Photo Credit: Keith Allison

I didn’t want this to be my 15 minutes of fame. I would have liked my 15 minutes to be a great call in the World Series. Hopefully, my 15 minutes are over now ~ MLB Umpire Jim Joyce on robbing Armando Galarraga of a perfect with a bad call.

It has been another dismal year for Major League Baseball umpires. None worse than Jim Joyce robbing Armando Galarraga of a perfect game with a bad call. The video replay clearly showed the last batter Galarraga would have faced was clearly out. If video replay had been available to the umpires the call would have been overturned, Galarraga would have gotten his perfect game, and Bud Selig would not have made the shameful decision to not over turn the call using the commissioner’s “in the interest of baseball” authority.

There have been lots of other bad calls this year. Some that may have had an effect on the ultimate outcome of a game and others not. I witnessed one on Saturday afternoon when Jose Bautisa was called out at home even though he was shown safe in the replays. Today an umpire said Derek Jeter went around on a pitch when on the replay he had held up. There have been countless bad calls at first base all year.

In their defence, umpires are human beings like the rest of us and do make mistakes. Selig has said that in the offseason they will look at expanding the use of video replay beyond just home runs. I don’t think they should look at if, but at how.

The NHL has been using video review for questionable goals for years. Even professional tennis, another sport steeped in tradition has moved to a system that gives players three incorrect challenges per set with an additional challenging if the set goes to a tie-breaker. The other thing that has happened since the ATP and WTA tennis tours embraced this technology is there is much less acrimony on the court between players and the chair. Although on second thought, it would have made the McEnroe/Connors era much less interesting.

I’d like to see MLB take on the tennis model. Each team gets three incorrect challenges per three innings. If the game goes into extra innings then each team would get an additional challenge per inning. By providing a limited numer of challenges it would keep managers from using them frivolously, it would allow umpires to be human, it would lower the temperature between players and officials, and it would add an interesting new element for the fans. It could even make for a more stable Ozzy Guillen.

Photo Credit: Keith Allison

OK… Blue Jays…
Let’s play ball!

I landed safe and sound in Toronto late Thursday night with a couple of over stuffed suitcases, the rest of my belongings to follow in about 10 days. I’m staying with my cousin near High Park while I wait for my possessions to be delivered to my new place in the Yonge and Davisville area. I have to say after 21 years in Vancouver it’s good to be back. I’m surprised at how easy it was to get my bearings again.

One thing that is really different is catching a Blue Jays game. Before moving back the last time I saw the Jays in their old home, Exhibition Stadium, during the 1985 American League Championship Series.

Yesterday I caught a game with a couple of friends who were visiting from out of town. We had pretty good seats at field level in right field. The Jays played a pretty good game against the Detroit Tigers until the top of the 9th when their bullpen let them down.

It was pretty cool getting to see slugger Jose Bautista play. It’s easy to see why this guy leads the major leagues in home runs. He makes it almost easy.

I’m still a loyal Yankees fan and am looking forward to seeing them at the SkyDome at the end of September. That said, I am sure there will be lots of opportunities to cheer for the Jays against Tampa Bay and Boston.

Photo Credit: kk+

God, we’re just tryin’ to have a little advisory committee, for fuck sakes… Mayor Gregor Robertson

How many times has a politician embarrassed himself by saying something with the mike still on? But I honestly was shocked when I first saw the headline that Mayor Gregor Robertson had dropped an f-bomb. He is normally so scripted and on message. He seemingly has an unending tolerance for the matters of municipal politics. He always comes across as unflappable even when under attack. To his credit, Robertson did the right thing and issued an apology. It will take some time for the Mayor to recover, but I doubt this incident will be fatal. It’s great to see he is human, but next time use your inside voice.

Dealing with issues that impact peoples’ homes is never easy. Especially when you feel you are doing the right thing. Vision Vancouver is going to have to show they are listening to the concerns of the tens of thousands of West End residents, not just WEN, who have been much more agressive than the other groups in the neighbourhood.

One thing is for certain, Vancouver needs more rental units to deal with it’s growing population. The city only has one way to grow and that is up. Literally and figuratively.

Photo Credit: wvs

Change is inevitable – except from a vending machine… Robert C. Gallagher

I made a very significant decision over the Canada Day weekend. I am going to relocate to Toronto at the end of August. I can’t say the decision came easy.

I honestly bonded with Vancouver the moment I arrived over 21 years ago. I love the ocean, the mountains and the beauty of Vancouver, but something has been missing lately. It was hard to put my finger on it.

Then on Canada Day it struck me. There was a lot of talk in the news about events trying to recapture the spirit of the 2010 Winter Olympics. That’s what was missing. Energy! For all it’s beauty, Vancouver is a quiet town and can in many ways be painfully provincial. People seemed to be so friendly during the Olympics and then went back their cold and rude ways.

With my term at work ending in September and the recent sale of my parent’s home it made sense to put everything on the table. In considering my options returning to Toronto feels like a good idea.

While it doesn’t have Vancouver’s natural beauty, it does have a lot of things going for it. There is lots of opportunities for communications professionals to find work and advance in their career. There is a great cultural scene and plenty of professional sports to take in. Not to mention the price of real estate is much more reasonable. The best part will be being close to my family again, especially my nephews and niece who are growing up so fast.

So the first week of August I am off to Toronto to find a place to live for September 1st. It’s really exciting to start this new chapter in my life. I will always love Vancouver and I’m not ruling out returning one day.

Photo Credit: USFWS/Southeast

When people are stressed and upset, they want to know that you care before they care what you know.
Dr. Vincent Covello

One thing that has really bothered me about the response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been the perceived arrogance and lack of caring by BP. Now I get that many of the circumstances are beyond their control. This is the first time an oil rig has exploded and the shut off valve hasn’t worked. But even if they are making their best efforts, by appearing not to care, they have lost all credibility. Yes, Tony Hayward, we are all sure you would like your life back, but so would all the people whose lives and livelihoods has been ruined by this disaster.

I have been to plenty of crisis communications training workshops over the years, several of them presented by Della Smith. In each of the workshops Della has talked at length about Dr. Vincent Covello of the Center For Risk Communication. Dr Covello and his team have conducted numerous studies and are recognized for their approach to risk communications and their templates for crisis communications.

When people are under stress it is difficult for them to hear, discuss and process information. They can probably manage to understand three messages. This leads to the 27/9/3 principle. 27 words, nine seconds and three messages. By keeping it short and simple you leave little room for interpretation by others. Also, in the construction of the average TV or radio news story the company or organization’s clip is around 10 seconds.

Your audiences will want to know that you care before they care what you know. This is where the compassion, conviction, and optimism template comes in. Recognize the impact of what has happened, speak to what can be done, and paint a picture of the future. Link this to the 27/9/3 template by creating three statements of nine words.

That leads to the final template, anticipate, prepare, practice. Journalists are likely to ask who, what, where, when, why, and how related to what happened, what caused it to happen, and what it means. There are 77 questions commonly asked by the media in a crisis. Review them, prepare your spokespeople, and practice with your spokesperson.

This is just a small part of being prepared for crisis communications. Every organization needs to have a plan before a crisis happens. By communicating effectively in a crisis, you can prevent your brand or reputation from being irreparably damaged.

Photo Credit: Rob McMahon

I’m not totally hardcore when it comes to cycling, if it’s raining hard or cold I’ll probably take public transit. But when the weather is like it is right now, getting around Vancouver on a bike is probably one of the best ways to go.

I sold my car almost a year and a half ago. Since then public transit and biking have been my main forms of transportation. Honestly there have only been a few days where I have wished that I still had it but the feeling soon passes.

I managed to ride my bike to work a couple of times during the Olympics, but honestly, it was cold, wet and not much fun. I’m not totally hardcore when it comes to cycling, if it’s raining hard or cold I’ll probably take public transit. But when the weather is like it is right now, getting around Vancouver on a bike is probably one of the best ways to go.

Vancouver has an awesome bike network. Except for the first five or six blocks, my entire ride to work is on designate bikeways. I’ll be honest, the ride to work isn’t an easy one. Even though there is only one hill, it is pretty much a steady climb the entire way. I’m not complaining, in a few weeks it won’t be a challenge any more. Not to mention it’s a pretty fun ride home.

One of the great things the city did last year was to trial some changes to the Burrard Bridge. Mayor Gregor Robertson took some heat over it. The weekend they were making the changes there was some gridlock but that quickly subsided. There were some merchant protests and where it made sense the city made changes. The apocalypse that was predicted never came to pass. My only complaint has been about pedestrians still using the east side of the bridge, even though it is clearly marked in the signs above they should use the west side. But that’s Vancouver for you, lots of people feel the rules don’t apply to them.

To the City’s credit they aren’t stopping there. They are undertaking a 10-year cycling master plan and they are exploring was to create separated bike lanes to help keep cyclists safe.

Bike to Work Week this year is May 31 to June 6. I know not every company is set up to make it easy for their employees to ride to work. I’m fortunate in that I have access to shower facilities and a bike rack to lock my bike up to. If you have the chance to join in give it a try. If you aren’t sure on what route to take, UBC has created an amazing route planner. It gives you lots of options including shortest path, restricted slope and even least amount of traffic pollution.

Vancouver is a great place to ride. Give it a try, you might like it.

Photo credit: afagen

For me, large companies need to do more to empower their Customer Service staff. They should not be constrained by the limitations of IT solutions that do not meet the customer’s need. Given the level of choice and customization available now, one size fits all solutions no longer work.

I recently switched from Telus back to Shaw. After two years of questionable Internet speeds and fairly decent, but not great TV, I needed a change. The Save Team at Telus did do a good job at trying to save me. They apparently had new equipment coming out that would improve the experience, but really I had had enough. Plus, Shaw had a great offer so I made the switch. Having worked for them I knew what I was going to be getting.

When cancelling my Telus service I was told that because I was on preauthorized payments one last payment would come out, and I would get a refund after I returned my equipment. I really didn’t think too much of it. The return process was easy. I just packed everything up in a box, took it to the local Canada Post counter and they looked after the rest.

So a month after I cancelled my service I took a look at my Telus account and noticed that I had more than $90 due back to me. Since the final bill showed my account was closed but didn’t say when I would get the refund I decided to make a call. While very pleasant, the rep told me that it would take four closing billing cycles to receive my refund. If you do the math, that’s 120 days from closing your account.

Frankly, I was stunned. I couldn’t believe a company could hold money they owe you for that long. Could you imagine if the situation was reversed and you told Telus you weren’t going to pay them for four months? I’m guessing your service would be disconnected pretty quickly. When I asked to speak to a supervisor or to have the issue escalated I was again politely, but bluntly told that was the policy and there was no escalation possible.

Since I don’t like being told my concern can’t be escalated, I tweeted Telus’ spokesperson @shawnhall and @telus to find out how this could be considered acceptable. By the end of that day Shawn got back to me and let me know that he was going to have someone call me back. I really appreciated the prompt response.

Today I spoke to Devan, one of Telus’ customer services reps. He explained to me that the first rep I spoke to was mistaken and that it normally takes two to three billing cycles for a refund to process. This is normally because third party billing to phone lines don’t show up immediately and it can take up to 90 days for charges to show up. That is why it takes so long. He also noted that since I didn’t have home phone service that wasn’t a concern in my case. He would process my refund immediately. Basically, my refund was caught up in an IT system that didn’t identify these kinds of situations.

For me, large companies need to do more to empower their Customer Service staff. They should not be constrained by the limitations of IT solutions that do not meet the customer’s need. Given the level of choice and customization available now, one size fits all solutions no longer work.

I’m now satisfied that my concerns have been heard and the appropriate action was taken. If down the road my Internet and TV business are up for grabs I will give Telus another look.

Photo by: tyfn

Samantha: Theres no such thing as bad publicity.
Carrie: Of course you’d say that, you’re a publicist.
Sex In The City

No, I’m not referring to the four letter word that rhymes with duck. I’m also not referring to the beeped f word in those great commercials for frozen dinners. The word I am referring to is flack.

What prompted me to this was finding the word used liberally on the site PR Breakfast Club. I recently added them to my RSS feeds and the f word has appeared a few times. It led me to tweet today that I’m not a big fan of the word. I got a couple of tweets sent my way saying that we need to reclaim the word. To me it’s a pejorative and to be frank, it doesn’t seem to be used much here in Canada. To be fair, I did google the term (minus Roberta) and did find it come up in the news results.

Like I said, my issue with the word is that it has a negative connotation and I don’t feel we should be using it to describe ourselves. Our profession is already much maligned and doesn’t do well in surveys about how we rank against other professions.

Yes, there certainly are flacks out there who do not do us proud. But vast majority of us are the trusted advisors to leaders in business, government and the non-profit sector. Every day we go to work, follow the best practices for our craft and follow the code of ethics for our professional association, be it CPRS, PRSA, or my choice, the IABC. We tell our organizations’ stories and when something goes wrong we equip our leaders with the ability to respond appropriately. We can go home at the end of the day and be proud that we’ve done a good job.

Let me be clear, I’m not picking a fight with the PR Breakfast Club for using the word. I just think it’s one we should retire from our vocabulary.

Photo by: francescominciotti

According to a retrevo.com Pulse Report, 64% of Americans get at least some of their TV content online. For those under 25 that number rises to 83%.

Who wants to wait around for their favourite TV show to come on? Apparently not Americans according to a new retrevo.com Pulse Report. Or Canadians for that matter, with a study by Solution Research Group finding 50 percent of Canadians have viewed TV online.

This presents an interesting challenge to the business model for TV networks and the cable/IP/satellite distributors of their signals. Especially as both sides in Canada are locked in a bitter payment dispute because providers don’t currently pay networks for carrying their signals. In addition, new technology like Apple TV and Internet-capable TVs are making the entertainment experience increasingly personalized.

If you miss the latest episode of your favourite drama, comedy or reality show, just go to the network’s website and in just a few clicks, you can get caught up. The upside of this for viewers is that they basically can watch the TV show for free, just by having an Internet subscription. The downside for networks is it reduces the ratings for the programs, further eroding their advertising revenue which is still based on the number of eyeballs watching. Some of that can clearly be made up with online advertising revenue but that doesn’t yet fill the gap.

On the service provider side, if people are watching online they may be tempted to cancel their subscription impacting their bottom line. In the Retrevo survey, 26% have cancelled or considered canceling their cable or satellite service. New entrants into the market such as Telus TV are providing increased competition for fewer subscribers. The good news is people aren’t yet ready to give up HD, live sports and events, and premium services like HBO that aren’t yet available on the Internet. Also, in Canada most people subscribe to Internet and TV through the same provider.

As communicators these trends are important for us to be aware of so we can adjust our strategies. If you are dependent on television advertising to get your message out, new online tactics will need to be explored. If you are trying to achieve earned media, then you will need to ensure the stories about your company or clients will survive the transition from broadcast to the web. It also makes being engaged in social media even more important.

Photo by Spin Cycle NYC

Today, I accept my homosexuality as a gift life has given me. I feel blessed to be me.
Ricky Martin

Ricky Martin‘s coming out was met with yawns by the chattering classes. Who cares? It’s not like it was a surprise was the comment. And sure, it wasn’t really a surprise but the significance of his decision shouldn’t be underestimated.

Here in Canada, gays and lesbians enjoy perhaps the greatest equality under the law but we still have a long way to go until we are truly equal. Here are just a few recent examples:

• In BC, there are five alleged gay-bashing trials set to start. Xtra has reported on 60 bashings since 1994.
• The Immigration Minister ordered information about gay rights removed from the citizenship study guide and then denied it even though there are memos from bureaucrats showing the request was made by the Minister’s office.
• There are parents and elected officials fighting the inclusion of Social Justice 12 in BC schools.

Then when we look to our cousins to the south, things get even more grim. In states like California where gay marriage has been legalized it has been repealed by voter initiative. There are still protests outside productions of the the Laramie Project, a play about the brutal death of Matthew Shepard. And hate speech is regularly tolerated under the guise of Freedom of Speech. An American commentator during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games said Johnny Weir should be forced to undergo gender testing.

Around the world there are places where homosexuality is still considered a crime, and there are places such as some Muslim countries where it is punishable by death. In Latin American countries, there is still a culture of machismo and a strong devotion to the Catholic church. While there are some bastions of hope it is generally in the larger cities and even then in the gay villages that tend to develop. In 2009, a gay teenager was decapitated, mutilated and burned in Ricky Martin’s home country of Puerto Rico and the police said he deserved it. This in a country that is happy to accept gay tourist dollars.

Over the years there have been studies published that show the correlation between knowing someone gay and supporting the quest for gay equality. They way to achieve this is through coming out. The process of coming out isn’t easy, and speaking from personal experience it can be extremely scary. I have been fortunate in my life to be loved for who I am but there are many people out there who haven’t had the same positive experience.

There are many people, especially teens who have been rejected by their families and thrown out of their homes for being gay. This happens in communities in Canada and around the world on a daily basis. The biggest insult in high schools still to call someone a fag. Gay, bisexual and lesbian teens have an attempted suicide rate four times that of their straight peers.

Like all communities, the gay, lesbian and bisexual community needs positive role models. They are needed to show that you can be successful and make a positive contribution to society while living as a proud out person. People like Ricky Martin, Neil Patrick, Harris, John Amaechi, Portia De Rosi and Ellen Degeneres all can give comfort to gay people living in unfriendly places that there is hope and they can be successful being who they are.

And that my friends, is why Ricky Martin’s coming out really matters, whether it shocked you or not.

Photo by Ian Muttoo

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Did I hear correct? In the Throne Speech the Conservative government announced it wants to review the words to O Canada to make it gender neutral? Really? Now, I am all for political correctness, equal rights and everything that entails but seriously, is anyone really offended by the words to our national anthem?

Honestly, as far as distractions go it’s not a bad move by the government not wanting to face the real issues that are challenging the country. Who will want to discuss the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan, a six week proroguement of parliament, the deletion of gay rights from the citizenship guide, the massive budget deficit or anything else when you can discuss the hot button issue of changing the national anthem?

For the last two weeks O Canada was sung 14 times using the lyrics in all they sons command when our athletes won gold medals at the Vancouver 2010 olympic games. Men and women spontaneously broke out into song several times during the two week period and I didn’t hear one person complain when they were done.

And the proposed change doesn’t make sense to return to the original poem version of true patriot love thou dost in us command. They had people try to sing it on the CBC News tonight and everyone stumbled. But then again, why should I be surprised. This government wants to turn back time on many things, right Jason Kenney.

Image by Rob McMahon

Behind the anonymity of commenting, people hate others. It is disgusting… Keith Bilous, ICUC Moderation Services.

From letters to the editors, to the first call-in radio show there have been forums for people to share their opinions with the world on the issues. Today there was an article by the Canadian Press on 24 Hours Vancouver’s website about the number and ugly nature of comments being left on news websites after stories were published about the apparent lack of French in the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

At a recent FreshMediaMe event I asked a question of the panel about how we could go about raising the level of discourse. A representative of CBC was on the panel and he mentioned that when any story is posted on their website about First Nations the most vicious attacks come out and their monitoring company has a lot of work to do. The suggestion was to flag the comments as inappropriate so that a moderator could remove them. But there has to be more we can do.

Unlike newspapers that have editors to review content and radio stations that have producers that can screen callers, the web in most cases is unfiltered. Comments that are inappropriate generally need to be flagged or caught by a service to be removed.

I have to agree with Bilous that the anonymity of the web allows people to show their ugly side without signing their names. I equate this type of behaviour to the anti-Olympic protesters that covered their faces before smashing store windows, threatening pedestrians and vandalizing cars and buses.

Late last year, the Wall Street Journal posted an excellent opinion piece by Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia and Andrea Weckerle, founder and president of CiviliNation on cybercivility. They made some excellent suggestions on improving the level of discourse on the Internet:

1. We need to create an online culture in which every person can participate in an open and rational exchange of ideas and information without fear of being the target of unwarranted abuse, harassment or lies.
2. individuals appalled at the degeneration of online civility need to speak out, to show that this type of behavior will no longer be tolerated. This includes flagging comments as inappropriate.
3. People need to know how to differentiate between information that is published on legitimate sites that follow defined standards and also possibly a professional code of ethics, and information published in places like gossip sites whose only goal is to post the most outrageous headlines and stories in order to increase traffic.
4. Adult targets of online hostility deserve a national support network.
5. Online hostility is cross-jurisdictional. We might need laws that directly address this challenge.

I strongly urge all upstanding cybercitizens to be transparent and respectful in your posts, call out those who use the Internet to propagate hate and support organizations that work to create an online culture where everyone can feel safe.

You can also follow CiviliNation on Twitter.

PHOTO CREDIT: shioshvili

Do you remember when Fido used to be the customer friendly mobile phone company? I know I do.

Well, recently my iPhone envy got the better of me. I was heading to Mexico and didn’t want to bring a phone, camera, iPod and laptop. Simple solution, get an iPhone. I called Fido fully knowing that I had one year left on my contract to see what my options were. Unfortunately to keep my phone number my only option was to pay full price for a phone. My other option was to downgrade my current phone to their lowest package and get a new contract to get the new customer rate for a phone. I asked to speak to their “save desk” since this is often a great way to get options that regular customer services reps aren’t authorized to offer. The rep from that area was very stern and told me “those were the only options available”. There was stunned silence when I say, so what you are telling me is that you would rather have $15 per month for 12 months than a long term customer with an $80 monthly bill. I asked her to downgrade my phone.

Since I was going to have to have a new contract I decided to do some investigation on what plans the other companies that have iPhones were offering. In the end it came down to Fido and Bell. When you compare the plans at $80 Bell offers the best value when it comes to data 2 GB instead of 1 from Fido. Fido offers more anytime minutes and earlier evenings but Bell gives you nation wide Fab Five (unlimited calling and texting to five people) which is perfect for me. In the end I decided to go to Bell.

I LOVE my iPhone and so far Bell has been a great company to do business with. Sorry Fido, you are a lost dog.

PHOTO CREDIT: Rob McMahon

I was also really taken aback by how aggressive the vendors on the beach, the time share sales people, the taxi drivers and even the manager at the hotel I was staying at were. It’s not really surprising considering they have suffered the double blow of being ground zero for H1N1 and the economic crisis.

This hasn’t been an easy year for me. We suffered two major loss in my family, losing our parents less than five months apart. I have also struggled through the fall with pneumonia, and the return of asthma that I have had under control for more than ten years. Recognizing I needed a break I took some time to get away to Mexico and enjoy some time just relaxing and finding the space to find my feet again.

I was in Puerto Vallarta this past February with some friends and it seemed like the place to go back to. I found a great suite at a small hotel called Casa Anita. They have less than 30 rooms and I booked one with a large deck so that I could still enjoy the sun if I didn’t want to be around people. The photo above is the view from my deck. This is not the place to go if you are looking for luxury. There isn’t even an elevator, it was 165 steps from the driveway to my door.

From the moment I got there I was stunned by how few tourists there seemed to be. Even on the beach there were lots of empty chairs available at all the beach clubs at Playa De Los Muertos. I was also really taken aback by how aggressive the vendors on the beach, the time share sales people, the taxi drivers and even the manager at the hotel I was staying at were. It’s not really surprising considering they have suffered the double blow of being ground zero for H1N1 and the economic crisis.

This aggression really made it difficult to be relaxed at times. I would just start to get into reading my book and there would be interruption after interruption after interruption. I asked one of the beach vendors that I recognized from the last time I was there how long it had been like this and she said since la semana santa (easter week). Even though there wasn’t H1N1 in Puerto Vallarta people stopped going and this was made worse when airlines stopped going there. Headed to the beach one day there was even a tour salesman that yelled across the street to me to go see what they had to offer. When I said no gracias he seemed extremely annoyed that I wouldn’t even hear his pitch.

All that having been said, I really did enjoy my time in Puerto Vallarta. In nine days I went on a great tour, met some great people and saw whales, dolphins and enjoyed my time at the private beach we were at. I got to read Pema Chodron’s book When Things Fall Apart which I highly recommend for anyone who has suffered a loss.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was dinner at El Arrayan. Arrayan is a type of tree and fruit and they even have one growing in the middle of the restaurant. As the story was told to me, one of the owner’s grandmothers had one of these trees on her property and this moved her to establish the restaurant at this location because of it. They even have an arrayan margarita that is amazing!

The food is traditional Mexican with a twist. For starters we shared hibiscus flower quesadillas, chicken taquitos with a delicious pumpkin seed sauce and the most amazing plantain empanadas where the bread was made with the plantains and they were stuffed with black beans and cheese served with the most amazing chipotle sauce. For my entree I had the duck carnitas. This was the most decadent thing on the menu. I didn’t really care because I was on holidays. We even had the homemade ice cream sampler for dessert. The tamarind gelato was incredible.

All in all another great trip to Puerto Vallarta. If you are thinking where you would like to go this winter I would highly recommend it. They have some amazing deals right now and the locals could really use the support.