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My long-standing good friends, Ian and Mary, took me out for a surprise lunch on my birthday. We drove the coastal scenic route to La Herradura, and then up the rugged mountain road to the Mirador de Cerro Gordo – a restaurant perched in the cliffs 200 metres above sea level and in the middle of the protected natural park of Cerro Gordo. The views were breath-taking, and the air fresh with the scent of pine trees, natural flowers and herbs.

We sat at a comfortable table outdoors so we could look at the scenery whilst we ate. We each chose one of the Gourmet Sandwiches available on the lunch-time menu. These sandwiches are made with ciabatta bread and served with a cup of home-made thick chips and alioli. The sandwich filling of my choice was the home-marinated salmon with cucumber, crisp lettuce and black pepper. Mary chose the peeled prawns with cucumber and a Marie Rose dressing; Ian had the warm, griddled breast of chicken with salad and a mustard mayonnaise. The Gourmet Sandwiches cost 6 euros each which at first I thought was a bit pricey for a sandwich, but then concluded that it was worth the price after I realised how filling and delicious the sandwich was. The other lunch-time menu option was Mixed Tapas – which has to be ordered for a minimum of 2 people -  also served with ciabatta bread, and consisting of such delicacies as smoked duck, Serrano ham, gravalax, etc. Ian had just about enough room for a delicious dessert afterwards:  sticky toffee pudding with hot toffee sauce and toasted nuts.

A truly wonderful lunch set in a unique relaxing setting, with friendly service and gourmet food. As an added bonus, the restaurant comes complete with its own pet black squirrel, “Lady Lucille” who jumps outdoors from tree to tree, occasionally landing on the straw shades above diners!

The occasion was an experience I would most definitely like to repeat. If you plan to visit this restaurant in the evening I would recommend booking a table in advance. They also cater for celebration parties and weddings. More information is available on the restaurant’s website, including their menus and some tasty-sounding recipes.

For keen walkers there is a rugged path beside the restaurant which leads to the Cerro Gordo Tower; for naturists there is another path which takes you down to the Cantarrijan naturist beach.

Mirador de Cerro Gordo; Ctra vieja de Malaga
Tel: 958 349 099
Email: reservations@miradorcerrogordo.com
Website: http://www.miradorcerrogordo.com

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From inception, the Dinner4two concept for restaurants and diners has been a welcome innovation for  restaurants on the Cost del Sol.

In an interview, one of the co-directors stated that he was extremely pleased by the response and was looking forward to the more formal launch in early June.

Asked what the main advantages are for he scheme, he revealed that the diners are able to buy an excellent dinner for two, once every month, at participating restaurants that have been chosen for their excellence of food, service and ambiance.  At the present time the main tranche of restaurants is based  around Nerja, Torrox Costa and Velez Malaga.  Plans are in place to make a second launch in the Benalmadena area sometime in June.

New clients are delighted to have such a wide variety of restaurants to choose from and all within easy traveling distance.
Visit their new site with up-dated information by clicking here

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The new concept for diners – Dinner4two -  proves to be a great hit from the start and good restaurants are quick to realize the advantages to their clients and their businesses.  Their spokesman said: “He was impressed by the speed with which restaurants and their customers caught on to the bargain nature of the whole idea”.  When asked to explain the concept further he said that basically people could now pay a one-off fee of 100 Euros and eat once a month for six months at a cost of only 60 Euros which they obtained in exchange for a voucher. Each voucher being worth 60 Euros.  When asked how this was managed he replied that he did not wish to reveal business secrets, but most people could see the bargain nature of the deal and were keen to use the system as soon as possible.

When asked how the restaurants got paid he explained that restaurants needed to get paid quickly and that they were paid within three days of notification of the use of a voucher.

Plans are in hand to launch presentations in Benalmadena, Nerja, Torrox and Velez Malaga at the present time; other launches and presentations will be arranged for  later in the year.

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A new initiative for people who like to eat out, but cannot afford to eat out as much as they would like to, has been brought to the clients within the Axarquia area. This is likely to grow in popularity very quickly as the concept catches on; it has been introduced by Dinner4two.

Essentially, people will be able to buy dinner for two and eat out once a month for 60 Euros including wine.  Participating restaurants will provide a good menu for this price and the couple will just present a card to the restaurant.  The bill will be paid by the Dinner for two association.  The dining couple just pay the one-off fee of 100 Euros, and they have paid in advance for six meals out for two persons.

Although this is in its early stages, it is planned to have a string of restaurants of high standard along the coast from Benejarafe to La Heradura and from the coast up to Frigiliana, Vinuela, Periana etc.

Originally conceived as an idea to help pensioners who perhaps can’t afford to dine out as often as they would have wished, it was later decided to to open the scheme to everyone who likes to eat out with friends and make the whole scheme very affordable.

For more information  just click here

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Mexican Tortilla is quite different to the Spanish tortilla in that the former is a type of bread or pancake., where as the the Spanish tortilla is more of an omelet.

The tortilla Mexican style dates back over two thousand years and is served fried as toccatas.  It is enjoyed for its taste and its low fat content particularly in California where they are slowly becoming more conscientious about obesity.

Here is the recipe:-  4 cups of all-purpose flour, 1/8  teaspoon of baking powder, half a cup of shortening, 1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt and a cup of warm water.

Mix the dough with the shortening first and then gradually add the water with the dissolved sea salt.  It is possible that you will need some extra warm water but not too much.  After mixing by hand for about a minute or minute and a half you should leave the dough (covered) to stand for about twenty minutes.

After leaving the dough to stand, cut into about twelve even portions and roll into small balls of dough.  Dust a rolling pin and pastry board lightly with flour to prevent sticking.

Now roll the balls of dough into pancake like disks ready for cooking.

Once you have your disks of dough all prepared which you can stack separated by some non stick grease proof paper, you are ready to cook your Mexican Tortillas.

A cast iron frying pan is probably the best way but alternatively you could just grill your tortillas.  Turn them over every fifteen to twenty seconds until nicely browned and then stack on a clean towel to keep warm and clean.

You can serve them with a thin paste of butter, jam or even a meat filling.  Why not be experimental and try ir with a banana filling and some orange segments?  You never know, you might find a completely new combination that really excites your taste buds.

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