Coupons Gone Wild!

Bienvenido, loyal reader. Please join Bruce and Mary as they hit the Puerto Vallarta hospitality scene once more, only this time nice places, and on the cheap!

I am at the entrance to River Cafe on Isla Cuale. This is a fine dining establishment that normally is well out of our price range, but… we have a coupon!

I think you’ll agree, you wouldn’t ordinarily find a tacaño like me in a joint like this. And at this point I should explain what the heck I am talking about when I say we have a coupon. One Saturday, some time ago, we were enjoying the breakfast buffet at Gilmar when a friendly gringo named Dave showed us one of his Cupocity coupons. We did a little research and well… here we are!

My sangria (no my stripes haven’t changed, it’s part of the coupon offer) and Mary’s beer arrive…

Followed by bread and flavored butter.

My coupon special has arrived, scallops over risotto. Quite tasty but I must say, gourmet portioned.

Mary, cheap date that she is, opts for the Tomato Bisque soup for her meal. It is flavored with Italian spices and topped with an awesome basil pesto.

Martin has done a wonderful job serving us. I figure the full cost of the meal sans coupon and tip accordingly. I might be a tacaño but I do tip fairly.

Next up on our Cupocity tour is The Blue Shrimp located at the intersection of Calle Carranza and the beach.

Again you can see, this is not our normal chow-down venue.

For you wine lovers.

The Blue Shrimp has pretty cool beach-side seating but frankly, this late in the afternoon, it is a little too bright for these ojos viejos.

Mary was handed a coupon for a free salad bar when we walked in and we were a little surprised they let us combine that offering with our Cupocity coupon.

This is Mary’s Sopa de Tortilla and it is a pretty cool presentation. She was a bit taken aback when our server brought her a bowl with tortilla crisps and peppers and avocado arranged in the middle. He then quickly poured the soup on top, righting things in Mary’s world, and… it was delicious!

My coupon special has arrived. The fish and potatoes are excellent. But I wished they would have steamed the veggies a little longer as this assortment is still pretty raw, but warm!

Our server, Francisco, has been very friendly and attentive.

And the sun sets on us at The Blue Shrimp.

Next up is Mangrove Steak and Fun House, a new place just a couple blocks away on Calles Carranza and Constitucion.

The menu is posted right beside the entrance.

Mangrove has a very inviting open patio-style seating. Here is bar number one…

And bar number two.

Every table has a live goldfish centerpiece.

Mary and I are splitting the coupon special which starts with this salad. The vinegar and oil dressing is so tasty and doggone it, we forget to ask for the brand.

The Surf and Turf has arrived. These veggies are steamed to perfection, the fish fillet in shrimp sauce is outstanding! The steak is tasty but a little overcooked. We keep forgetting that to get medium rare, here in Mx, you have to order rojo, not medio rojo.

The lovely Marisol is our most excellent server.

Next on our list of gastronomic delights is La Caipirinha (say that three times fast), a Brazilian steakhouse. We’d taken a green bus to the intersection of Francisco Villa and Los Tules (Costco is on the left) and walked about 4 blocks to the right, finding this restaurant right where it should be.

Meat lovers, brace yourselves… an all you can eat steak buffet!

Mary has staked out a table in this airy dining room.

I gotta find a different focus setting on this Canon.

Again we are splitting a coupon meal that starts with this wonderful Caesar Salad topped by really good Parmesan cheese.

Our salsas are presented and then…

Our sides come, and yes that is potato salad.

The chef plates our 300g (about 11oz) Arrachera steak and…Voila, a wonderful meal for two. Luckily Mary isn’t feeling as vegan this day as others so she does sample the steak. Otherwise she is quite content to fill up on the sides. BTW: This is the second best Arrachera I have ever had, first place goes to Grill-Master Chuck and Joanne, you have set an awfully high standard.

Yes, I am pretty happy.

This time, friends, I do remember to order the steak rojo and it is perfectly done. Avert your vegan eyes, mijos Sam and Helen.

We never order dessert, but this is part of the coupon deal. Since I ate almost all the meat, it is only fair that Mary gets this. But I did sample it. Who knew deep fat fried banana could taste so good!

Server Oscar is very efficient and muy amable. This is a place we will come back to even w/o a coupon as all the steaks including sides are 110P  (except the 400g Ribeye) and splitting one of these meals is enough to make us both waddle. And … the beers are only 20P!

And last up is Lord Pub at the corner of Calles Morelos and Allende.

This is page one of the menu…

And page two.

And this is the imported beer menu. Of course they do offer many domestics as well.

Mary grabs a window seat. Those Margaritas are part of the coupon deal.

Lord Pub from our vantage.

All of the many posters in the joint have the same theme. Hey Phil, Di! Can you still get Rainier Beer?

This time, because the coupons were so cheap we each got one, for this Fish and Chips dish and the aforementioned Margaritas. The fish is quite good as are the fries.

Our affable server Edgar speaks flawless English. And Edgar, like all of the servers above, knew all the details of the Cupocity coupons presented and in every case we got exactly what the coupons offered. But we would like to point out that there are no exceptions, no exchanges allowed at all, which is very clearly stated in the conditions of every coupon. In fact,  they even state the date and hour of expiration.  Cupocity is based in PV and that is where most of the offers are, but they are trying to get going in other major Mx cities. However, at this point, those offers are quite limited. I would suggest to our Merida friends that you join (it’s free) and then send in requests for places you’d like to see approached about the program. And do keep in mind these coupons are not just for hospitality but for pretty much any service and product. Buen provecho!

Thanks for visiting, gentle reader. After redeeming a number of these Cupocity coupons, Bruce and Mary have discovered that for the most part they have not really saved money eating out, they have spent about the same, but… they have been eating in much nicer places where they’d never venture otherwise. In fact, in their dining experiences they have begun to feel… quite capital! Hasta proxima Domingo!