Sometimes when traveling — or really, in life — you just have to go with the flow. Plans for my last day in El Salvador that included beach time and bar hopping to fun spots until the wee hours took a rapid change. The morning brought a minor earthquake that I didn’t notice as I was in the shower, then, what seemed to be a wee bit of a tsunami/the advent of El Salvador’s rainy season.
I was staying my final night in El Salvador at Mirasurf Hotel & Waves on El Tunco Beach with a checkout time of 2 am to make my early international flight. I was happy to be hosted to experience it!
The hotel has a restaurant and a tiki type bar. Though things could’ve gone in either direction, it was a time to keep things simple, eat early and get a couple of hours of sleep.
Here’s the walkway to the restaurant.
Apparently, El Tunco Beach is world famous for surfing and indeed, I did see a couple of people head out in the storm. I stared in shock.
With the surfer crowd, it was easy to see that they keep the menu simple, tailored and on the healthier side. Indeed, they have a whole selection of fresh fruits and a different section devoted to detox fruit and veggie smoothies.
So, I started with an iced latte. I know, I know! It doesn’t make sense under the circumstances or time of day. But sometimes, I actually sleep better drinking some coffee with dinner . . . something about the acids and digestion. Also, Johns Hopkins once had a study that caffeine helps painkillers work so much better. The drop in barometric pressure and the anticipation of the long journey got to me. Mirasurf floats a few coffee beans on top and yeah, it did hit the spot.
The detox drinks had a bunch of varieties. With these things, you’re supposed to lean more on veggies than fruits, sugar-wise. There was one I’d have under other circumstances with carrots and fruit. I’m sure it’d be great for the complexion. But rule of thumb: red and orange foods, even veggies, are packed with sugar. I was good with Super Greens: spinach, lemon, ginger, avocado, peppermint, green apple. You can see the localvore in there and I loved the idea of peppermint. That’s good chlorophyll and breath freshening! Mint grows like a weed back home, so it’s easy and cheap to incorporate it in smoothies. It was tasty. It wasn’t like a popsicle or otherwise dessert-y, but replenishing.
Bread service was house-made sourdough toast.
While that would be a good breakfast or lunch, I normally want dinner. Portobello Chuck was 6 oz. of tenderloin, baby carrots, mashed potatoes flavored with avocado and merlot reduction. The steak was perfectly done to my liking. The sauce was a light consistency, not goopy. There was fresh rosemary scenting the dish.
To finish things off, I had to have a little taste of the Nutella French: their own artisanal chocolate bread topped with fresh fruits and a kiss of Nutella.
Luxe & Down-Home Cuisine/Culture/Travel/Style 