Playa de Loro, The Finest Dining on The Island !
Read More
NOT pretty!...............This is right after we started to build in the kitchen area. That back wall is the main cook line. The kitchen hood will go above that stainless (replaced with new stainless)
Back door, office on the right
Dining area, gutted out. ready to start building
We thought arches would add a bit of flavor to the architecture.
A second arch between the kitchen and secondary serving area. Wall marking for electrician to install wall plugs with types
Ladies room new tile but mirror and counter sink not installed yet. How about that yellow mosaic trim?!?!
Men's room, complete except for the stainless privacy screen/wall. I still use that wicker basket in my kitchen.
Or course, new air conditioning system was necessary.
The service counter I designed to specifically fit our space and use requirements, and fabricated in Garland, Texas by some Vietnamese guys. The total length was limited by the size of my cargo trailer....PERFECT !
Back side of service counter. Circular hole is for a huge stainless bowl that our "fried-in-house red, white, and blue" chips will be served in.
Custom made sneeze guards, lighting installed around the base, Stainless beer/soda water case mounted on front. Home Depot sheet metal on back wall ($27), chrome shelf hangers with glass shelves for glasses. Adjustable heat lamp over chip bowl. The concrete floor is finished with kerosene melted roofing tar, mopped on, dried,then completed with clear epoxy... BEAUTIFUL!!
Handmade salsas (every morning). We served ONLY Texas wines, and had only one "flavor" of Margaritas - REAL Key Lime juice shipped direct from Florida, Jose Cuervo Gold, Triple Sec, sugar....BEST in the world!. Have you ever seen that before?.....Most of the serving dishes and bowls came from Ross Dress for Less. Had to go to nearly all the stores around Dallas and Houston to find all that we needed.
The base crew, Thomas Ramirez, his wife and son, and I don't remember the name of the lady at the cook top for some reason...but she was a friend of Thomas's wife...
FAJIIIITAS ! Thomas would first precook the skirt steak and chicken on the Mesquite wood burning charbroiler, then when an order came in, he'd finish them off (with red, green, and yellow bell peppers and onions) on the flat top grille.
In the background is Johnny (he had a temper), Thomas, and the guy in the red shirt was an "illegal" from South America (eventually had to fire him when he came to work as drunk as a hoot-owl), and of course a staff can't be complete without an artistic gay guy that made beautiful desserts !
Pirate's Bowl: Fajita Chicken breast, charro beans, black beans, white rice, fresh charbroiled corn, Cotija cheese, and red fresh cooked chips
Crispy Tilapia Tacos... DAAANG .......DEEELISH ! With a kicking cabbage mix that Thomas invented ! How about that table ?!?!?!
Array of our most popular.. Thick (handmade in-house) Tortilla Fajita Tacos, black beans and wood burner charbroiled corn (that the wait staff would cut off at the table if the customer wanted it) on the cob, Pirates Bowl, Tilapia Tacos, Thomas' banana leaf tamales, and Shrimp shis kabob !!! And of course Playa Margarita (our own recipe - Jose Cuervo Gold, FRESH Key Lime juice, and Triple Sec) and we only had ONE style - no variations)
Full combo Fajitas !... Beef, shrimp, and chicken with three color bell peppers on a sizzzzzling platter....mmmmmmm
One of the salsa recipes in the making. Every morning !
Dessert ! Is that pretty or WHAT ?
One our first vendors for FRESH made tortilla's out of Houston (Roofing nail in the middle of the pack).. changed vendors. Sitting on one of my punch list emails during construction.
OPENING DAY ! ! That's me on the top rung of the ladder.... that's barely catching the edge of the overhang..ahaha
I know, it's a "rainbow" ....Jen and I designed it ourselves..... but it never occurred to me what that may have indicated to some folks....Had the sign custom made.. kinda cute.. custom made outside tables with our logo sand blasted on the tops..
Sand blasted logos in the custom made tables !
Just one of the great reviews !... Too bad that in the winter time, NOBODY is out on the West End of the Island, and those that are there are retirees who go fishing all the time then give their excess catch to their neighbors.
Zoom in or you are welcome to download and print these two pages....We worked very hard to come up with unique dishes (some ideas were "borrowed" from some very upbeat restaurants in Houston and Dallas), and Thomas contributed some HUGE ideas and dishes ! Please take the time to read through the menu. You will be DROOOOLING by the time you get up from your computer!.. ahahah
Health Department report. They were nearly ALL like this.. no lie..NOTE the COMMENTS section-- and the "total demerits" column..ZERO ..... and not only that, we made it a practice to invite diners to tour the kitchen !... SPOTLESS !
