Mexico's Gold Coast: Manzanillo
January 26, 2008
(Photo: Sculpture at Marina of City of Manzanillo)
In this second half of my blog about holiday in Mexico, I bring you tidings from the Pacific coast beaches of Mexico. I also bring you a yummy recipe for octopus salad that I ate as often as I could.
After leaving Guanajuato, I went on an over-night bus trip to the city of Manzanillo in the state 
of Colima. Manzanillo is a port town, but just outside the town center and marina, there is a string of beaches stretching from Manzanillo to Puerto Vallarta to the north. While we stayed at a moderately priced hotel, Santa Barbara, that was conveniently located about 3 blocks from the beach, and was across the street from a cineplex, chain grocery store "La Soriana" and a fabulous coffee shop (it was heaven to finally enjoy non-instant coffee), I think next time I'd prefer to stay at the local
Barcelo hotel and resort that boasts a private beach and pool-side bars! We were, however, able to cook in our suite and prepare food to bring to the beach each day.
of Colima. Manzanillo is a port town, but just outside the town center and marina, there is a string of beaches stretching from Manzanillo to Puerto Vallarta to the north. While we stayed at a moderately priced hotel, Santa Barbara, that was conveniently located about 3 blocks from the beach, and was across the street from a cineplex, chain grocery store "La Soriana" and a fabulous coffee shop (it was heaven to finally enjoy non-instant coffee), I think next time I'd prefer to stay at the local
Barcelo hotel and resort that boasts a private beach and pool-side bars! We were, however, able to cook in our suite and prepare food to bring to the beach each day.
I'd never done a "real" beach vacation before (I spent years being a broke student), so I was not prepared for spending the entire day at the beach, which meant we had to bring food with us. I was also unsure what exactly to bring, but my sister took care of that. Each day, we had breakfast and then brought a cooler full of fresh water, "dorados" (fried pig skins), tostada shells, fresh salads, and sodas. My favorite thing was the variety of salads we had featuring local seafood from the market. The best salad hands-down was the "pulpo" or octopus salad. I'd never had it before and it was by far the tastiest thing I'd eaten (minus the little head). We prepared this salad the morning we left and kept it on ice until service. We ate it simply with tostadas.
Below is a recipe for the salad, but note that this is party size (it feed a lot of people). So adjust as necessary.
Ingredients (yield=feeds a party):
- 1 small octopus (buy this at any fish monger; Whole Foods does sell sashimi grade however)
- 1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 bunch of Italian parsley, finely chopped
- 7 roma tomatoes finely diced
- 3 jalapeno or serrano peppers, finely minced
- 1 bunch chopped green onion
- 4 limes, juiced
- sea salt to taste
Step One: Make sure your octopus is pre-cooked - most are because the meat is just awful if it is not. Remove the head and chop the tentacles into bite sized pieces. You are looking for a yield of about 3 cups of meat -- if your octopus is too big, ask for half.
Step Two: Combine all ingredients and mix well. Let sit for 30 minutes before serving. Spoon salad on tostadas with a dash of olive oil.
Aside from this delicious salad, I also enjoyed local food from beach and street vendors, and I couldn't help but eat all the tacos al pastor I could find. My favorite fonda featured a lazy susan full of salsas and 
guacamole, yummy! I also imbibed in fruit cocktails of all sorts sold by vendors walking up and down the coast with boxes on their heads containing mangoes, cucumbers, watermelon, and pineapple. The biggest surprise for me though was a vendor in Barra de Navidad who bore fresh baked pan dulce and raised donuts. Donuts at the beach . . . what more could I ask for?
Labels: vacation; vendors;
