La Chuparrosa by day...

This is the restaurant where I went to hear Diana’s band sing last weekend. It was a cool place by night, but I had heard that the atmosphere was totally different by day. Sandra had called me while I was at Marisela’s party to tell me she would pick us up at 9 am to go to the restaurant. We did not exactly bounce out of bed, but we were ready with smiles when she pulled in. Mabel was miraculously still asleep (she is an early bird, so even on Saturdays, she’s usually up by 8).
Sandra got us there safely and said that her daughter Cristal would be joining us at some point. She had a meeting at 9, but would meet up with us when she could. Her husband was at his mother’s house meeting with a realtor to help her get her home ready for sale. He would not be joining us.
There was o place to park, so Sandra dropped us at the door and drove around. We were waiting in the “lobby” when a man asked me how many. I told him four, but that we were still waiting on one. He promptly asked me where I was from (I’m blaming his knowing so quickly that I was a foreigner on the fact that Ashley was here and I was speaking a lot of English coupled with the fact that it was MORNING.). I told him and he smiled. He asked me my name. “Laura from Tennessee,” he says. I don’t remember many more details, but I’m sure he asked why I was there, etc. Sandra showed up quickly and went over the menu with us, offering the buffet as well. The buffet looked great. As we were scoping out the options, the man from the lobby (the owner, Jorge) comes over and tells the cook to make me anything I ask for. I’m Laura from Tennessee and I can eat whatever I want. At least three more times he came back to our table to check on us. I must admit, even aside from an overly interested (he was 60s) and helpful owner, the customer service was likened to none other I’ve seen so far in Mexico. It was great!
We chowed down on all we could. My favorite was the gordita. I can’t do it justice, so I just won’t even try.
Jorge made sure our glasses were always full and our food was up to standard. I’m not one for a big breakfast, but that is typical in Mexico, and this typical big breakfast was nothing short of delicioso!
While munching, Ashley and I noticed that the waiters had on really cute pink polo shirts with a hummingbird on the front and the name of the restaurant on the back. We commented that we liked them and Sandra waved Jorge on over. She told him that Ashley liked the shirts and they asked what size. That’s right; Jorge gave us a shirt! I figure I’ll go back and actually buy one before I leave since the deal right now is that we share it.
After Sandra paid the bill (I knew she would since she had invited us, but I offered to pay our part anyway), we walked around the grounds to see what there was to see. There were iguanas and hammocks. There were also some small children painting pottery while their parents ate. Later we realized that the woman teaching the children was Jorge’s daughter in law. His son was also managing the restaurant. It was a really neat experience.
We made sure to get a picture with Jorge, and he made sure Ashley wore the shirt!
Bellies full and hearts content, we made our way to the minivan to head home. Sandra offered to take us site-seeing around Culiacán, but we already had plans to leave for Altata to eat seafood around noon. She dropped us off and again Ashley and I discussed how great and thoughtful she was.