Your Guide to Pizza in Cabarete (Part 1)
It’s fair to say that I like pizza. In fact, I’m so into it that I decided to conduct a pizza tour of Cabarete to find the best pizza in town. With the help of my trusty (and all-too-willing) partner, I went about my mission. Since there was far too much pizza to fit in one post, here’s part 1 of my round-up of Cabarete’s pizza places. La Chabola La Chabola is probably my favourite pizza place in Cabarete. The pizza itself is not super fancy, but it’s so delicious and always hits the spot. It has a gorgeous homemade, rustic feel, with tasty flour-dusted dough and yummy toppings. You can watch the guys making it at the back in their fiery stone oven. La Chabola is a super chill place to be, think low-set sofas with cushions to lounge on and low lighting. They are known to play great music, which is always a plus. Wednesday is open mic night, so you can boogie along to some live tunes while you wait for your pizza. Find it down the Callejon de la Loma, a little way, on the right. Cheap drinks likely affect my judgement but, even while sober, this pizza is great! Did I mention it’s 2 for 1 on pizzas EVERY NIGHT? What am I still doing here? Pizza and Spaghetti House At a glance, this place can look small and unassuming, but don’t be fooled. When you go in, the restaurant opens out into a pretty fancy affair. Picture white chairs and tablecloths, tasteful wood-decked floors, flaming oven, and green plants all around. The waitress brought us complimentary bruschetta when we sat down, a nice touch, and our pizza came out unexpectedly quickly. Our sausage and red onion pizza (pictured above) was delightful. The sausage was super tasty, and the fresh basil and tomato garnish took it to another level. Thoroughly competent pizza execution. It’s on the pricier side, but the pizzas are pretty big and shareable if you’re not a huge eater. The experience is pretty classy. Closed on Tuesdays. LAX The LAX pizza will likely not blow your mind. It’s a standard nice, little pizza. Solid. But, LAX have great specials that are worth checking out, including 2 for 1 happy hour drinks and half price pizza and pasta (ask your waiter to check the offer is on before you order). It’s a top spot on Cabarete beach to chill and sip half-price mojitos as the sun goes down. It heats up later though, with much music and dancing to carry you through your evening. Pizza Antonio Another spot in Cabarete for 2 for 1 pizza is Pizza Antonio, right by Janet’s supermarket. The pizza is good, nice thin base, well-topped, and beautifully crispy from their wood oven. Antonio’s manages to be spacious and cosy at the same time. The Italian chef is quirky and super friendly, and there’s an overall chill vibe. Last time I was there, they played non-stop Michael Jackson for the duration of my stay. Magical. Ceiba Pizzeria Ceiba is a little far out, but if you like American-style pizza, piled high with toppings, it might just be worth the trek. I ordered the ‘Completa’ which, true to its name, came stacked with toppings. It was pretty much at capacity. There were tons of veggies, which is sometimes rare for pizza. Peppers, olives, and sweetcorn galore. The seating area is outside, patio-style, and it has a family vibe with dogs and kids milling around. Ceiba is in Perla Marina, a little residential neighbourhood outside the Cabarete town centre, heading out towards Sosua. It’s named after the giant trees that you will see around Perla Marina. They’re quite impressive. Stay Tuned So, we’ve come to the end of part 1, but keep your eyes pealed for part 2, when we will be continuing our pizza tour of Cabarete. Coming up, we have late-night takeout, fancy Italian fare, and a restaurant filled with aquariums. Yes, fish tanks. With fish in them. Don’t miss it.
The Butterfly Effect returns to Cabarete
The Butterfly Effect will return to Cabarete in June 2019 for a celebration of active women who love the ocean. The event will take place on the 29th June and will include SUP, windsurf and kitesurf activities. Last year in June, the BE had a blast in Cabarete. The beaches were full of Butterflies, giving it their all and having a great time in the water. The highlights were a 2km downriver SUP course from Islabon to La Boca, and a massive 5km downwinder from La Boca to Cabarete Beach. BE events have a focus on learning about local culture and giving something back. Last year, the Butterfly community helped clean up the local beaches and put on a dinner to raise money for the Cabarete charity DREAM Project. Over the years, BE has managed to donate over $45,000 to charities around the world. These funds go to important causes, like fighting breast cancer, working with at-risk young people, and supporting women who have suffered domestic and sexual violence. The women in the community are known as ‘Butterflies’. Butterflies are women who love being active and encouraging one another. When Butterflies come together in a non-competitive environment, they are free to connect with a community of adventure-loving women. Together, they learn new skills, grow in confidence and help each other navigate what femininity means to them. The Butterflies also know how to have fun. BE events always have an after-party with live music, food and plenty of dancing! About a dozen Butterflies met for the first event in Maui, Hawaii in 2007. Since then, the community has boomed, with thousands of women joining together in over 50 events. In just over a decade, the Butterflies have fluttered all over the world. 19 countries, to be precise. Locations have included Fiji, Tahiti, Melbourne, Switzerland, Morocco, Whistler, and Israel. Their mission is global women’s empowerment through watersports, and they are certainly spreading their wings. Butterfly puns aside, the BE community is doing some awesome work to promote a healthy, connected lifestyle for women. Their gatherings refuse to pit women against each other, instead they to encourage and build others up, forming lifelong friendships. Now, that’s the real prize. We can’t wait to see women of all ages coming together to do what they love on the beaches of Cabarete. Watch out for The Butterfly Effect 2019, coming to a tropical location near you!
Sailing: Caribbean Laser Midwinter Regatta
The Caribbean Laser Midwinter Regatta is back in Cabarete, Dominican Republic for its 17th annual sailing event. All aboard, sailors, the North Coast of the DR is your midwinter Laser sailing destination! CaribWind has announced the Midwinter Regatta will take place on the 18th to the 20th January 2019. This is deliberately timed not to overlap with the big Miami Regatta on the 27th January. There will be two classes racing, Laser Standard and Laser Radial. All members are invited to register. Ali Barshi and his wife MJ created CaribWind in 2003. Though avid windsufers, they missed sailing and craved a place to rock up and sail with proper supervision, at any time of the year. The couple saw the wind conditions in Cabarete as ideal for Laser sailors. The sheltered bay is perfect for sailing. The wind picks up over the course of the day, so you can be selective and sail at the time that suits your ability. Eleven years on Ali and MJ have no regrets. The CaribWind training program is thriving. It is open to sailors and aspiring sailors of all abilities. Even if you don’t own a Laser, the team at CaribWind will sort you out with everything you need to get out on the water. The CaribWind coaches are world-class. They take a highly personalised approach to training, focussing on the specific dynamic of the boat-sailor relationship. With their expert knowledge and analysis, you will see real improvements in your manouevers. Goal-setting is an important part of the teaching method, as you will target key skills to push your technique to the next level. The high-quality training centre has attracted a good amount of talent over the last decade. The proof is in the pudding. An impressive four world champions, 25 Olympians, and 15 national champions have come to Cabarete to train with CaribWind’s coaches. The deadline to register for the Regatta is midnight on the 17th January. But don’t cut it too fine! For specific details of the event, like how to register, who is eligible, and scoring details, check out the official race announcement. Contact Ari Barshi at info@caribwind.com with any questions about the Regatta or CaribWind’s training program. Ali will be happy to help you out! Sailing is just one of the many sporty adventures that Cabarete has to offer. With our consistently amazing wind conditions and reliable swell, there are so many options for watersports lovers. Kiteboarding, surfing, SUP, windsurfing, snorkelling, diving – we really do have it all! If you’re feeling restless and in need of an active vacation, Cabarete may well be the tropical paradise destination for you!
Free Jazz Festival on Cabarete Beach – Nov 2018
The DR Jazz Festival is back this year to bring you the very best of Caribbean Jazz. The free live music hits Cabarete Beach on November 3 and 4. Be there. Cabarete is well-known for its wild party spirit. So, get ready to bust out your slickest dance moves and party all night! You can bet it will be a weekend to remember. In the past 21 years, the Festival has showcased talent from all over the world. Grammy-winners Esperanza Spalding, Chuck Mangione, and David Sanchez are just a few big names that have played the North Coast shows. You can expect a high-quality line-up from this year’s celebration. This year, the Festival kicks off in Los Establos, CapCana for a special inaugural show on August 25, followed by a night in Santiago de los Caballeros on October 26. The sweet sound of Jazz will then make its way to Puerto Plata (Nov 1) and Sosua (Nov 2), before ending up in Cabarete for 2 last crazy nights on the beach. The Festival is hosted by FEDUJAZZ and the DR Ministry of Tourism. FEDUJAZZ FEDUJAZZ is a non-profit foundation that improves the prospects of young people in the DR through music. Their free program currently provides music theory and instrument classes to 150 underprivileged kids (age 7-18). Right now in the DR, a child starting public school has less than a 10% chance of graduating high school. Studies show that engaging with a musical instrument can really improve these odds. FEDUJAZZ gets the whole family involved in the fun, and believes in the power of music to build community spirit. The Foundation partnered with the Jazz Festival two years ago, and now many of the performers offer free workshops to the local children. There are limited numbers of VIP tickets on sale, if you’re interested in supporting the Foundation and the great work it does. (Email info@drjazzfestival.com for more details.) In case you need any more convincing, I’ll leave you with the words of Marco Pignataro, one of the Festival’s organisers: ‘Jazz is truly a modern expression of democracy, which keeps renewing itself through the creative encounter of music cultures around the world.’
Mojito Bar eXtreme’s Cabarete Festival
This past weekend in Cabarete, the eXtreme Hotel and Mojito Bar Cabarete hosted the first ever Cabarete Festival! Despite the spring showers, it was an extraordinary night full of delicious food, live musical performances, a local mercado, circus acts, fire dancing and much more! A big thanks from the eXtreme Hotel and Mojito Bar Cabarete to our local community and all of our artisans, vendors and sponsors for coming out and supporting the event. Entertainment was plentiful at the first Cabarete festival, many talented performers had the chance to show their stuff on our stage and the dance floor. Local artisans brought tons of creativity to the first Cabarete Festival! Locally made goodies ranged from bikinis to baked goods to body care products! Everyone wants to remember the highlights, so we crafted a light ring and ran our own photo booth! For more pictures from the Cabarete Festival check out the Mojito Bar Cabarete Facebook page. Don’t forget to tag your self and let us know what your favorite part of the event was! The highlight for me was the circus performances by Kaicetous Circus, I was so mesmerized by the strength and grace of the performers I didn’t even capture a photo. To end our first ever Cabarete Festival, we figured we needed an epic grande finale. Four fire dancers performed and brought the house down! Thanks to all who came out to the event, we were thrilled to see our community coming together and supporting the local arts! We hope to host more events in the future so keep an eye out on our Facebook page and around town. Post by Lynsey Wyatt.
How we celebrate birthdays at Extreme Hotel
How we celebrate birthdays at Extreme Hotel The manager of Extreme Hotel is a 6ft tall Canadian goddess. She’s been part of the team that has transformed the hotel over the last five years and has been a main fixture on the site for the last year and a half. She works as hard as she plays, so on her 26th birthday we celebrated in true Genevieve style. She concocted a “dirty 26” workout and invited all the gym regulars and Extreme guests. The result: we had three separate heats of people all sweating their brains out in celebration. 26 Exercises, 26 reps for each one. Number 26 was a shot of rum to finish :) Thanks Gen, I could barely get out of bed this morning – although I’m not sure if that’s from the pre-party workout, or the party itself.