BLB's Adventures in Santo Domingo Sept.2010-Dec.2010

[BigLongBeach]

I want to thank everyone on the site for the help. It has been a great source for information. This site not only has info on the mongering game but there is also a ton of great travel, food, and adventure advice.

That being said. I have made 7 trips to D.R. this year. 2 to Sosua, and 5 to Santo Domingo. During the 5 Santo Domingo trips I have taken side trips to Juan Dolio, La Vega/Cutupu, Bayahibe/La Romana, Bani, Las Salinas, and Ocoa. This report will cover my last 3 trips to La Capital, and the side trips to Bani, Las Salinas, Bayahibe/La Romana, and Ocoa.

http://news.insearchofchicas.org/for...d.php?t=293475

http://news.insearchofchicas.org/for...d.php?t=280574

Even though my wingmen were around, i ended up alone or with a novia during the trips while my wingmen met there LTR novia's in Bani, or La Vega. Believe it or not it is working for one. There are lots of threads here discussing the subject so please dont hijack this thread with sucker, and golden ticket talk. I trust his judgement, and I know her situation so I am just crossing my fingers for them. We all know it takes a special person in a special situation to make any relationship work and luckily for him it is working.

I still made time to observe the p4p scene in every spot i went to which i will review. I will also talk about the food, the hotels, beaches, and the general Dominican Vibe.

I hope you all enjoy, i will post the pics 1st, and add some commentary as it comes......

[Tiger]

Looking forward to your report......

[BigLongBeach]

Food....

La Marmita
http://www.restaurantes.com.do/resta...-santo-domingo
Chicken Cordon Bleu w/Tostones


Fresh Bread w/Tomato chutney


La Lasagna

Linguini noodles, in a house sauce(mostly tasted capers)


Noodles in a red sauce with tocino


Sapori De Italia



Cheese Stuffed Ravioli


Cherry and dulce de leche Cheesecake


Fresh Mozzarella


La Parrila
Their special cut steak


combo plate





Flan and dulce de Coco al horno



Red Grill






La Bandeja Paisa






Don Nacho





Villar Hermanos

[BigLongBeach]

Wao, Image shack is slow. This is my 1st time using image shack for board posting purposes. While i upload my around SD pics i will talk about the food....

[vewdew]

Nice variety of food there

[vewdew]

thanks for sharing, lets see what the rest of the TR will bring us.

[BigLongBeach]

In the capital the 2 best meals I have had at a restaurant were at la Parrilla, and at la Marmita. These are some of my recomendations

La Parrilla is a steakhouse on the malecon, you cant miss it, it will be on the right hand side if you are driving away from the jaragua. You can have a good steak dinner for 2 for under $60, with 4 appetizers, and drinks. I have been there twice, both times i got their special "Argentinian" cut steak. I order it rare which in DR means uncooked. The key is to have them cook it but ask them to let is rest for about 5-10mins on the Parrilla to the side so the insides finish cooking. My date ordered the combo 1 night, and another night she ordered the Kobi Burger. The Kobi burger was pretty good, she ordered it medium so she couldnt get the full taste but like i said above i am not sure how skilled the cooks are to get a proper rare or medium rare burger cooked.

La Marmita was very cool. it is on independencia but not in the tourist area of Gazcue. It is closer to Alfimar. I believe they are supposed to be argentenian, and dominican fusion. Everything tasted fresh which was perfect because the day before i had bad gandules in Bayahibe that ruined my night. There is also a camera in the kitchen streaming into a large LCD in the dining room. I can only imagine the crazyness that goes on during peak hours.

The other really good meals i have had in la Capital are at Italian places. Women in DR love spaghetti, maybe its because its basic to make, and you can make really good fresh sauces with all the local produce.

La Lasagne was great. The food was really fresh, and the staff was well educated on the menu, and types of sauces availlable. They will also create something custom to your liking. It is located near the lope de vega.

Sapori di Italia was alright. I ordered the stuffed ravioli, but it tasted frozen and not fresh. My date ordered a noodle dish with tocina which was incredible. I say it was only ok because of the disappointing ravioli. When it comes to italian in DR i will stick to noodles and great sauces. This place is located in Plaza Roman on Max Henriquez

A couple of other places that were good were la bandeja Paisa on abraham lincoln. It has a pretty decent colombian menu but its defintely no roosevelt ave or northern blvd. colombian food. Adrian tropic on the malecon is always good as a default place. Dinner for 2 was about $40 with drinks and 3 appetizers. Red grill is also decent, but its kind of expensive for DR, and nothing on the lunch menu made me want to go back.

[BigLongBeach]

Those where some of the places i liked. These are some of the places i will not be returning to.

Chef Pepper is boring, and the steaks are boring. I wouldnt go. Prices are high for DR. it is a chain restaurant a la outback steakhouse but the menu was basic and boring. The buffalo chicken apetizer was bad.

Don Nacho was pretty much garbage on a plate. The sauces looked old, the vegetables didnt taste fresh, the chicken was out of a can. I think that is enough.... The only reason to ever to back is Dominican women love margaritas. Lots of professional women go there for liquid lunches and happy hour.

[BigLongBeach]

Villar Hermanos is my go to spot for breakfast, or mid-day snack. When the novia, and I start out lunch with a rapidito we go here for lunch before she has to go back to the office. They have a wide selection of dominican food, and some familiar club and specialty sandwiches. There is also a bakery in there so you can catch a snack on the go.

Note that I only have a few places mentioned because normally the novia cooks, or her family cooks. When it comes to food dominicans dont play around. They might have to add more water and vivre(yuca, platanos, etc.) to the sancocho but they will make sure you are well fed. When my friend went over to his novia, her aunt would show up minutes later, and make a moro, chicken, and beans. He said he always got his meal first, and got the big piece of chicken.

Food at the resort in Bayahibe was basic. Nothing was really great. I did get sick off the gandules before i left. The drinks are also pretty lame. I will talk about that resort later on.

if you go on vacation and you do not try the local food then you are doing yourself a disservice. Whenever you eat out you are going to find duds, but sometimes you find some great places, and good times.

[BigLongBeach]

Gotta thank the people who put up report after report. It is a long and difficult process. I have a ton of pics around SD, but to keep people interested i will post a pic of some TakeOut i got from 305 1 night...

[BigLongBeach]

The beach in Guayacanes, about 15-25mins east of Santo Domingo

[BigLongBeach]

Guyacanes is a small fishing town to the east of Santo Domingo. It is really easy to get to. FYI, after you pass the airport on autopista 3 it always rains.

It is a small beach. You can drive right up to the beach. If you cant find parking you there is a lot that you can park in for 50pesos. 100p is the gringo price. We had 2 cars i told him both for 50 or else i will just park on the street. There are a couple of restaurants there but plenty of people cooking on the beach. I think i paid another 100pesos for the chairs and tables.

There crowd there is mostly dominican families and locals. I went with my novias brothers and their dates. My wingman took a break from his novia in Bani, and hung out with us. Overall a good little spot to lay low, have some whiskey, get sun, and relax.

I saw no signs of P4p by the beach. The women in the guyacanes, and juan dolio area are darker. I think because there are some hatian barrios close by due to all the construction going on in juan dolio. Even though there is no obvious p4p in guyacanes please remember this is DR just because there isnt a sign out front doesnt mean it isnt for sale.....

[BigLongBeach]

Playa Palenque

[vewdew]

Very nice pictures.

[BigLongBeach]

This beach is difficult to get to. There are plenty of signs along autopista 6 but that doesnt help really find it. My wingman showed me this place after he went with his banileja novia. You get off the highway, and you have to double back underneath it. You follow that road which is a mess until you get to the river in Nizao. You can see Vladamir Guerrero's property from the river crossing. Once your cross the river you are in Nizao. There are no signs to the beach. We stopped and asked some women....even though it is a nice little town, i still wouldnt trust a random tiguere on the street for directions. We make it to the beach and there are plenty of restaurants. We parked by one, took some chairs, and ordered some presidentes.

It made for a nice relaxing afternoon. It was a weekday afternoon when we went so the beach was pretty empty. The beach is very beautiful and exotic looking but also very rocky. The sand is dark. No signs of women anywhere. there are no resorts, or hotels close by so i would imagine no chica action either.

[BigLongBeach]

Hotel Las Salinas

[BigLongBeach]

This was all courtesy of my wingman. He went out to see the novia, and on his next trip out there i went with him, to check this place out.

Ok it is about 25-40minutes west of Bani, along caretera maximo gomez. Along the drive there is pretty much nothing. It is pretty relaxing. There are colmados all along the road. There is a naval base once you get to salinas. Salinas is desert climate. There is all kinds of live stalk just hanging out on the roads. It was a weekday when i got there so there wasnt much action on the beach. There is one restaurant there. Not much else. Rocky beach. I did take the time to test my rentals tires and fuck around in the parking lot.

No sign of anything there at all. The hotel looks nice. it is $100/night, but i heard there is construction going on there. It is a cool place if you like going offroad or desert hiking. You can go to the dunes and mess around.

[BigLongBeach]

Bayahibe
Viva Wyndham Resorts

[BigLongBeach]

Bayahibe is about 2hours east of Santo Domingo. I went with a non pro who i am dating in santo domingo. You have to pay attention to detail when driving. After you pass Juan Dolio you want to go on the autopista that goes around San Pedro. You can also go right through San Pedro but normally you will get stuck in traffic for hours. After San Pedro you get to la Romana. Once there again pay attention to the road signs to get to bayahibe.

The resort was very nice. The room's AC and power only come on when in the room so you never come into a nice cold room after a hot day in the sun. The bed was fine, the tv channels fine, the shower was fine with good water pressure, and there was fresh food plus wine in the room waiting for you.

The food at the resort was basic buffet resort food. There were plenty of choices but my novia and I got into a argument during that trip which limited our dining options. They have a 24/7 pizza shop there. My novia and I got food poisoning the last night from the gandules. Made for a uncomfortable trip back.

The drinks were pretty bad. They were strong but the quality of the juices, and liquor were bad.

The beach was amazing, white sand, clear water, there was a reef, with wildlife for snorkeling, and plenty of shade.

There were 3 pools. I like pools but not pools at a resort because they are full of children ruining my buzz.

I saw plenty of guys with their novia of the day at the resort. The concierge is far from the entrance so i am pretty sure they just tipped the security guard, madesure she wasnt dressed like a hooker, and snuck them in. Once in the rooms are to the right and the staff is far to the left so no one is standing there waiting for you checking for AI bracelets. I saw plenty of FINE, and i mean fine looking women at the bar across the street from the AI. Driving in through La Romana you see plenty of signs for p4p takeout places.

[BigLongBeach]

Ocoa

Hotel El Barcon