I just returned from the Christmas Market at the Ocean Sands Casino in Cabarete. It runs all day tomorrow and Sunday as well. They have converted the casino parking lot into a Christmas festival and market. Several local restaurants and bakeries have huge tents there.
There are tons of tables and places to sit and relax. There's a large stage for music, which they had all day, ranging from XMas tunes in English and Spanish, to some really good jazz, a few tents to buy Holiday gifts, including fresh fruits and nuts, and a big tilt-a-whirl type ride for kids...which is free, along with a large "chillout" (or maybe cool-off) tent just for small kids and their parents.
Some of the restaurants and other notable tents, and sample prices:
Ali's Surf Camp/restaurant (two huge pork chops for $150 pesos, Churasco with Salad $300 pesos)
Claro's Restaurant (wraps for $100 pesos)
Los Charcos (the Mexican Restaurant from Cofresi) (three homemade (even the tortillas) tacos $150 pesos)
Pomodoro (selling slices of their famous pizza and their equally famous gelato)
The German Butcher (not sure if it's Productos Bavaria or one of the others)
Dick's Bakery (a whole cherry coffee cake $125 pesos, brownies and other pastries 40 pesos)
A russian couple with AWESOME russian cakes and pastries, and an amazing russian version of ravioli...try those (only 80 pesos!) and I had a chocolate truffle kind of thing - $25 pesos and a slice of honey sour cream cake... $30 pesos...all awesome. Plus chilled shots of premium Russian Vodka $120 pesos
Unlike similar events Ive been to in the US where the local restaurants offer downgraded versions of their food for twice the price...everything I tried...and I tried A LOT! was EXCELLENT and really inexpensive...in most cases, less than if you ate in the restaurants themselves...
I was told tomorrow they will have 2 or 3 former Miss DR Universes there, including (could be a rumor) Amelia Vega...
There is a Magician with a full show in the club inside the Casino in the evening...
Anyway, Ive rambled enough...check it out if you're in the area...especially if you're hungry!
My only reason for pushing this event is I believe, as is usually the case around here, it was greatly UNDER promoted...I didn't even hear about it until yesterday...and I really hope it does well enough to do it again next year! Also, its one of those things that I often hear about afterwards and wished someone would have told me about it beforehand...
There are tons of tables and places to sit and relax. There's a large stage for music, which they had all day, ranging from XMas tunes in English and Spanish, to some really good jazz, a few tents to buy Holiday gifts, including fresh fruits and nuts, and a big tilt-a-whirl type ride for kids...which is free, along with a large "chillout" (or maybe cool-off) tent just for small kids and their parents.
Some of the restaurants and other notable tents, and sample prices:
Ali's Surf Camp/restaurant (two huge pork chops for $150 pesos, Churasco with Salad $300 pesos)
Claro's Restaurant (wraps for $100 pesos)
Los Charcos (the Mexican Restaurant from Cofresi) (three homemade (even the tortillas) tacos $150 pesos)
Pomodoro (selling slices of their famous pizza and their equally famous gelato)
The German Butcher (not sure if it's Productos Bavaria or one of the others)
Dick's Bakery (a whole cherry coffee cake $125 pesos, brownies and other pastries 40 pesos)
A russian couple with AWESOME russian cakes and pastries, and an amazing russian version of ravioli...try those (only 80 pesos!) and I had a chocolate truffle kind of thing - $25 pesos and a slice of honey sour cream cake... $30 pesos...all awesome. Plus chilled shots of premium Russian Vodka $120 pesos
Unlike similar events Ive been to in the US where the local restaurants offer downgraded versions of their food for twice the price...everything I tried...and I tried A LOT! was EXCELLENT and really inexpensive...in most cases, less than if you ate in the restaurants themselves...
I was told tomorrow they will have 2 or 3 former Miss DR Universes there, including (could be a rumor) Amelia Vega...
There is a Magician with a full show in the club inside the Casino in the evening...
Anyway, Ive rambled enough...check it out if you're in the area...especially if you're hungry!
My only reason for pushing this event is I believe, as is usually the case around here, it was greatly UNDER promoted...I didn't even hear about it until yesterday...and I really hope it does well enough to do it again next year! Also, its one of those things that I often hear about afterwards and wished someone would have told me about it beforehand...