Finding a Decent Thanksgiving Dinner in Puerto Vallarta
It’s almost Thanksgiving again, and if you are planning on spending the holiday in Puerto Vallarta you may have given up on the idea of having a traditional turkey dinner. After all, you might think, Thanksgiving is an American and Canadian holiday.
Actually, with a large population of American and Canadian ex-patriots and retirees, a good turkey dinner is not that hard to come by. Many resorts put up great spreads for Thanksgiving and allow anyone to join them (for the cost of the dinner, of course). Many of the fine restaurants in Puerto Vallarta also serve thanksgiving dinner… My favorite is Ernesto’s Good Grub, located just behind the former Cine Versailles in Colonia Versailles. Ernesto has been a staple in Puerto Vallarta for many years and serves up an excellent turkey dinner with all the trimmings. If you are living in Vallarta, or renting a condo or villa with a complete kitchen, you can also do it yourself. Larger grocery stores like WalMart, Sorianna, or Comercial Mexicana all sell uncooked turkeys and you can even find things like stuffing, pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce.
While I encourage those visiting or living in Mexico to adopt Mexican culture as much as possible, that does not mean we should forget where we came from. Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to share some of the best of our north of the border culture with our hosts here in Mexico. If you do intend to celebrate Thanksgiving here in Puerto Vallarta, be sure to invite a friend from the community for some cultural exchange.
El Primo, a new Torta and Flauta restaurant near the Puerto Vallarta Malecon
This last week hailed the grand opening of El Primo Tortas y Flautas. While most people don’t get excited when a new sandwich shop opens, we are excited because it is being opened by one of our friends and real estate clients who just relocated to Puerto Vallarta. We wish them the best of luck, although I am sure they will do well as I can personally attest that they make one of the best tortas in Puerto Vallarta (I had the privilege of helping them refine the recipe) , plus they have a convenient location just in front of the LEY supermarket on Av. Mexico a few blocks before the start of the Malecon as you drive down town.
El Primo - The best Tortas in town!
In case you don’t know, a torta is a traditional type of sandwich here in Mexico with any of several types of meats, cheeses and vegetables usually served hot on a ‘bolita’ roll… similar to a french roll. Flautas (‘flute’ in english, also called taquitos) are tacos, usually chiken or beef, that are rolled up and fried then served topped with heavy cream, lettuce, tomatoes and salsa. (note to self: Don’t blog about food while hungry)
They also serve a variety of home made fruit waters flavored with fresh cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple and other seasonal fruit. Mmmm, delicious…
At the risk of sounding like a Burger King ad (no, I’m not being paid to say this) El Primo uses only the freshest ingredients to make the kind of torta only found in places like Guadalajara and Mexico City. While Puerto Vallarta has many excellent restaurants and a fine culinary tradition, it isn’t known for it’s tortas. I hope El Primo can change that in some small way because tortas are a tasty slice of Mexican culture and should be sampled when visiting Mexico. If you are in Puerto Vallarta, or are planning to visit, make plans to stop by for a quick lunch at El Primo while you are exploring down town PV; you’ll be glad you did.
