I’m a fan of Anthony Bourdain, the food writer and host of “No Reservations” on the Travel Channel. He has an interesting world view and does some cool things on his show.

Having read a few of his own books, Bourdain consistently refers to a set of his favorite reads which, until now, I could never remember to look for them in the library. Finally I found the list so I can read a few of the food books he suggested.

1. The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller
2. White Heat by Marco Pierre White
3. Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
4. The Kitchen by Nicolas Freeling
5. The Belly of Paris by Emile Zola
6. La Cuisine du Marche by Paul Bocuse
7. The Epicurean by Charles Ranhofer
8. The Ivy by AA Gill
9. Le Bernardin Cookbook by Eric Ripert

1. Nose To Tail Eating by Fergus Henderson

Full annotated list available at Anthony Bourdain’s top 10 books on the Guardian UK.

Marina Fiesta Resort

Just got back from Cabo yesterday and the verdict is in — Marina Fiesta Resort in Cabo San Lucas completely kicks ass.

Hotel location

• 3 minute walk to Puerto Paraiso mall
• 10 minutes to Squid Roe
• 10+ minutes to Medano beach and Mango deck
• 20 minute walk to other side of Marina

• good security surrounding hotel

Inside of hotel

• hotel was not crowded
• nice balconies with view of pool
• nice pool but a little deep
• hidden second pool
• interesting shower
• expensive poolside drinks

• TV channels, MAX Prime

hotel staff

• most speak spanish

• good maid service

Airport

• bus ride, taxis

• terminals

Cabo San Lucas

• size
• night spots (zoo, cabo wabo, etc.)
• markets
• beach drinking places
• prices
• exchange rates
• foods, spices

• tortilleria

San Jose

• bus to
• emptiness

• big ass hotels

(I will fill in more details later)

My trip to Cabo San Lucas is coming up very soon. Now the hidden hotel fees are starting to make themselves clear. in the confirmation emails that I got, apparently the Marina Fiesta has a $20 surcharge per person per night. It also has an additional 10% maintenance fee per night. Wow. By my calculations that’s an extra $35/night for the room I reserved (almost $250 for the stay).

Although the fees are an annoyance, Marina Fiesta’s total cost is still cheaper than the other places I was looking at.