Taco Tuesday in Puerto Vallarta

Is Taco Tuesday a thing in México? I don’t know. But it is in the U.S. So we acted accordingly.

Our group was booked on what is called The Street – An Evening Taco Adventure Tour. (Locations visited on this tour may vary. Ours had a couple of changes.) It is one of the offerings by Vallarta Food Tours. They have more than a dozen other food and drink tours you can enjoy while you’re in Puerto Vallarta.

This one takes you on a walking tour through a couple of neighborhoods in Puerto Vallarta where you stop at local stands and sit-down eateries, some of which are only open during the evening/night. The places where we heartily indulged our taco-craving selves are all small family-owned locations; no big chains here. We gained some insider knowledge from our keen guide as we visited some of the best taquerías in Puerto Vallarta (PV). I may have gotten spoiled on this tour.

As I alluded to earlier, today is Tuesday. But not just any Tuesday. It’s Tuesday, the twenty-second day, of the second month, of the twenty-second year of this century. All twos. And we’re on a taco tour. On Twosday, er, Tuesday.

Hope you’re hungry. Let’s go!

Mariscos El Guero

  Our first stop was Mariscos El Guero. Our guide, I’ll call him Arturo, told us guero is a nickname for blonde. Mariscos El Guero specializes in seafood, as you probably guessed from the name and the fact that we’re in PV. How do you like your seafood? In a taco? A burrito? A quesadilla? As a main dish? Yes. Mariscos El Guero has it all covered.

We’ll be dining on mahi mahi tacos here today. They are served on flour tortillas. I had the fried version. You can also order it grilled. When it comes to your table, it’s just the fileted and fried (or grilled) mahi mahi in the tortilla.

It took a couple of bites to get into it, but I found myself enjoying it. A simple taco with a small amount of condiments added later – lettuce and cilantro-cream dressing(?) – let the mahi mahi be the star of the show. Nice and crunchy. Lightly fried. I appreciated the fact that the batter did not overpower the fish, and that the mahi mahi did not taste fishy.

On the table was a bottle of Valentina Salsa Picante. I had never heard of it before, but apparently Valentina is very popular in México. It’s made here in the state of Jalisco. I decided to add some to my meal. Adding that tiny bit of heat woke up an already delicious taco.

In addition to being Taco Tuesday (at least in the States), today is also National Margarita Day. Again, we acted accordingly and ordered margaritas. I ordered an orange margarita, as did the rest of the group. But instead of salt on the rim of the glass, it was coated with Tajin, a chili-lime seasoning. I’m still getting used to something other than salt of the rim of my margarita glass but I am starting to like the Tajin. It cuts the tequila a bit better.

Even though we only had a short time here and many more stops to make, I ordered a second margarita. I soon found out about the delayed effects of Mariscos El Guero’s margaritas. Fortunately, we’d soon be doing a lot more eating and walking. Which was a good thing; a chance to absorb some of that alcohol and burn off the rest.

As if this were not already a marvelous start to our taco tour, a few minutes before we got ready to walk to our next stop, a mariachi band appeared and began serenading the lucky patrons sitting by the open door.

The sun was turning gold and would sink into the ocean a few blocks west of us in a couple of hours. It’s about 79 degrees with a light breeze. We’re finishing our tacos and have margaritas in hand. A mariachi band is in full song and strum a few feet away from us. I took a few moments to reflect on and appreciate all of this.

Reluctantly, we had to get going. We walked a couple of blocks down and over to…

Sonorita Olas Altas

While the scene unfolding in front of us commanded my attention, uneven sidewalks, high curbs, and cobblestone streets forced me to focus on where my feet were landing. Still, even with eyes peeled (or so I thought), I tripped over an uneven section of sidewalk at a corner. Which, of course, led to jokes about the margaritas I consumed earlier.

Arturo explained to us that Sonorita (website is in Spanish) has been around for 28 years. They are famous for their tacos al pastor. They started out with a system where customers ordered food by weight. They’ve gone on to add breakfast — currently only chilaquiles. Dinner hours run from 5pm ‘til midnight.

This bustling place looked to be doing fantastic business. There was no line outside, but few, if any, empty seats inside. Most of the customers appeared to be regulars; only a handful appeared to be tourists.

While we waited for our tacos to come out from the kitchen, I looked around the room. A sign announced that they won the 2021 Tripadvisor Travellers Choice award. I also noticed they serve cheesecake among other desserts. (Those who know me know it will not take long for me to find cheesecake.)

We’ll be having volcanes, or volcanoes, on this visit. Though it is often referred to as a taco, it is served open-faced. It features corn tortillas, melted cheese, and meat of your choice. We had arrachera, or flank steak. This is topped with cilantro and onions.

When it arrived, I wondered why it is called volcano. I didn’t dwell on it long enough to stop my fork from digging in and bring this new dish to my mouth. It tasted different. The meat, tortilla, and cilantro and onions tasted familiar. But the cheese was a style I don’t recall tasting before. And the combination of the cheese and meat knocked my taste buds for a loop. But as they got used to the flavor, I decided I do like this. By the time I finished, I wanted another one.

I realized later why it is called a volcano. When viewed from the side, it looks like an erupting volcano, with the melted cheese and meat forming a cinder cone. When viewed from directly above, the meat and cheese appear to be flowing down the sides of an edible mountain.

From Sonorita, we walked up a few blocks up to…

Tacos de Cabeza El Chulo

Our journey here took us past some beautiful murals, rainbow streamers strung above the street, one of the ubiquitous OXXO convenience stores, restaurants, bars, and other shops.
This area of PV began to make me feel less like a tourist and more like someone who’s been here a few times before. (That may be because we drove through this section of town three times already since arriving yesterday.)

As we neared Tacos de Cabeza El Chulo, I started feeling a bit apprehensive. In Spanish, cabeza means “head”. So I’m imagining the entire cooked cow’s head, brains and all, shaved off and placed in a taco. I am a semi-adventurous eater, but I just can’t wrap my head around tacos de cabeza yet, no pun intended. Had I been alone, I probably could’ve found a way to get out of trying the cabeza tacos. But since I was part of a group that seemed to be down to try anything foodwise on this trip, I went along with the plan. Though nothing was ever said, and probably wouldn’t be, I was still feeling some pressure to not wimp out.

Tacos de Cabeza El Chulo has had a stand at the same location for 45 years. The third generation is now serving up these famous tacos. They are only open nights from around 5:30 until midnight or 1am, but during that time they can serve as many as 700 people (!). Obviously, they are doing something right.

To my great relief, Arturo explained that cabeza tacos made by Tacos de Cabeza El Chulo are made from beef cheeks. Ok, I think I can work with that. This would be my first time trying tacos de cabeza. The serving system they’ve perfected means our order was prepared and plated before I knew what was happening.

So how was it? The meat tasted a tad sweet. Most certainly tender and moist. Maybe that’s the draw. The rest of the condiments mixed together quite well, slightly softening the taste of the cabeza. Not bad. Hmmm. Maybe I should try more tacos de cabeza in the future. Most definitely from here.

Cuale River

At this point, the tour took an interesting turn. I thought we’d have a short walk to the next spot, but Arturo had a surprise for us. Instead, we walked deeper into residential PV. Suddenly, Arturo turned left at a tree-covered spot and took us across a bouncing suspension footbridge that went over the Cuale River. Here we found ourselves on an island (!). I had no idea there was an island in PV.

On Cuale River Island (Isla del Rio Cuale) Arturo talked to us about the area. We strolled past the cultural center and what’s called Gringo Gulch, named for the American “gringos” that made their home there in the 50’s and 60’s.

A walk up a more modern bridge called Iguana Bridge — named for the movie The Night of the Iguana, which was filmed in PV — took us over the second branch of the Cuale River. There we heard the story of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. We stood outside the house Burton had built for himself, and across from the place he had built for Liz Taylor. And, of course we saw the famous “bridge of love”. More on that and the Cuale River in another blog post.

Looking back, this part of the tour, though full of things to see and learn about, seemed like an interlude. There weren’t many people around. The scenery was far different from what we had just passed through. Another thing I noticed was that this “interlude” gave our bodies a chance to digest the tacos we’ve gorged ourselves on so far.

As we descended down the cobblestone streets, we hung a left and soon arrived at…

Vallarta Factory

By now the sun had set and the sky was shedding the last of its orange and purple hues. (The photo here was taken the next morning when the lighting was much better.) It would’ve been nice to stop for a few minutes and watch night fall on PV from the Malecón, but we had a schedule to keep.

We walked inside Vallarta Factory and were seated immediately. Vallarta Factory has been around for 24 years, Arturo told us. They started by making cigars. Now they have a café, roast their own coffee, and make artisanal chocolate, too. (Mmmm, Mexican chocolate (said in the same manner Homer Simpson would drool, “Mmmm, donuts.”)). And the aroma of that coffee wafting through the air smelled amazingly delicious! My wallet’s gonna be a little lighter when I leave here.

Tacos on tap for this part of the tour were actually sopes; sopes de pollo to be exact. On top were lettuce, sour cream, red onions, cheese, and chili powder. The sope was loaded with flavor. Each of the toppings were distinguishable and none overpowered the chicken. I may have to look for sopes when I get back home.

To accompany the sopes, we were served cafe de olla in a petite pottery cup. The coffee tasted as delicious as it smelled. I’m guessing there was a good reason it was served in such a tiny vessel.

Our stop at Vallarta Factory included a piece of chocolate from their display case. We walked over to the display to choose our chocolates. I settled on Oblea de chocolate de leche con Almendra (milk chocolate wafer with almond). While looking in the display case to choose my chocolate, I spotted a cheesecake. Not just any cheesecake. A mocha cheesecake. Fusing chocolate and coffee, both made here, was a dream. The cheesecake itself was also made right here, right upstairs. Best believe I bought a slice to go.

When we got outside, a shuttle was waiting to drive us over to…

El Carboncito

 When Arturo pointed us toward the stand where a cook was skillfully slicing pieces of al pastor onto a tortilla cradled in his palm, and the guy standing to his left was chopping chorizo and asada on a cutting board, I knew my attachment to PV was complete. And I could not have been more pleased. My mind had a flashback to the taco stands like this one near where I live, then just as quickly returned to the present.

El Carboncito would be serving us their famous tacos al pastor. They cook theirs using a “carboncito”. A carboncito is a little charcoal grill that looks and cooks like a regular al pastor grill where the meat is cooked on a vertical spit. But instead of using gas or electricity to cook the meat, a carboncito uses charcoal. And it’s the charcoal that takes the flavor of the al pastor up a notch.

They have a clever way of handling dishes here. The plates are plastic. They place them inside a plastic bag and put your order on top. When you’re done, they take the used plastic bag off, put a new bag on, and the plate’s ready for the next guest.

Our tacos were served hot off the grill. We sat down inside the tiny shop in front of the cooks to consume our prize. My first bite confirmed how much using a carboncito elevated the flavor of the al pastor. The sweet pineapple also helped. I relished every bite, savoring the smoky taste imparted into the al pastor, the sweet, citrusy pineapple, and the cilantro and onion. I have come to the conclusion that this is hands down the best al pastor I have ever tasted. (I hope the family that runs the pop-up taco stand I frequent back home doesn’t read this.) It was so good I wanted to buy another one. Luckily, our host graciously offered me her taco.

El Carboncito is definitely a hole in the wall. That saying about hole-in-the-wall restaurants serving the best food certainly applies here. I could have eaten two or three more of these tacos.

It may be due to a number of reasons, but I am feeling right at home now. I think I could stay here in PV for a while.

Not wanting to leave, we grudgingly walked two blocks over to…

Mariscos La Tía Ñaña

When we reached our next spot, Arturo informed us we would be enjoying smoked marlin tacos. Smoked marlin sounds great to me. I’m looking forward to this.

Mariscos La Tía Ñaña, or just Mariscos La Tía, is known for all of their mariscos, or seafood, including the smoked marlin. Judging from the number of people that came in for take-out orders, I imagine this is a popular place.

Our group fell into an easy conversation while we waited for our tacos to be prepared. When they arrived at our table, I was expecting marlin filets. Instead, the marlin was chopped. If I heard correctly, Mariscos La Tía does this prior to cooking, which helps the smoke flavor permeate more of the marlin.

A flour tortilla served as the base for the taco. Lettuce, lightly grilled onions, garlic, soy sauce, and a chipotle sauce were placed atop the taco. From there, we were on our own. Salsas, lime, and oils in a caddy on the table let you customize your taco to your liking.

Marlin is not an easy fish to cook properly. Trust me. Mariscos La Tía excels with this one. The smokiness came through easily. The taste of the marlin itself was prominent without being fishy. The onions, garlic, chipotle, and soy sauce played well off the smoked marlin.

The two drops of Asian chili oil I added made this taco perfect. It brought some heat, but I could still taste each of the individual ingredients. I should’ve stopped there. But I went against my better judgement and added one more drop. Just that one small drop was enough to wreck it. The taste of the chili oil now overpowered everything else in the taco. Fortunately, by the time I added that third drop, I had nearly finished the taco.

From here, we walked two blocks up to…

Julio’s Churros

I was expecting another taco stand. Instead, we stopped here at a churro stand. Arturo gave us a history of Julio’s Churros while we waited for our confection to cook.

Julio is originally from up north in Nayarit. He’s been here on the same corner for 34 years. Word is he makes the best churros in PV.

Arturo may have spilled some tea when he told us that Julio cooks his churros in one piece once the batter is extruded from the press gun. This process seals in the flavor while preventing it from absorbing too much oil. The batter is fried in corn oil, giving it a darker color and added crispiness. Once it reaches the perfect degree of doneness, the churro spiral is removed from the fryer and placed on a pan. There, it is cut and immediately dredged in sugar and cinnamon. Finally, the cut churros, still piping hot, are placed in a paper bag and given to a soon-to-be very happy customer.

I couldn’t find any website or social media pages for Julio’s. I suppose when your product is this good, word of mouth takes care of the rest. His churros are definitely worth trying.

So this would be our dessert, I guess. Nice way to end our taco tour. But there was still one more stop left on our itinerary.

We walked about a block or so over to…

El Tasting Room

It was almost 9 pm by the time we got here. The occasional couple strolled by on an otherwise nearly empty street. This was in contrast to the lively places we just visited a few blocks away. Inside was quiet, too. I think maybe a half-dozen other people were there when we arrived. Keep in mind, though, this was on a Tuesday night. I’ve heard this place can and does get quite busy.

The simply and aptly named El Tasting Room is a contemporary space with décor to match. That includes the walls, lighting, bar display, and especially the chairs.

Our group was seated near the front, with a view of the tranquil night scene outside. Our tables were illuminated by candlelight. Behind us was the fully-stocked bar. I found out later that El Tasting Room’s menu of wine, beer, and spirits, features only products from México.

We were served a drink made with Costa Raicilla, accented with lemon juice and a slice of pineapple. I wondered if the citrus in the drink might disguise the alcohol. No need to worry. The raicilla definitely lets you know it’s in there. The staff told us our drink is called Raicilla Allegre. But the website calls it Raicillalater. Have one and you’ll understand why the latter is more accurate.

Having a raicilla-based drink was a fitting end to our tour. Made even more fitting because yesterday we visited Barrio Bistro by Memo Wulff and La Lulú Raicillería, where we learned about and tasted raicilla. What we didn’t know is that El Tasting Room would be having its grand opening two weeks after our visit.

You could, I guess, wander around the neighborhoods of PV and find some pretty good taco stands on your own. But I believe it’s better to roll with a guide who lives here. A guide who knows the area. A guide who can show you all the hits without any of the misses. Like this tour. Whether it’s Tuesday or not.

Side note: Did you know the term Taco Tuesday is trademarked? Yup, it is. You cannot trademark or own “Taco Tuesday” now because it is what is considered legally as a “commonplace message”. Unless you are a restaurant. That’s because two restaurants already have what is called Incontestable Trademark Registration on Taco Tuesday. There’s your lesson on IP law for today. Class dismissed.

Thanks to Cross Border Xpress (CBX) and the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board for hosting me on this trip. All opinions are and remain my own.

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