Taco Tour: Sayulita, Mexico
In November I had 
the privilege of traveling to Sayulita, Mexico to watch two of my dear friends get married. I was excited for lots of reasons, one of them being the opportunity to eat regional food. Luckily for my taste buds and stomach, I was craving good Mexican food. Especially street tacos. With no real agenda, other than wanting to sample local fare I ended up veering on a mission that would lead us to some awesome eating, and even a competition. There are plenty of Mexican delicacies, but my focus was street tacos. I did not want to eat at any place with a table cloth, or owned a menu that wasn’t painted on the side of a wall. Just good, down to earth, street meat.
Upon arrival in to Puerto Vallarta I was with a very small group, and we were famished from the 3+ hour flight. We expressed our hunger in broken Spanish to our shuttle driver and he assured he would stop at a place to get tacos on the way into Sayulita (about 40 minutes from PV airport). We were driving through the lush jungle of Nayarit, through small villages and small tourist stands when our driver asked ‘Is this ok?’ We looked out and saw a Taco stand on the side of the road. Enthusiastically we said ‘Fuck Yeah!’ This was the best way to start my culinary tour in Mexico. There were only 3 options, all painted on the side of the building. We ordered one of each. Chorizo (pork sausage), Adobada (stewed pork), and Asada (slow cooked beef). I should mention here that most street tacos are accompanied by chopped cilantro and onion on top. In addition there are usually some condiments that will vary from stand to stand. In this part of Mexico there was usually a red sauce (somewhat spicy) and a green sauce (usually avocado based). Unfortunately through my tour I didn’t connect with a local foodie to understand the regional meanings of each salsa. But common across the board at every taco shop was the green avocado sauce and a red chili sauce. Oh, and of course limes and radishes. This particular stand brought out all of the condiments on this nifty compartmentalized tray. There was the red sauce, green sauce, limes, radishes and beans. Very cool. When our tacos came out, our eyes got big and we dove in. Our guide let us know that these tacos were a bit bigger in size than the ones we would eat in Sayulita. Needless to say, we devoured them. Ultimately looking across the table and ordering 4 more. What a great introduction to street tacos. The fire was lit and I was on the mission to try as many street tacos as possible. If you want to keep track at home, I had 4.
Sayulita would offer a plethora of taco options. Lots of recommendations, lots of choices. The good news was that you would literally pass by 3 taco stands on your way into town. I was going to enjoy this tour. There was one spot that you couldn’t miss. At the major junction of the 2 walking streets and the bridge, lay a stand that boasted only Al Pastor tacos. The visible difference was that the meat was displayed Gyro style. On a vertical spit with a charcoal heating stand behind it, hand cranked with an onion and a pineapple roasting on top. Is this Heaven? The kind gentleman of this awesome stand basically just asked how many you wanted. I started with a confident 4. Describing this taco is tough. The meat is so tender and flavorful. It didn’t need any sauce. The taco shells were much smaller, proving our guide correct. For the bigger man they would be considered 2 bite tacos. I generally took 3 to 4 to savor. Then I ordered two more. They were phenomenal. Three great facts about this particular taco stand; 1 – it was open until 2:30am. 2 – it was positioned in front of the main Carneceria (butcher shop) in town. And 3 – there was a Churro Truck positioned across the street. Like I said, is this heaven? Not to be missed, that churro truck was fucking incredible. I wish I had it more than 4 times. Needless to say, this place was a huge favorite and returned too daily.
It wasn’t until one of the last days of the trip where I found arguable the best single taco of the trip, Naty’s. This was definitely tucked away and a locals favorite. The two times I went, it was always littered with locals, gringos too. What separates this spot from the others was the fact that it looked like it would have exceptional food. It had that vibe of a local spot you knew would be awesome. It didn’t boast the traditional style of street meat, but rather thoughtful combinations that you knew the proprietor took great care in concocting. Pork and squash, chicharrone and ground beef, green bean and mushroom, were just a few of the combinations. I guess in San Francisco foodie terms you could dub this place having Craft Tacos. Naty was there in person dishing out the tacos with a friendly and welcoming smile. I have to say it was an incredibly tough decision. The tacos were a bit larger than the ones we had been having, so I took precaution. Chicken Mole and Chicharrone were my first two. Holy shit were they tasty. The mole was easily the best mole I have ever had. You could really taste the 20+ components and love that went into making that sauce. The chicharrone was a bit different. It was more of a braised pork fat than crispy. But it melted in your mouth… I can still taste it. Naty’s also served some of the best Agua Fresca I had on this trip. In my two visits I was able to sample the Horchata and Star Fruit. Perfect compliments to the tacos. I can’t say enough about this place. You know its good when locals are getting take away, and telling you to get the last of the mole before its all gone. I am happy to have found this place, and I hope to return.
One day we went fishing. To build on the taco train, we had an incredible Fish Taco feast at our compound. Everyone got involved and we feasted on our catches of the day. It was pretty incredible to go out and bring back 6-7 huge fish that ended up feeding 20 hungry adults. Skip jack tuna, Needle Fish and a Rooster was our bounty. A couple of different methods, and we had an array of fish tacos. That was a fun evening.
All of the Taco enthusiasm spread through my collective house strong enough to spar a friendly Taco Count challenge. All members of our house began to tally up their count for the week. It was prominently displayed in our kitchen, where every morning the banter between who had eaten where and how many increased with each day. There was also discussions of places that were discovered, and always, ‘which was your favorite?” Fish Taco My Ass was a favorite spot of many in the house. This spot boasted fresh Mahi Mahi, cooked to perfection with your choice of beer batter or grilled. You can’t go wrong on either, its just whatever you are in the mood for. A champion began to emerge within the house as Doug took a commanding lead in the taco count. He and I were neck and neck at one point, and then with a late night rally to the Al Pastor taco stand, Doug put down enough Tacos to increase the gap to an insurmountable lead. We actually had discussed the fact that who ever wins will have the most late night visits to the famed Al Pastor spot. All in all, this was a fabulous tour of the local street tacos in Sayulita.
