Tonight we stopped by Gaia on Calle 28 and Ave 5. It’s a Mediterranean sports bar, but it’s really better than it sounds. You’ll know the place when you reach the restaurant with the flat screen TVs and the hookahs!

There are real tables and there are smaller, sort of coffee table-sized, tables. You get to choose where you sit, we chose a real table. The seats were comfortable and we settled in and started watching the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics.

Our crew ordered quite a few appetizers: hummus, mushroom hummus, baba ganouj, olives and tomatoes, and tabbouleh. Let me tell you, the hummus was the best I’ve tried in Playa del Carmen. Of course, it’s only the third time I’ve eaten hummus out, but still, it was delicious.

I ordered a Syrian salad for dinner. It arrived looking pretty on a long, rectangular platter. It was topped with a sort-of sweet dressing and feta cheese with some sort of sweet-ish powder on top, possibly an allspice or nutmeg-based spice blend. The sweet versus salty mixture made for a very enjoyable salad. The croûtons were made from deep fried wedges of pita bread. Good salads are hard to find in Playa and this one was definitely delicious, though not exactly waste-line friendly.

Hans ordered lamb kabobs, which came with rice, vegetables and Tadzhiki sauce. He reported that they were very tasty. Solomon ordered beef kabobs, which were actually made from ground beef, instead of steak. He also reported that they were tasty.

I ordered a glass of wine, which at $60 pesos was one of the priciest glasses of wine I’ve had. I’ve been spoiled by $45 peso and under glasses lately, so I knew we were in for a pricey dinner when I saw what they wanted for a glass of wine!

All in all, it was a very good meal and we’ll probably be back, if only for the hummus and the good people-watching. I would have liked to have smoked a hookah with flavored tobacco, but no one in my crew was game for that. They did offer several flavors of tobacco on the menu and someone next to us was smoking one, which smelled delicious.

Gaia is not the cheapest eat in Playa, in fact, it was rather expensive, but it is conveniently located on 5th Avenue. If you’re not too full after dinner, head up to Coffee Cafe on 34th and 5th for coffee and dessert.