Vallarta Lifestyles

Best Place to Mingle and Support a Worthy Cause: Banana Cantina: Everybody has to eat, right? So why not do it where there’s a party going on with local celebrities? And your presence makes a difference because it’s in aid of worthy charities. Setting an altruistic tone we hope is contagious, this community-minded restaurant is the place to be Wednesday nights during high season, when guest hosts spice the night with fun and patrons enjoy award-winning Mexican food.

Best Baguette: Comercial Mexicana: Just above the bin of bolillos at Comercial Mexicana lie the baguettes, fragrant bayonets of bread with crispy crusts. At just $8 pesos each, this bread goes fast — especially on weekends because only 56 are baked each day in each of the two stores in Puerto Vallarta.

Best Place to Develop a Green Thumb: Botanical Gardens: Historically, a garden was not only an escape from the enclosed interiors of impersonal construction, but also a way of creating an Eden by including Mother Nature in the embracing environment. Bob Price of the Vallarta Botanical Gardens focuses on “bringing native Mexican plants into safe contact with us so we can see them face to face.”

Worst of Puerto Vallarta: Molino de Agua And The Loss Of A City “Dress Code”: To quote Johnny Mercer’s lyrics, we’ve always been inclined to “accentuate the positive.” However, the following instance touched our souls so deeply that we simply could not remain silent.

Stepping Out Spring-Summer 2007: From the pages of Vallarta Lifestyles Magazine. (Slide Show)

Music: Movers and Shakers: We cannot possibly do justice to the increasingly vast and varied live music scene here in Puerto Vallarta in a single installment. Like waves on the sand, every year seems to come and go, leaving behind new and memorable performances by talented performers from all walks of life.

Head to the Mountains!: If you are new to Banderas Bay or on a short-term vacation, chances are that you will want to remain fairly close to your home or hotel, as you will find a plethora of things to do in Puerto Vallarta and its immediate surroundings.

Tequila Lingo: Most folks know that tequila is as emblematic to Mexico as vodka is to Russia. Made from the blue agave plant, not only is tequila exclusively manufactured in Mexico, but its production is also limited to a specific region of the country, mostly in Jalisco, where its origin can be traced to the town of the same name.

Birds of the Bay: These are two of more than 300 different bird species that can be spotted locally. Search for them on your own or visit www.birdinginmexico.com to learn about professionally guided birding tours.

Mazunte, Empowering Villagers to Protect the Planet: What happens when you provide turtle hunters with an alternative, more profitable modus vivendi, one they can pursue without further endangering a protected species?

Tortilla Soup: The tortilla has been a staple in Mexico since, as the Mayan legend goes, a peasant made the first dozen as a gift for his king in 10,000 BC. And ever since the 16th century, when the Spaniards came to Mexico bringing their tradition of soup, as well as the chickens and spices from which to make flavorful stock, there has been wonderful tortilla soup.

Hot Spot: Pulpito Street: A funky South Side block with a bohemian feel stretching, for the sake of argument, from landmark beachfront restaurants El Dorado and La Palapa to happening Olas Altas and Picnic restaurant 21 stairs above it, this place to see and be seen offers a bit of everything.

Patrick Denoun: An Endless Stream of Artistic Energy: For more than 20 years Vallarta was fortunate to have Patrick Denoun as a resident artist. Originally from France but more a citizen of the world, Patrick provided us with art that was continually evolving and fascinating, for Patrick was not one to be complacent and just paint what he knew would sell.

Elote: Widely cultivated around the world today, this grain was originally domesticated more than 9,000 years ago in central Mexico and to this day remains one of our country’s staple foods.