We didn't feel like venturing too far and decided to go back upstairs
to Piso 7. On our other visit I'd seen chamorro de cerdo en adobo on the
menu; the English subtitle said "garnished of pork with sauce," which
sense none at all makes, and Lilli's phone translation program came up
with something like "pig from Guam in chipotle," which was not much better. The waitress hadn't been able to clarify either and called the kitchen,
which also was vague. I tried "show me on my body where it is," which embarrassed her, and she wouldn't play along; I suspected that the cut was Schweinshaxe but wasn't sure. On the second visit the waiter was no better, speaking some conversational English but no culinary English or culinary Spanish either. Ee decided to chance it and ordered one split between us
(it was the most expensive thing on the food menu including various
steaks).
What we got was a two-pound pork shank in a well-balanced not very hot
ancho
sauce, served with rice, beans, and sweet plantain slices. It was as
expected and beyond, pretty much the best dish I've ever had in Latin
America, with the possible exception of a well-marbled rare steak in
Buenos Aires. Lilli enjoyed the very tender and flavorful pork but really liked the rice and beans, which elated me. I got all the plantains, which
were almost as sweet as regular bananas and served as a needed accent to
the pound plus of meat that I got. As a well-trimmed serving should, this offered enough but not too much gristle and enough but not too much fat in addition. Thinking on it, we probably got a kilo or more all told.

Oladia Merlot nv (Chile) was bright and fruity with unidentifiable
fruits - the label said cranberries and blackcurrants, but I didn't detect these. It was served chilled, which was okay to tame the fruitiness and because it was still close to 90 out.

For afters we had two offerings sourced from an esteemed local patisserie whose name I forget.

A chocolate mousse was surprisingly not very chocolaty though quite dark.
The texture was a little on the gelatinized side. I'd grade it a pass to
high pass; next time I'd give it a pass altogether.

A caramel cinnamon cheesecake was of fine, fluffy texture, bright flavor,
and not too sweet. Magna cum laude.

--
odds, ends

Yack. Lilli had booked an 0600 flight, and the hotel recommended that we
be at the airport by 4 and so ordered us a taxi at 0330, which got us
there well on time, so we had a chance to check out the VIP lounge. The
airport and Priority Pass lists both show it in altogether the wrong
place (there has been an airport expansion since the descriptions were written), but eventually we found it, the next problem being that Lilli couldn't find her admission card, and mine hasn't come in the mail yet. Eventually we got in and found a breakfast offering of cold cereal,
various breads, and hot foods, to wit: scrambled eggs, tortillas
ahogadas similar to those we'd encountered in town, and tortillas and
beans, which I had. The beans were very good. I found a drink I'd
never seen, Manzanita del Sol (bearberries of the sun), so I figured
I'd try it, seldom encountering kinnikinnick berries, much less a soda
made out of them. The stuff tasted like a green Jolly Rancher but less interesting; it turns out that it's so named because it contains a
whopping 1% apple juice (manzanita also meaning little apple). It's a
Pepsi product.

Lilli found finger sandwiches and took one bite out of one and left
the rest. I felt a pang of food-conservationness and reached for it,
but she warned me off.

Ten minutes before our plane was due to board I found a stash of beer
and knocked down a Negra before heading to the gate, which turned out
to be at a remote stand, and the VIP bus had already left. They opened
the front door of the peon bus and let us on, and a middle-aged 60ish
couple gave us oldsters their seats. A bunch of young people playing on
their phones didn't even look up, much less look ashamed.

--
A tray breakfast was served on the plane, sort of un poco de todos.

President mini Brie, a wedge the size of a La Vache Qui Rit, was
pre-derinded but still kind of moldy-tasting. It came with pretty
good water crackers and a small bunch each of red and green grapes,
which were fresh, plump, sweet, and ripe.

A quite good little cinnamon roll.

Yogurt, which I didn't try.

Granola and milk (a 200 mL UHT of 2%) - I ate most of the cereal.

A banana.

Next thing we knew, we were back in the States.
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