Acapulco
Evenings in Acapulco are nothing short of magical. When the sun goes down, the breezy nights reveal rolling hills decorated with the soft glow of sparkling lights. Like little stars, they overlook the water, reflecting on the bay. Music and dance fill the air and romance is inevitable. Sunsets are particularly Beautiful. The days reveal, sun, palms, sand and surf. Tropical flora and sky high palms cover the landscape. Day or night, Acapulco has no shortage of amazing cuisine, from street food to world-class gourmet. Read and look on as I take you on a culinary adventure through the tropical paradise of Acapulco, Mexico.
Pescado-Fish tacos, either fried or grilled. In this case, they were grilled beachside in Acapulco at a place called Tortumar, a beachside restaurant and turtle reserve. Since sea turtles are a protected species now, hunting them in Mexico is not permitted, though that hasn’t always been the case. Angelica tells me stories from her childhood, how that her family would gather for a day at the beach and her dad and uncles would catch the sea turtles for turtle soup. They’d have lime, onions, garlic, cilantro and the like. They’d build a fire, harvest the meat, flip the turtle shell over like a bowl and make turtle soup over that fire by the majestic Pacific Ocean.
Sea turtles may be off the menu in Mexico, but endless bounties of fresh fish are abundant. When fish is this fresh, there is no strong “fishy” smell, just perfectly delicate and delicious meat. No one knew the English translation, but the fish was one of the…no the best fish I’ve ever had and I’ve had a lot of wonderful grilled fresh fish. In the slideshow, you may notice that I’m rather reluctantly eating a fish eye (from the catch that was served to us)-a challenge from Angelica’s mami Lupita. Gotta please the in-laws.
Ceviche-Lime-marinated fish so that the citric acid alone cooks the fish, with no heat added. It’s sort of, kind of like “Mexican sushi,” if you will. It’s usually eaten either with or without ketchup and is spoon on top of crackers or tostadas. Extra lime is standard and additional accompaniments include fresh avocado, cilantro, hot sauce and even soya sauce, like the Maggi brand. At Tortumar, we had baby shark (tiburón) ceviche with lime, ketchup, crackers, hot sauce and soya sauce. Ceviche is all about fresh clean flavors. The fresh lime and chilled fish on a hot day with a cold beer or cocktail is quite refreshing.
Tamales-Coming Soon… Tim Shirley