Vegetariano por favor?

It is not easy that one get authentic Mexican food in Vegetarian choices.  Before landing in Puerto Vallarta, my good friend Claudia had helped me practice (several times) to ask the right questions - “ nosotros no camemos carne, puerco, pollo, pescado, ningun tipo de marisco, huvevo (meaning we don’t eat beef, pork, chicken, fish, any type of seafood or eggs). Just when the waiter or restaurenter begins to understand, I had to further add - “la comida no debe tener mantequa, caldo de pollo o de carne o de puerco o de pescado” meaning, make sure the food does not contain lard or meat based broth. Once you have said the the choices would become very limited.

I mean, yes! you get plenty of things to eat in Mexico, having gone there with the family, I stayed in an All-Inclusive resort, the safest bet, even during this second trip. where one gets plenty of vegetarian choices such as pasta & pizza, but hey, I wanted some real Mexican food.

We were lucky enough to sneak out one day and take a day tour operated by the “Camp Copomo” where they offered Horse Back ride to a lush water falls hidden in the tropical jungles, some adrenalin rush through several zip lines and the noisy ATV tours (I could have skipped that). But the most exciting they offered was the food! and they got the Vegetarian  request to the last detail .

A typical day for the Copomo campers start with a hearty breakfast of fresh tortillas, eggs, beans, vegetables and amazing salsa. Having eaten at the resort, I was not hungry, made sure to take a quick taste of the salsa before heading out to the kitchen in the back to check out the ladies at work. Stone ground masa, hand made dough & hand pressed tortillas all cooked on a large wood fired griddle. I had heard a lot about stone ground masa, hand made tortillas and  had tried quite a few that claimed to be the real deal (!). But these tortillas were superior, far superior, so were the chips made out of them. I could actually see the texture of the masa on the chips.

Another fun fact I learnt while I saw them making their Salsa, that they add a lot of cucumbers! The “Kachumber” salad in Indian cuisine has a similar recipe. This salsa was yet very Mexican and to die for.

Camp Copomo guys also have an incredible Tequila collection, all made from Blue Agave grown within their property.

While going through the rides, I frequently thought of the lunch we were going to eat, glad we built up an appetite for it. Real Mexican food is not “cheesy” at all, literally I mean! The only cheese they use is Queso Fresco, very light, clean & fresh. They made some quesadillas for us on small thick tortillas, served it with carrots & squash cooked to perfection. Served with one of a kind beans and rice. More chips and salsa accompanied the meal, and it was spicy!. Some lime margaritas to compliment it all, followed by chocolate tequila shots! A grand finale indeed. I would eat at this place any day!

To be fair, I enjoyed quite a few things at the resort too, of these Squash Stew,  Roasted Jalapenos & Arbols, Habanero Sauce, a particular Health Drink and Chilaquiles are worth mentioning. Chilaquiles, the supposedly poor man’s dish, although there was nothing poor about the way they made it, is fried tortilla chips, topped with a spicy tomato sauce, garnished with barely cooked onions, fresh cilantro and queso fresco. Also, the “not too sweet” desserts loaded with dark chocolate must be mentioned!