Cesar Derdugo is the chef at Yoko's Uptown. What may be odd is that this is a Japanese restaurant owned and operated by Mexican-Americans. There are no Asian folks working here. The art of learning to make sushi can be picked up by any chef who either studies at a school or is personally taught by a Japanese chef while you happen to be working at the restaurant in some form of preparation or cooking.
Here at Yoko's a bit of Mexican flare can go into the creativity of the sushi as well as some of the appetizers and entrees. We had dinner of some sushi rolls and a seaweed salad.
A Mexican breakfast is not complete until you've had migas, scrambled eggs with tortilla chips and jalepeno peppers. Nancy Millar's favorite spot to eat them is at the Spanish Room. I, on the other hand opted for French toast with an apple cinnamon sauce.
Time to depart as I chose to be patted down again at the airport. Let them figure out if it's harmful after someone sues! Bye, bye McAllen.
The first of many outdoor experiences occurred at Quinta Mazatlan, an historic home and nature center. This historic adobe home. One room has bird paintings due to the site being one of the area's bird and butterfly watching experiences. We loved seeing the estate, halls and courtyard. Stories were told to us about the former owner before venturing outdoors to view the rest of the property.
We saw some birds and butterflies but not as much as if we would have come out there just the right time. It looked as if grapefruit shells were used as bird feeders.
Esther and Eunice spotted a couple of turtles and insisted on getting their picture taken with them.
Lunch was at an authentic Mexican restaurant called Koko's. We met owner Albert Suarez and did a tasting. Three salsas came out...green, the usual red, and another that had roasted jalepeno peppers. I asked how hot it was and Albert said that it wasn't too hot. Now, it wasn't Albert's fault in telling me that as I'm sure that anyone used to eating Mexican spices food would probably find it mild. I didn't and it burned my whole mouth. I ribbed Albert about it the rest of the meal.
In no order of what we had: flour tortilla quesadilla with white cheese; enchiladas, one of which was filled with chicken and topped with salsa verde with gaucamole and sour cream; sizzling fajita plate using Angus beef skirt steak; some empanandas; shrimp marinated in a garlic butter sauce; chicken flautas; chile with mole sauce; carne guisada - stewed beef; flan; sweet fried tortilla chips served with a caramel sauce; flan. The tortillas are hand made...not using a machine. Best Mexican food I've come across. I'm told that a mole sauce combines chili, peanuts, peanut butter and melting chocolate.
Arriving in McAllen we had pizza and fried stuffed olives at Mamma Mia's before checking into the Drury Suites. There were two rooms. One was the bedroom, of course, and the other room had the living area and full kitchen, although there wasn't much of an opportunity for me to use it considering the free hot breakfast buffet and manager's early evening nosh. Use of the internet was in the lobby area, free one hour long distance phone calls, and guest laundry...but not free. I liked that there was a separated area of lounging in case you wanted to meet with someone and the buffet area with tables and a large tv screen. Drury certainly isn't dreary.
Rather than the "breakfast food", I went to El Pato and indulged in a more Mexican style breakfast of a fresh torilla with scrambled eggs and salsa. What I didn't indulge in was the condiment buffet...too spicy hot for me. I got that the owner started by making the tortillas and then winding up opening a few of these quality fast food restaurants. I'd call it a more upscale version of Taco Bell.
McAllen Creative Incubator was next on the list. Greg Schuller took us on a quick tour of what was a former public school and now housing studio rooms for artists or whoever wishes to rent a space. There is a stage and open area for those wanting to perform or present there wares to the public. Unfortunately there were no artists present for me to interview.
It was off to shopping near Progreso close to the Mexican border. It would have been great if I wanted pottery, art and items for the outside of my home in one of the outlets. I did wind up getting bottles of vanilla extract. Competition from across the street offering free refreshments...only soda, though. That was okay because the focus was more on jewelry. Just a necklace needed. Then got a quick look at the Mexican border.
Lunch was at a BBQ fast food called Bad Bob's. It wasn't that the food was bad, but just couldn't compare the Uncle Dan's BBQ in Waco. Funny that Esther and Eunice thought the same.
Esther, Eunice and I went to the Waco Mammoth Site. Here is the full story and information about the site (taken from their website) "On a spring day in 1978, Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin embarked on a search for arrowheads and fossils near the Bosque River. To their surprise, the men stumbled upon a large bone eroding out of a ravine. Recognizing the unusual nature of the find, they removed the bone and took it to the Strecker Museum at Baylor University for examination.
The bone was identified as Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). Museum staff members quickly organized a team of volunteers and excavation began at the site.
Using hand tools such as brushes and bamboo scrapers, crews slowly excavated a lost world. Between 1978 and 1990, the fossil remains of 16 Columbian mammoths were discovered.
The excavation work was believed to be complete, so the remains were wrapped in plaster jackets and placed into storage. But the discoveries continued.
Between 1990 and 1997, six additional mammoths were excavated, including a large male (bull). Crews also uncovered the remains of a camel (Camelops hesternus) and the tooth of a juvenile saber-tooth cat (Smilodon fatalis), which was found next to an unidentified animal.
How the animals died is still a mystery. No evidence of human involvement was found, and most of the remains did not appear disturbed by predators or scavengers. One of the first hypotheses was that the animals perished in a catastrophic tragedy. However, recent geology research indicates the animals died in a series of events spread across many.
Approximately 68,000 years ago, rapidly rising waters from the Bosque River flooded the site. At least 19 mammoths from a nursery herd were trapped in a steep-sided channel and drowned. A camel may have also been trapped and killed during this event. Later floods buried the remains. A second event took place sometime later. During this event, an unidentified animal associated with a juvenile saber-tooth cat died and was buried. The third event involved a bull, a juvenile, and an adult female. Approximately 15,000 years after the nursery herd was trapped, these animals also appear to have been victims of rising water, unable to escape due to the slippery slopes of the surrounding channel.
The discovery of additional fossil material during the construction of the Dig Shelter will help further the research into when and how the Waco mammoths lived and died.
The Waco Mammoth Site sits in a 100-plus acre stretch of wooded parkland along the Bosque River. Covered in sprawling oak, mesquite and cedar trees, the sites offer an escape from the modern world and provides a glimpse into the lives of Columbian mammoths.
Though the first bones at site were discovered in 1978, the site remained closed to the public until the end of 2009. Baylor University staff, students and volunteers spent countless hours excavating the site during the past 30 years.
In 2006, plans were initiated to make the site a public park. With the support of the Waco Mammoth Foundation, this goal became a reality.
The Waco Mammoth Site now includes a breathtaking dig shelter that creates an atmosphere of an art gallery. Natural light floods into the shelter from all directions and a suspended walkway provides a stunning overhead view of the mammoths.
The site also features a scenic trailway complete with benches and rest areas where visitors can reflect on what life was like during the age of the mammoths.
As you enter the Waco Mammoth Site, you will see the Welcome Center that is located next to the parking lot. The Welcome Center includes a gift shop and a ticket counter."
Cool, hey? Glad I took photos.
Afterward we went to the Dr. Pepper Museum, which is all about the soft drink. The museum is in Waco but if you want the Dr. Pepper drink that uses sugar vs corn syrup, that location is in Dublin, Tx.
Outside the entrance are old trucks used to transport the soda. Aside from hearing about how the soft drink got started, how it's prepared and lots of things to see in the collection, I was able to create my own soft drink using seltzer and choosing three flavors. My favorite was one that I called "Tropical Chicken" consisting of mostly cherry, lime and lemon. Then there was one that I didn't name using banana, mango and pineapple.
They also have a cafe with a soda fountain as well as a gift shop. One interesting thing that we looked at were products using Dr. Pepper such as a syrup and BBQ sauce. Hmmm....Dr. Pepper syrup atop ice cream. Dr. Pepper cheesecake...endless thoughts.
We did have lunch that day at a Mexican restaurant called Ninfa's, located just across the way from the Waco Hilton. Esther and Eunice were a bit upset seeing that I ordered quail.
