Ulf Henriksson
By Andrea Kahn
Most travelers come to Puerto Vallarta for sand and sun. But many visitors fail to take full advantage of the city's hot restaurant scene, widely regarded as one of the best in Mexico. Here, chefs from around the world combine international influences and regional Mexican recipes.
Best of all, even the most upscale restaurants in Puerto Vallarta are relatively affordable. Annual culinary events such as Restaurant Week offer additional discounts -- and more reasons to sample the inventive cuisine.
Photo Caption: Roasted plums with cinnamon ice cream at Trio restaurant, Puerto Vallarta
Given the global economic downturn and a decline in tourism to Mexico in general, tourism to Puerto Vallarta has suffered -- inspiring hotels and restaurants to devise new ways to lure visitors. During the annual International Gourmet Festival (www.festivalgourmet.com), participating restaurants host guest chefs from all over the world (in past years, visiting chefs have come from Los Angeles, Italy, and Egypt).
Trio, El Arrayán, Blanca Blue, and about 25 other restaurants will participate in this year's festival (Nov. 10-20, 2011). Purchase admission to individual events; prices start around 480 Mexican pesos ($37).
Another don't-miss gastronomy event is Puerto Vallarta Restaurant Week (www.virtualvallarta.com/restaurantweek), at the tail end of the tourist season and before the onset of the sweltering summer heat (May 15-31, 2012). Some 40 participating restaurants offer three-course menus at a fixed price, resulting in discounts of up to 50%. In 2011, the two price tiers were 189 and 299 Mexican pesos, or about $16 and $25.
Photo Caption: Puerto Vallarta hosts several culinary events throughout the year.
Puerto Vallarta is a cosmopolitan city with an eclectic restaurant scene, so it's tough to highlight local dishes. Chefs do use local ingredients, though, and in Puerto Vallarta, this means fresh seafood.
The innovative chefs at the city's upscale eateries haven't forgotten Puerto Vallarta's past as a sleepy fishing village, and creative preparations of locally caught fish grace every menu. Even if you're a devout carnivore, don't pass up the opportunity to try the grilled sea bass at Trio, the seared tuna at La Leche, or the poached red snapper at Blanca Blue.
Photo Caption: Filet of red snapper with grilled eggplant and tomato at Trio
The ever-popular El Arrayán, (www.elarrayan.com.mx) specializes in regional dishes from across Mexico, including a few that may take you by surprise.
Try the roasted chapulines (grasshoppers), a Oaxaca specialty. El Arrayán's have a distinctly nutty flavor, as they're raised in a sesame field. You can purchase them by the jar in the adjoining shop, along with the restaurant's legendary chipotle-garlic salsa. Other menu favorites include plantain empanadas from Veracruz and Yucatán-style pig's feet, which are advertised on the menu as "different & good."
The restaurant is named after the arrayán fruit, which is native to Jalisco, and of which the owner, Carmen Porras, has many fond childhood memories. You'll spot an arrayán tree in the middle of courtyard, and you'll find arrayán fruit in the restaurant's signature margarita. Entrées from 160 Mexican pesos ($12).
Photo Caption: Barbacoa de res is among the more tame options at El Arrayán, where daring foodies will try the roasted grasshoppers.
Few things in Puerto Vallarta stay the same, including menus and the restaurants themselves. Previously an ornate French bistro, La Leche (www.lalecherestaurant.com), at the northern edge of the city's Hotel Zone, underwent a transformation about three years ago. Now, the starkly modern interior consists of wall after wall of white milk jugs and a collection of all-white wooden furniture. Bread is served in white paper lunch bags, and the dishes -- exquisite concoctions such as duck cooked for three hours in garlic, Grand Marnier, orange peel and spices -- are presented with playful touches such as twisted utensils, sides served in toothpaste tubes, and "sand art" creations of cayenne pepper.
The menu changes daily based on what's being offered that day at the local market, and individual dishes change based on the chef's whims: Order the same dish as your neighbor, and you're likely to see it presented two different ways. Entrées from 225 Mexican pesos ($17).
Photo Caption: Creativity, presentation, and fresh ingredients are the standard at La Leche.
Trio professes to serve "Mediterranean Food Cooked with Love," and the dedication and inspiration behind their menu is evident in each carefully prepared dish. Co-owned by Bernhard Güth (a German who came to Mexico by way of London, Italy, and New York) and Ulf Henriksson (a Swede), the restaurant has become a mainstay of the Puerto Vallarta restaurant scene.
The interior is breezy with stucco and exposed brick walls evoking a Mediterranean villa, but it's the food that draws customers. Trio changes its menu four to five times a year, but certain signature dishes prevail, including a Lebanese beet, parsley, and goat cheese salad and the chile-roasted red snapper. While the restaurant self-identifies as Mediterranean, the dishes exhibit French, Mexican, and even German influences.
Photo Caption: Parmesan risotto with veal involtini (braciole), at Trio
While downtown Puerto Vallarta is pedestrian-friendly, sometimes it's worth hopping in a car. Opened in Fall 2010 at the Garza Blanca Resort in the city's South Shore district, Blanca Blue (www.blancablue.com) is a delightfully chic addition to Puerto Vallarta's restaurant scene. The spacious interior offers romantic sunset views of the ocean; dinners are often accompanied by live jazz.
What's described as a "contemporary French menu with Italian influences and Mexican ingredients" includes specials such as fresh guacamole with red-snapper chips, kalamata- and sesame-roasted mahimahi, and the classic "pork x 4" (prosciutto-wrapped pork loin with barbecued pork ravioli). Entrées from 250 Mexican pesos ($19).
Photo Caption: Inside Blanca Blue Restaurant & Lounge, one of the participants in the International Gourmet Festival in Puerto Vallarta
Most travelers come to Puerto Vallarta for sand and sun. But many visitors fail to take full advantage of the city's hot restaurant scene, widely regarded as one of the best in Mexico. Here, chefs from around the world combine international influences and regional Mexican recipes.
Best of all, even the most upscale restaurants in Puerto Vallarta are relatively affordable. Annual culinary events such as Restaurant Week offer additional discounts -- and more reasons to sample the inventive cuisine.
Photo Caption: Roasted plums with cinnamon ice cream at Trio restaurant, Puerto Vallarta
Trio, El Arrayán, Blanca Blue, and about 25 other restaurants will participate in this year's festival (Nov. 10-20, 2011). Purchase admission to individual events; prices start around 480 Mexican pesos ($37).
Another don't-miss gastronomy event is Puerto Vallarta Restaurant Week (www.virtualvallarta.com/restaurantweek), at the tail end of the tourist season and before the onset of the sweltering summer heat (May 15-31, 2012). Some 40 participating restaurants offer three-course menus at a fixed price, resulting in discounts of up to 50%. In 2011, the two price tiers were 189 and 299 Mexican pesos, or about $16 and $25.
Photo Caption: Puerto Vallarta hosts several culinary events throughout the year.
The innovative chefs at the city's upscale eateries haven't forgotten Puerto Vallarta's past as a sleepy fishing village, and creative preparations of locally caught fish grace every menu. Even if you're a devout carnivore, don't pass up the opportunity to try the grilled sea bass at Trio, the seared tuna at La Leche, or the poached red snapper at Blanca Blue.
Photo Caption: Filet of red snapper with grilled eggplant and tomato at Trio
Try the roasted chapulines (grasshoppers), a Oaxaca specialty. El Arrayán's have a distinctly nutty flavor, as they're raised in a sesame field. You can purchase them by the jar in the adjoining shop, along with the restaurant's legendary chipotle-garlic salsa. Other menu favorites include plantain empanadas from Veracruz and Yucatán-style pig's feet, which are advertised on the menu as "different & good."
The restaurant is named after the arrayán fruit, which is native to Jalisco, and of which the owner, Carmen Porras, has many fond childhood memories. You'll spot an arrayán tree in the middle of courtyard, and you'll find arrayán fruit in the restaurant's signature margarita. Entrées from 160 Mexican pesos ($12).
Photo Caption: Barbacoa de res is among the more tame options at El Arrayán, where daring foodies will try the roasted grasshoppers.
The menu changes daily based on what's being offered that day at the local market, and individual dishes change based on the chef's whims: Order the same dish as your neighbor, and you're likely to see it presented two different ways. Entrées from 225 Mexican pesos ($17).
Photo Caption: Creativity, presentation, and fresh ingredients are the standard at La Leche.
The interior is breezy with stucco and exposed brick walls evoking a Mediterranean villa, but it's the food that draws customers. Trio changes its menu four to five times a year, but certain signature dishes prevail, including a Lebanese beet, parsley, and goat cheese salad and the chile-roasted red snapper. While the restaurant self-identifies as Mediterranean, the dishes exhibit French, Mexican, and even German influences.
Photo Caption: Parmesan risotto with veal involtini (braciole), at Trio
What's described as a "contemporary French menu with Italian influences and Mexican ingredients" includes specials such as fresh guacamole with red-snapper chips, kalamata- and sesame-roasted mahimahi, and the classic "pork x 4" (prosciutto-wrapped pork loin with barbecued pork ravioli). Entrées from 250 Mexican pesos ($19).
Photo Caption: Inside Blanca Blue Restaurant & Lounge, one of the participants in the International Gourmet Festival in Puerto Vallarta