While we ate our tacos at our favorite taco stand – El Carboncito, we were serenaded by a saxaphone player.
Street musicians are common throughout Puerto Vallarta, but this is the first time I have seen someone playing the saxaphone.
Tacos and the saxaphone were actually a really good combination. Everyone else seemed to think so too.
We tipped him for his music and for allowing me to take his picture. I hope he is there the next time we go.
The 5 de Diciembre neighborhood in downtown Puerto Vallarta has one of the better mercados that is well known for it’s variety of fresh fish. The staff in the fish market is especially friendly and offers good advice on how to prepare what you purchase.
A mercado is a social place that is the heart of the neighborhood. In addition to going shopping, people go to catch up on the latest neighborhood news.
When you visit the mercado don’t expect anything fancy or tourist amenities. Go to get a taste of local life and be sure make the effort to communicate with the staff and the other shoppers. That’s where the fun is. You’d be surprised how far a big smile and an “hola” will get you. Try it. It will make your day.
At the produce stand where you can get any type of fruit, vegetable, or chile that you could want. If you speak some Spanish, the staff will give you tips on how to prepare some of the more exotic vegetables.
The coolers and bins have fresh shrimp sorted by size and price. On this trip, I bought a half kilo of medium size shrimp for $50 pesos. That works out to be about $3.80US per pound. A great deal if you ask me.
A freshly caught dorado. They will fillet and prep your fish any way you like it.
Inside the market are a number of loncherias, lunch stands, that prepare antojitoswhich are simple foods like tacos, sopes, flautas, and enchiladas.
This is the machine that makes tortillas at the tortilleria. A large ball of dough is placed in the hopper. The machine extrudes a dough ball for a tortilla and then it presses the dough into a tortilla. The tortilla is sent down the conveyor belt and through the oven to be baked. The tortillas comes out the other end fully cooked and ready to be placed into one kilo and half kilo stacks.
Map and Directions to the Mercado
The Mercado is located on San Salvador street at the corner of Brasilia street. It is very easy to find. The mercado is directly in front of the main entrance to the cemetary (Panteon).
A few days ago, I received the following message from a friend in my email which piqued my interest:
I was thinking….I don’t know if you have been there…its a little cozy place that sells “tamales” and “Atole” in the cafe des artists street, passing Pipi’s restaurant. The lady owner is very nice, very folkloric spot. You could integrate it in to your space.
Nearly seven years in Vallarta and I couldn’t ever remember seeing a tamale place in town. A good tamale is a great food. I needed to go. Discovering where the tamale place has been hiding made it to the top of to-do list. At the first chance, I took the bus downtown to find the tamales.
Maria Candelaria, the tamale place is not hard to find. It has been right under my nose for the last four years. It’s on the corner of Guadalupe Sanchez and Allende streets only one block from Pipi’s restaurant one of the best known tourist restaurants in Vallarta.
I ordered two tamales: a traditional one made pork in red sauce and a not so traditional one made with basil and mozzarella. Both were excellent. To drink, I ordered a pineapple flavored atole. Atole to me is like drinking hot baby food. It doesn’t sound very good but it really tasted wonderful, very comforting.
The owner graciously let me take pictures of her and the staff making the tamales. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask her name. They serve an extensive variety of tamales including six vegetarian options.
Prices for the tamales range from $10 to $13 pesos each. For under four dollars you will be stuffed. Maria Candelaria is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30am to 4:00pm and the 6:00pm to 10:00pm.
Maria Candelaria is a mandatory restaurant to visit while in Vallarta. The food and the atmosphere make it a truly special, Mexican experience.
It’s easy to find. It’s on the corner of Guadalupe Sanchez street and Allende street in Downtown Puerto Vallarta. The map below shows you how to get there.
One of the restaurants we go to when we are in the mood for fajitas is Fajita Republic located on Basilio Badillo street in Old Town.
Our favorite dish is the Molcajitas – strips of beef and cheese, onion, pineapple and salsa heated in a stone molcajete. They give you a stack of flour tortillas, plus guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, rice and beans to make your own tacos. We are not real big eaters so one order is enough to feed the two of us.
This visit we decided to try something new and we ordered the Shrimp Tacos Pastor. The shrimp are covered in an adobo sauce which is a red tomato based sauce made with chipotle. Adobo can be on the spicy side but the version at Fajita Republic is tasty and mild.
Something new that they are doing is giving you a plate of nachos on the house. They have always started you off with a ton of tortilla chips and homemade salsa plus a plate of jicama sprinkled with chile powder. And, they still do, with a plate of nachos to boot.
Last March, they relocated the restaurant to the other side of the street. They kept the same menu and decor. So if you have been to Fajita Republic before and enjoyed it, you will still find it to your liking.
Service this visit was really quick and friendly, much better than our previous visits. The waitstaff puts on a good show at the tables when they serve the fajita plates flamed in tequila. I kept trying to get a picture of them in action but I was never quite quick enough.
Prices are mid-range and include chips and homemade salsa, a plate of nachos, and a plate of jicama. The Molcajitas cost $134 pesos and the Shrimp Tacos Pastor cost $128 pesos.
Fajita Republic is located at Basilio Badillo #188 in Old Town. Their telephone number is 222-3131. They Also have a location in Nuevo Vallarta at Embarcadero Centro, Paseo Cocoteros Lote 8 Villa 8. The phone number in Nuevo Vallarta is 297-2277.
Type of Food: Mexican Dishes and Seafood
Price: Moderate
Service: Good but leisurely
Location: On the main highway in Bucerias – cross street Av. Estaciones
Hours: 9:00am to 9:00pm
People have been telling me to try Famar in Bucerias for years. “The food is really good, and the prices a fair,” they said. Finally, I made the opportunity to try Famar and they were right. The food is really good and the prices won’t break the bank.
Famar is a typical Vallarta patio style restaurant. Very casual and comfortable. It serves Mexican style seafood and traditional Mexican dishes. Since most of my recent restaurant posts have been about seafood places, I chose to order some non-seafood dishes for a change.
I started with the sopa de tortilla (tortilla soup), a tomato and chile broth that has fried tortilla strips added. Onion, cilantro, avocado, and lime garnish the soup. It was full of flavor and not too spicy. The portion served makes a better appetizer than full meal.
My main dish was a chile relleno con queso (Poblano chile stuffed with cheese). It included refried beans, rice, and nopalitos, a cactus salad. In the picture, the chile relleno looks kind of flat and scrawny. Normally a chile relleno looks more plump when served. I almost felt cheated looking at it when they served it. It turned out to be far more filling that I thought. I could barely finish it. Although, I finished it all because it was really, really good. I liked that the chile relleno was served piping hot. Oftentimes, they are served lukewarm which I don’t care for.
I thought the nopalitos (cactus salad) served as one of the side dishes was very good which surprised me. I am not a fan of nopalitos. Typically, the cactus has a gummy, slimy texture that just grosses me out. In Famar’s version of nopalitos the cactus was mixed with tomato, onion, and cilantro and it was very light and fresh tasting.
I have to admit that I misplaced my notes on the restaurant so I am estimating the cost of my lunch. The sopa de tortilla, chile relleno, and a mineral water cost approximately $140 pesos, about $13.50US.
This is the entrance on the main highway. There is also an entrance in the back. From the front Famar looks quite small, but it is actually quite a large restaurant.
As in most restaurants in Vallarta, the meal starts with pico de gallo salsa and chips. At Famar, they also give you a really tasty bean dip which I haven’t been served anywhere else that I can remember. I finished the entire bowl.
Check out the Vallarta brand salsa. I wish I had asked them where they get it because I haven’t seen it before. It’s very similar in taste to Huichol brand salsa which is in the background.
Chile relleno with nopaltios, rice, and beans. The homemade sauce was great. Try the cactus salad.
Tortilla soup. Very good. I consider myself a tortilla soup connoisseur and the tortilla soup at Famar makes the grade.
The pace at Famar is slow. It made me want to spend a leisurely afternoon drinking beer and relaxing. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time. Some other day.
We had some good barbacoa tacos from the “Aqui es Tlaxcala” taco stand located on the corner of Calle Brasilia and Calle Ecuador. The stand is on the back side of the Municipal Stadium two blocks from the 8 Tostadas Restaurant. The stand is also located directly in front of my favorite tortilleria in Puerto Vallart
a.
Good stuff! Makes you hungry just looking at them. Use the map below to make your way to the taco stand. You might also want to read about my favorite tacos in all of Puerto Vallarta.
View Larger Map
