Charlie's for ceviche and beer. It's only fitting for our last Mexican meal.

The ceviche is bland, especially the rubbery shrimp. The sauce is on the side which makes the whole plate pointless. Not ideal, but it hardly matters – we are too in love with Tulum to care.

Tulum is our fourth major vacation this year. We have not caught a travel bug; we have caught a travel plague, a chronic disease that turns us into travelers of super-human stamina. We learn to instantly regenerate anything lost, from money to sleep to strength.

They say the sky's the limit, but it's not a limit anymore. The sky is the conduit to the world, a portal through which you pass, in a metal tube full of fuel, squeezed between people full of hot air, for the shortest and sweetest glimpse at a different world.

But when will enough be enough? The places left to see, the life left to live holds endless possibilities. I have spent my entire life exploring all that potential; moving from one itinerary to the next. But when do we stop trying to see the rest of the world and start retracing our steps? It's been so long since I've been so in love with a place, and I am in love with Tulum for all that it is and for all that it is not.

I want to return to Tulum, again and again, until I'm too old to move. To build up a rapport with a special town, to get to a point where it all becomes beautifully familiar is all too tempting, but the Australian outback beckons, and Spain calls strongly to this senora. Come what may, go where I may, Tulum will always be with me, and Tulum will always call me back.  

Hartwood – Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

“Reservation” is a relative term at Hartwood. They don't rush their diners, but unless you're in the first seating, the only thing you get when you show up on time is a guarantee that you will eventually get to sit down.

Order a drink while you wait. Tempers flare when you sit for an 8 PM reservation a little before 9, and you don't want to shop on a hangry stomach in the ritziest part of the Zona Hotelera.

Then again, the drinks are regrettable. We ordered a carafe of The Hartwood, which probably started out as only half a carafe. It tastes like a 50/50 of cocktail and melted ice, a watered-down pitcher of Jameson with a bare-there bit of ginger and the subtlest hint of lemon.

They don't use paper menus. Instead they just move one of several chalkboards and cross out the items that have sold out for the day. I don't usually photograph menus, but theirs is beautiful in the firelight.

One appetizer to share, an irresistable-sounding Ensalada de Langosto, and we just can't get enough. A tender lobster sweet-poached in a gentle white wine, under a thatched roof of green papaya. The tart orange and sweet watermelon add brighter notes, and the candied nuts dance with spicy Thai chilies.

Next course, Patilla de Pulpo. I’ve had plenty of meat melt in my mouth, but never octopus. The tentacles are flame-kissed yet impossibly tender, a smooth and substantial texture. The bed of potatoes is well-seasoned, and the pickled onions and mustard greens help to keep things light.

Starting light, and getting heavy. There is a simple side of roasted Platano, gooey banana in a coat of honey.

We escalate to the Costillas de Agave, pork ribs braised right off the bone. They cook the ribs for over 24 hours, brushing them with a thin, sweet mezzo-barbecue sauce. The agave finishes like a simple syrup, a coat of nectar that seals in all the moisture and fat. I love the sides of pickled peppers and cabbage slaw, but I would have given anything for a couple more golden rings of pineapple from the grill.

We are full, but salty/savory Ice Cream seems to be a rising trend, and moderation-be-damned, our curiosity can be sated by two simple scoops. The Cheese is salty and milky like cotillja, with crumbly grains that add a lot of texture. The Corn is like biting into a liquified ear of sun-ripened sweet white kernels, right off the cob.

I loved Hartwood before I ever set foot in it. It's hardly the only open-air restaurant in Tulum, but its emphasis on simple, minimalist cooking with few adornments and so little sauce is right up my alley. They make food in its purest form, and the flavors that shape the very soul of the meat don't get lost in all the spices or buried in all the sauce. I'm biased to the core, but there's no way I won't be back.

Nicte-Ha - Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Shivering and seething from Misterio Maya, we decide to finish what our wristbands started. Thank goodness we went because Nicte-Ha negates quite a bit of the other crap. A literal swimming hole, a green glimpse of paradise. It's a smaller version of Yodzkonot, but without the towering walls of rock so sunlight streams right in.

For whatever reason, the only photo we have a is far-away glimpse through the trees, but once you’ve seen a couple of cenotes, I imagine you’ve seen them all in a sense. There are no two exactly alike, and they're a common sight in the Yucatan, but I don't know if all these beautiful variations of paradise lost will ever stop taking my breath away.  

Misterio Maya – Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico

A travel lesson re-learned: You get what you pay for. The cenote tour that the info center sold us for $25 each seemed too cheap to be true.

To be fair, it wasn't a scam, but it wasn't our soundest decision. First of all, getting to Misterio Maya is an ordeal. Situated at the farthest reaches of the Dos Ojos Cenotes park, it requires at least 20 minutes of driving down a dusty dirt road, and that's from the park entrance. Never mind the time it takes to get to the park from Tulum. Luckily we hired a private taxi. Otherwise it is an impossible distance where no sane driver would go.

That said, Misterio Maya does have its merits. The deep, dark underwater cavern is full of mystery, and for an hour you feel like Indiana Jones. Unfortunately, it becomes a mysterious cavern full of misery if you tour it with our guide. He handed us snorkels and life jackets, dropped us off at the freezing cold pool at the mouth of the cave and told us to swim around for the next ten minutes. Ten minutes turned into half an hour of shivering and wondering when he would return.

Maybe I’m just paranoid, but you'd think he'd be a little more careful about pissing off the paying customers he's about to take into a dark, potentially dangerous cave... But wow, what a cave. A guide is a must – it’s dark in its watery depths, and self-navigation is probably not so simple. Not much to see when snorkeling, but the bats are cute, and the stalactites are majestic. Aerialist me appreciates that; everything beautiful hangs upside-down.

I'm sure there are better cenotes to explore, and there have been plenty of positives about Dos Ojos proper. Misterio Maya is great in that there's no crowd, but if you book with the tourist info center outside of the Tulum ruins, you will be in Misery-o Maya instead.

Restaurant Tunich – Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Crepes to beach chair, beach chair to boredom. We still have a couple hours to kill before we have cab it to the Dos Ojos cenotes, and we rack our brains for something to do.

Eating is always an option in Tulum, and drinking is always an excellent choice. Drowning, however is not so we go for the non-alcoholic libations instead. Tunich has Smoothies, and they're the best we've had this trip. They mix a lot of organic ingredients, and they've figured out so many combinations that work. One of these is coffee-based, but they manage to make it healthy by blending in chia seeds and a few other health-nut foods, except it doesn't taste intentionally healthy. It's dark, earthy, and eye-opening, a memorable wake-me-up boost. I like my smoothies sweet, and mine is less creative, but it's full of strawberry, mango, and several things tropical in a cohesive blend. It's worth mentioning that the texture is perfect.

They have mosquitoes, but their jungle seating area is too pretty to skip. It's calm and cool in the shade, and the Cheese Quesadilla really hits the spot. It's fuel for cenote snorkeling, and the guac is really creamy and well-balanced, also some of the best we've had this trip.

We only nibbled at Tunich, and I feel like we barely scratched the surface of what they're capable of. Tunich is so much like the spirit of Tulum; beauty in perfect simplicity. Well Tulum didn't stay a secret for long, and if the rest of the menu is as good as their smoothies, neither will Restaurant Tunich.