Rich, strong, fresh-brewed coffee is loved the world over – and Mazatlán’s no exception

I am a coffee snob.

There, I’ve said it. I’ve come to admit it, too – sometimes regretfully, sometimes thankfully, rarely proudly. What exactly do I mean? Well, I would rather go without than drink the likes of inferior beans made incorrectly and uncaringly into a weak morning pick-me-up beverage. I will accept a caffeine migraine rather than – shudder – imbibe coffee that’s been sitting for hours on a warm burner, reheated and reheated until the once-aromatic and luscious oils turn into a dark, bitter, harsh liquid not fit, in my opinion, for human consumption.

Rico’s celebrates a decade of java in Mazatlan

Mazatlán 10 years ago,was a very different town that the one we know today. When Marianne Biasotti arrived, as a new bride, there was no Plaza Machado or sense of an “Old Town,” not many other gringos (especially full-time) and – perhaps worst of all – no good coffee.

RossoNero Wine Bar takes Mazatlán to a new level of sophistication

We’d had a rather frenzied day of driving and shopping, looking (in vain, I might add) for something specific apparently not available in Mazatlán. Although we’d already had lunch, we pulled in to the strip of restaurants just over the first bridge in the marina; I remembered a reader telling me about a new wine bar here, and so we wandered over to see what we could find.

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore…

Me and pizza go way, way back.

In junior high, I can remember sneaking off campus to a nearby shopping center, where my 35 cents lunch money would buy a slice and a Coke at Louie’s Pizzeria. Even then, pizza – hot out of the oven, cheese dripping, fragrant sauce steaming, that crunchy crust – was irresistible comfort food.

Now, years later, it still is, and I, for one, am very glad that Pizza Moreno exists in my part of town.