Havana May 2019 – Hole In The Wall – Bistro La Fourchette

10 Jun

This is a recently opened small Bistro located on the corner of 1st Ave and 24th St. in Miramar. It is run by Enrique Suarez, the chef and owner at Tocamadera, a superb small Paladar also located in Miramar. That alone guarantees fresh, organic natural market cuisine. The concept as he explained it is that Read more…

Cuba May 2019 – Visiting the Farms Or Back To The Roots

9 Jun

The cover picture of this report means a lot to me. It is from February 2010 and we had just arrived at Pancho Cuba’s tobacco farm an hour after a torrential rainstorm and strong wind gusts had destroyed most of the Tapado or covered wrapper harvest crop. The guajiros were desperate, the harvest was basically Read more…

Havana May 2019 – Less Of The Same

8 Jun

I had promised myself not to fly to Havana in the summer again ( which has not started yet ) and it was as predicted : hot, humid and rainy. But I was to meet my good buddies Charlie and Jody so it was worth the pain. Pain which was reduced tremendously by flying up Read more…

Shanghai, Pharmacy, Portmann – Mr Plastic’s Road Trip

19 Apr

Let’s clarify first – of course it wasn’t a road trip from Shanghai to Frankfurt, Web used the classic Lufthansa B-747-400 for that … and why is Web called Mr Plastic – well, being a big city boy he is used to whip out his credit card ( or mobile phone ) to pay for Read more…

Havana  March 2019  – 2 Weeks And Half A Mosquito – By John Bongo

31 Mar

Having had 2 very busy trips to Cuba previously, this time we decided to see if it was possible to have a totally chilled, relaxing time in Havana for a change. The fantastic Casa we were staying in was the perfect haven in which to put our feet up and enjoy the Cuban sunshine. With Read more…

Havana March 2019 – Hole In The Wall – Paladar Destino, Miramar

30 Mar

I commonly name the Havana Paladar/Restaurant section of my Blog “Hole In The Wall” as that is what most, if not all of the places I find to have good to excellent food there are. Delightfully small, hidden, privately run places out of the tourist circus. This last trip in March I found a decidedly Read more…

Simon Chase – A Tribute.

29 Mar

I am just back home from Havana where I learned that Simon Chase had passed away. The news devastated and saddened the cigar community there as it has saddened the cigar world. Many cigars have been smoked in his honour and so did we smoke cigars in Havana remembering this great friend, mentor and gentleman. Read more…