In comparing public transportation between the United States and Mexico, the third world-first world dichotomy is thrown on its ear.  For example, bus transportation in the U.S. is expensive and routes are ridiculously limited. Consequently, bus travel in the U.S. is time consuming and inconvenient.  Mexico’s buses, on long routes, make no stops.  Getting you there almost as fast as driving yourself. 

Mexico’s buses on long routes are luxuriously appointed with seats that allow you to lean back and comfortably sleep.  These luxury vehicles have toilets on board and en route movies.  The last bus trip I took from Autlan Jalisco to Guadalajara (4 hours), they served us soft drinks and you could hear the movie on bose like headphones.  Not those uncomfortable, in the ear, headphones.  The cost for this 150 mile trip was eighteen dollars.  Much cheaper than the gas I would consume in my automobile 

My most frequent bus trips are from my home in Ensenada, Baja California to the border crossing into San Diego County.  From my home to the bus terminal I can take a micro bus, ten to twenty passengers. The cost is less than a dollar.  And,  these micro buses come by every five minutes or so.  I have never waited more than ten minutes.  There are also “taxis de ruta”.  Cabs that pick up passengers traveling the same route and are also less than a dollar.   What an amazing concept.  Instead of passengers who don’t know each other sharing a cab-the cabbies do it for you.   I usually take a “radio cab” that picks me up at my home and delivers me to the bus station for $5.50.  The same cab ride (eight miles)  in the states would cost $15 – $20.00.

Greyhound buses are expensive and uncomfortable.  My Mexican bus ride to the border is in luxury: reclining seats, toilet and a movie during the two hour trip.  I could make it in one hour and a half hours in my automobile but would spend $60.00 for  gas and $15.00 in highway tolls.  My round trip bus ticket is $22.00, but with a senior discount card, the cost is $12.00.  Can’t beat it.  Often, I just go to Tijuana on business,  without crossing the border.  It is cheaper for me to take the bus and then cabs to whatever destinations  in Tijuana.  I don’t have to fight the traffic and have never spent more than ten dollars for a day of cab rides.  And, I avoid getting lost.  Something I’m proficient at.

If I continue my trip into downtown San Diego or the airport, I can walk across the border in half the  time it takes to cross in an automobile.  Actually, I cross without waiting in line when I show the credential I carry indicating I have bi lateral titanium hips.   Upon crossing the border, I board the very efficient San Diego trolley.  I can ride the trolley to the train station for $1.25 (senior fare) and the shuttle to the airport arrives every ten minutes.  On occasion I must travel to Los Angeles on business.  The Amtrak from San Diego and return is $55.00 for seniors.

The reasons for public transportation being so convenient and inexpensive in Mexico is because there are fewer restrictions on folks operating a micro bus or taxi, especially a “taxi de ruta”.   And, Permits, insurance, maintenance are much less expensive in Mexico when compared to the United States.   In Mexico public transportation is efficient, comfortable, convenient and inexpensive – First World.  In the U.S., public transportation is uncomfortable, expensive and inconvenient – Third World by my criteria.  So if you fear driving into Mexico.  Do what hip ex patriots do: take buses and taxis

Also, I want to put a plug in for Volaris Airlines with routes throughout Mexico.  If you book a couple months in advance you can get incredible deals.  My wife and I are flying to Puerta Vallarta and back to Tijuana for $80.00 each round trip.  Volaris has great service, free alcoholic beverages and friendly attendants.  Flights to most major Mexican cities from Tijuana and now the San Francisco bay area and Chicago.

For six months, Mexicomatters’ newsletter has been dormant.  Devoting my time to finishing my book – “The U.S. and Mexico Joined At The Groin” that will be available December 2011 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kindle.  Also, I have been devoting a lot of time to our tequila distillery in  Autlan, Jalisco, birthplace of Carlos Santana.  Yes, that is correct, your homeboy, LeRoy Jose Amate is now in the tequila business.  Casta Negra is the brand and it will be available November 10, 2011.  The following article is about one of our clients in Las Vegas – the Fleur Restaurant.  Dinner at Fleur was an extraordinary dining experience.  And, since most of my readers travel to Vegas as well as Mexico, I wanted to share this wonderful adventure in eating – provecho.  Don’t forget to order Casta Negra Tequila.

                              Dining does not get any better or surprising!

As a teenage entrepreneur, growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I was lucky enough to earn what my father earned while I was still in high school.  This afforded me my favorite hobby at an early age.  Eating in great restaurants.  My high school sweetheart shared my passion for eating “high cuisine”.  Her Italian family were pioneers in San Francisco’s best respected North Beach eateries.  My family immigrated from Spain.  Food and wine were celebrated every day.  Saffron was mailed to us in kilos from my aunt in Spain. How else can a Spaniard truly enjoy his rice?

Both my grandfathers were wine makers and everything we ate or drank was grown in our garden and orchard or produced from our livestock:  Milk and cheese from our goats. Meat from our rabbits, and chickens.  And,  what we did not raise we killed: pigs, venison, squab, duck and pheasant. Great food for me and my girl were a must.  Cultural heritage,  unknown to our Anglo friends . 

While our friends ate hamburgers at the local drive in, we were dining on French, Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern  and Creole inspired cuisine in San Francisco’s best restaurants. We sought flavors that were distinct  from the  Italian and Spanish foods we were privileged to enjoy at home. 

The most notable cuisine was from our favorite San Francisco restaurant in the 1950’s – Fleur de Lys.  This restaurant is a San Francisco landmark.  Still earning rave reviews as a result of Hubert Keller taking the helm of the “Frisco” institution in 1986.  Fleur de Lys has been ranked as one of the top 40 restaurants in the United States by Gayot restaurant guide, and was awarded a Michelin star in 2006. Fleur de Lys has also been ranked as one of the top 25 restaurants in the United States by Food & Wine magazine.

Keller,  who was born in Alsace, France and graduated from the Ecole Hoteliere in Strasbourg, has worked in restaurants around the world .  His knowledge of other cuisines, aside from French, inspired his latest,  highly acclaimed restaurant – Fleur, in the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas.  Small portions (tapas) are the rule at fleur.  Keller adds his own incredibly creative talent to classic dishes from Spain, Northern Africa, France, Brazil, Italy and Asia.  Unique “out of the box” creations that surprise even the most sophisticated of gourmets.

I was recently treated to an incredible feast at fleur, thanks to General Manager Dave Oseas,  who delighted and surprised us with wonderful menu items.  Two of my favorite ingredients from France – foie gras and shaved truffles assured me I was in for a reborn Fleur de Lys quality supper.  One of the dishes, my companions and I particularly enjoyed,  were the pork ribs glazed with maple syrup.  A high tech kitchen method literally shoots smoke into the ribs and the smoky flavor is captured and released from a custom made serving dish at tableside.  Ribs have never been prepared or presented better. Smoky, juicy and so damn flavorful, my mouth waters thinking about them

If oysters are on the menu – I cannot resist.   Never have I enjoyed, or been as surprised,  by an oyster dish.  Kushi oysters are prepared in a Margarita and orange sorbet sauce,  prepared at the table with liquid nitrogen. Other surprises included the American classic of macaroni and cheese.  But,  not your mommas mac & cheese.  She probably did not add lobster bisque with brunoise vegetable.  An  Argentine classic skirt steak called chimi chui is good enough to cause a Gaucho to move from the pampas to Las Vegas.

For desert I recommend some of the following:  crème brulée trio, cantaloupe martini,

cheesecake lollipops,   or the  chateau soufflé.

The  circular bar, at the entrance to the restaurant, creates  an informal and friendly ambiance that stimulates conversation.   Especially,  since the restaurant stocks the largest selection of absinthe in the Western United States.  Also, frozen cocktails with liquid nitrogen makes the spontaneous bar parties inevitable.  For privacy, cabaña tables surround the main dining room.  Intimate dining for lovers makes the Vegas’,  “what happens-stays in Vegas” a prophecy fulfilled.

“Knock yourself out at fleur”.   A true dining adventure.  A claim made by many restaurants. However, at fleur  it is an incredible understatement.  A gastronomical bargain at $50-65.00 per person.

Call for reservations: Lunch-11am to 3pm

Dinner 5pm to 11pm

Phone 702 632 9400