We have the best friends.  No argument, no question of that. There are some we see fairly frequently and others we see only occasionally.  We’d not seen Jordi for several years though we keep in touch and when we do get together, we take over where we left off, wherever that might have been.

We share a joy in so many similar things.  I know what will float her boat (which is why we carried an enormous bag of Cadbury’s chocolate and Bassetts Liquorice Allsorts all afternoon) and she knows what hits the spot with me.

We had shared our planning of this year’s Road Trip with her, because we knew that she had a great deal of first hand experience of some of the places we’ll visit.  She made recommendations, spoke to her friends and gathered information for us which she shared in a long email conversation.

She also made us a little gem of a book with details of three cities inside.  Our own, hand made guidebook, tailor made for our trip and jam-packed with personal recommendations.

Each listing comes with a few special details, gathered from those who know about these things.

And the whole thing is an absolute joy to read!

She even left some pages “intentionally blank” for us to add a photo, perhaps, or our own observations.  I can hear my Mum saying “Ooooh, I don’t want to spoil it!”

No guidebook or online forum can possibly offer this kind of detail – what a treasure!

The thing is, our friends know us rather well.  When it came to choosing where to have dinner last night, Jordi suggested Cabana, a “nuevo latino” style restaurant she thought would suit us well.  She was right, too.  Not only did we enjoy the best Margaritas (!) the food was great too – not that we could manage it all.  The starter in the picture above – Baccalaitos (Crispy-golden salt codfish cakes, served with an avocado salsa) was enough for the three of us really and main courses were equally enormous.  But fresh, tasty and served with great spirit – loved it!

It was only when we returned to the hotel later and I was blogging that a little bell rang in my head.  Hadn’t we been here before?

My hero and I racked our brains to think…we didn’t think so and yet…I searched my blog for details but found none.

Then it came to me.  I spotted the three locations of Cabana: Midtown Manhattan, a couple of other NY listings I wouldn’t have been and Del Ray Beach in Florida…of course.  Our friends Jane and Allan took us to the Cabana in Del Ray Beach when we were with them and sure enough, the restaurant we recalled (and have frequently referred to because of the amazing cocktails and fabulous food) is one and the same Cabana.

Good grief.

Did I say we have great friends who know us well?

(See you in Charleston later, Mary!)