Introduction:

A former high school classmate and cherished old friend when reconnecting with Roger through Facebook quoted the old saying: "When God closes a door, he opens a window." The years have seen a number of life changes for us that make that adage ring true. After being blessed with good fortune, a wonderful son and great experiences, we decided to look out that window and prepare for more of what this wonderful life has to offer. We hope through our blog to share our journey from this point forward with family, with friends and with many others. Hopefully we'll make some new friends along the way. We hope you find our tales of some interest, even amusement and perhaps an inspiration for you to treat each and every day as an opportunity and an adventure to share with those who are an important part of your life.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Good fun, good wine and great pizza!

As with so many good things and places we've discovered in Cuenca, the source of the best pizza we've enjoyed here was tucked away in an unpretentious nook, with a small sign that was barely noticable. It was the kind of place you could easily walk past without seeing.

Truth be told, we hadn't gone there for the pizza! Fellow boomer and refugee from the 60's and 70's Bill Keyes had become one of our new found friends here in Cuenca. Bill is a long time bass guitarist and he performs with some regularity at the pizza parlor in question. We had gone there specifically to hear our friend "jam". The place in question was Mitti's Pizza (Hermano Miguel 4-37 y Calle Larga). It was easily found because Bill had told us it was directly across the street from Carolina Bookstore.

We arrived at our normal dinner time but slightly ahead of Bill's expected play time so we proceeded to examine the menu curiously labeled Marco's Pizza. It turns out the current proprietor is a native Argentinean from Buenos Aires named Marcos. He was a delightful host and his pizza turned out to be excellent, expecially when accompanied by a glass of Argentinean Cabernet.

A short note about pizza here in Cuenca: While there are many fine Italian establishments in Cuenca, there is a challenge in finding really, really good traditional pizza. Pizza buffs know the three keys to this kind of pizza is crust, cheese and sauce. Crust is not a problem but cheese, as a whole, in Ecuador is OK but not very classy unless you go for the more expensive imported stuff. As to sauce... well this is a country where most people prefer dipping their french fries in mayonesa rather than salsa de tomate(ketchup). As you might image, most pizza is served with a notable absence of tomato sauce. At Mitti's we were specifically asked about the inclusion of tomato sauce (we ordered the Hongos grande with the works on the sauce). Our verdict: yum, yum, yum! No pacquete a via for the Yazell's with this baby despite its grande size!

As to the music, owner Marcos joined in on the jam with our friend Bill. The music later included an accomplished guitarist/ singer from Australia whose friends were enjoying wine and pizza of their own at the front table. At the height of the jam, we were joined at our table by an Ecuadorian friend of ours who had stopped in for a glass of wine with a Canadian client in process of becoming an Expadorian.

So there we were, clientele from Ecuador, Australia, Canada and the U.S. listening to an American and an Argentinean rocking out to the Mexican "La Bamba". That was followed up by the entire room joining in vocally on a version of the Beetles "Get Back". All this took place in the historico centro of Cuenca Ecuador.

Some might call our evening out a very unique experience. For us it was a part of yet another wonderful and blessed day, juntos en el camino de la vida!

4 comments:

  1. Excellent post today. I really appreciate the tip on Mitti's Pizza. Does Bill follow a regular schedule of performance, and about what time does the jamming begin? Jim Mola

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  2. Hi is Paulo still at Marco's? He is an Argentinean and associate of Marcos.

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  3. Jim:
    I think Bill is generally there on Wednesdays...maymplay other nights as well. our session began about 7 to 7:30 but it may depend on traffic. Go a little early and get your order in formyour pizza. all the ingredients are fresh but it takes a little longer than most places....oh, and no front door so keep having a jacket or sweater in mind during chilly evenings.

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  4. El Gitano:
    Not sure about the status of Paulo. No mention nor presence there on the evening in question.

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