Walking down Lazaro Cardenas, towards Bucerias Town Square if you’re coming from the South, you might chance across a colorful sign, of a lady in a chef’s hat, holding some baking; a sign to Sweet Things gourmet bakery. If you don’t see the sign you’ll miss it. It’s right next to the Bucerias Art Walk but it has no store front; only that sign and some overhanging trees and gardens… very secretive.

The seating area is a combination of both outdoor and indoor, an undercover set of tables and an outdoor set, shade being provided by umbrellas. The outdoor area backs on to a literal private garden, where visitors to the cafe can enjoy the greenery or watch the household rooster hopping back and forth on the concrete fence. We were even lucky enough to catch a friendly lizard sunning itself on the adjacent fence top.

The only thing that makes Sweet Things un-private, (though not in a bad way) is it’s rampant popularity. Head inside on most days of the week from breakfast to lunch time and you might just be lucky to get a table.

You’ll find the place full of locals and tourists, many of which I’m sure have decided to come after uttering the words “We have a FAVOURITE little breakfast place nearby…” to their willing guests.

The reason I used all the slashes in my post title was because I really didn’t know what to call this place. It has a gourmet bakery, yes. It’s a cafe, you can buy coffe there, yes. It’s a restaurant, you can buy full meals there, yes. And all of those individual parts have equal levels of awesomeness.

What I mean is: Whether you get a home made organic brownie from the bakery, some of the delectable banana nut waffles for breakfast, or a club sandwich for lunch, Sweet Things is sure to impress. It’s the kind of place where you just know that each meal has that little touch of homemade-ness about it… that each meal got prepared with just a touch of that magical ingredient called care.

The wait staff are friendly, the prices are cheap, and after your meal you’re free to linger in the shade, and enjoy the garden ambience with a good book or a coffee. OR not to mention, if you haven’t before, you can head off to the Bucerias Art Walk next door to round off the morning in the most perfectly relaxing way.

Sweet Things is a local treasure, fullstop.

Technorati Tags: Bucerias, Bucerias Restaurants

Cutting straight to the point on this one, if you’re looking for a place for lunch or dinner in Bucerias, Adriano’s has it’s good and it’s bad.

The restaurant is certainly visually stimulating. It’s bright orange interior and plethora of decorations lining the walls, from plates to sombreros to Mexican artwork makes it an entertaining atmosphere from which to enjoy your meal, and certainly a unique experience. As you wait for your food you can observe and discuss the various pieces as well as of course the view of Bucerias beach out the window.

The restaurant has the common drink specials like 2 for 1 Margarita’s and the ever popular 5 Corona for 80 pesos, making it an easy start to the evening.

The menu at Adriano’s is common yet vast, a little more vast than a couple of the other spots on this strip (see our posts on El Brujo and Mezzogiorno from the same strip). You can choose from all the Mexican favorites, as well as steak, seafood, and a variety of appetizers.

Service wise (it’s always very subjective and must vary so greatly regardless of the place) while it wasn’t poor, we got the subtle feel that (and maybe fair enough) our waiter lost a lot of his friendliness and attentiveness toward us after we actually came inside the restaurant. But overall, it was nothing to complain about.

Having eaten at most of the restaurants on Avenida Del Pacifico, the unfortunate thing about Adriano’s is that it’s quite expensive relative to it’s neighbors, maybe the most expensive on the strip. I don’t mean expensive by western standards, just expensive for the area.

Food wise, we sampled the Filet Mignon, the Mexican Pork Cutlets, and the BBQ Ribs. The verdict was: Filet Mignon with creamy mushroom sauce was a delight; Mexican Pork Cutlets, tasty but only saved by stealing the BBQ sauce from our friend’s ribs to put on them, too plain on their own; and BBQ Ribs small but tasty and BBQ sauce, not too bad.

Re-reading what I’ve written here I can’t put my finger on exactly why I’m unable to be more excited about Adriano’s. Nevertheless, I can’t say anything particularly bad about it.

Adriano’s is the kind of place you have to go at least once because of it’s uniqueness, and after that, you might come to love it, or you might decide that once was enough.

If you end up checking out Adriano’s, let us know what you thought!

Technorati Tags: Bucerias, Bucerias Restaurants

Terralta is located at the Northern end of the town of Bucerias. It’s position gives it an advantage in that it’s still only a couple of minutes from the center of Bucerias but it’s also closer to towns further north such as La Cruz and Punta de Mita. It’s an area that’s quite though still frequented by westerners, only far less than you’ll find in down town Vallarta. The other advantage to the area is that being out of the main Puerto Vallarta area, on the north shore of the bay, prices to rent and to buy are much cheaper.

The complex is divided up into 4 sections, Terralta 1, 2, 3 and another area called Los Amores.

The area has mostly all the amenities you’ll need pretty close by. For example:

1. For most of your shopping needs, you’ll head to the MEGA mart (just like Walmart) just down the highway. The bus ride is about 7 minutes, and costs 6 pesos or 50 cents USD.

2. Beach. Of course! About 3 minutes walk from the front of Terralta is a great quiet stretch of beach with multiple beachfront bars and restaurants.

3. In a complex at the very front of the estate, 5 minutes walk from basically any apartment in Terralta, there’s a center with a bakery, Tower Pizza, about 3 restaurants including a great sushi place, a gym, a pharmacy, and a number of furniture outlets, as well as a 24 hour OXXO convenience store.

4. Anything else you need (generally not much) you can get from the Liverpool mall or the Sam’s Walmart across from the Marina in downtown Vallarta. The bus ride is about 40 minutes and costs $1 USD.

Here’s what you need to know as a buyer, before finding the perfect place in Terralta.

1. At the moment (as of 2010) there are a lot of places available in Terralta. Despite what real estate agents or owners tell you, it’s a renters market, particularly after the financial crisis of 08/09. IF you’re looking, make sure you shop around.

2. If you speak spanish or have a friend that does, you’ll be at a tremendous advantage. It’s easy to find places either furnished or unfurnished in Terralta, and they are available either through real estate agents or the owners privately. Many of the private owners who are looking to rent the apartment out, only have small signs on their windows, so you can go and collect phone numbers and do some investigation. It might take a little longer but it could save you considerably over the long term. If you don’t speak Spanish, you can still get a great deal through a real estate agent in the area.

3. The majority of places available are in Terralta 2 and Terralta 3. While both of these are nice and very livable, Terralta 3 has generally nicer houses that are a little bigger and it also has a Palapa (that offers free WiFi internet) and a communal pool. Terralta 2 is still nice but a little cheaper and none of the additionals of T3.

4. Prices. Prices in Terralta vary considerably based on a number of factors but the main one is:

Furnished or Unfurnished (of course). For a furnished place you can expect to pay from about 6000 to 9000 pesos depending on exactly what furniture is available. That works out to about $500 to $800 USD per month. Of course for unfurnished you can pick up places from 4500 peso’s and up.

5. Maintenance: All apartments come with a compulsory fee of about 300 pesos for garden fees and security.

6. Check with the owner whether your place has a phone line already installed. If it does, you’ll be able to get your phone service and internet set up cheaper and more easily. If not, things will take a couple of weeks longer and depending on the length of your stay.

7. Utilities. These often vary between apartments so check with the owner. Usually you’ll have to pay gas (apartments have a gas heater that you need to light up 10-20 minutes before you want to use hot water) and electric, with water included but again, check with the real estate agent or owner.

8. Sales office at the front. At the front of the complex is a little caravan. Despite the fact that they’re obviously in business, trying to make sales and get renters of their own, the girls in here speak great English and can be helpful for the start of your search.

That’s about all.

From our personal view, Terralta is a great place to live. It’s close enough to everything you need and yet still quiet enough for you to relax. If you’re thinking about moving to Terralta and have questions, feel free to ask us!

That said, I can think of at least 3 reasons why El Brujo restaurant, the second last on the strip before the avenue ends is one you’ll want to check out… and one that once you do… you’ll find yourself coming back.

We were told to check out El Brujo by a lady that lives near us. She’s a local, and a real Mexican, which made the recommendation seem that much more enticing.

El Brujo has a major disadvantage right off the bat, being that it’s right next door to Mezzogiorno, without a doubt the best restaurant in this row. However, that doesn’t stop it from having these 3 (and this is just 3 in my opinion, I’m sure there’s more) cards up it’s sleeve.

Let me give it to you, the 3 reasons that if they were all the restaurant had, would make it worth coming to:

1. It’s cheap. Whether it’s appetizers or mains, El Brujo is priced much more competitively than any other restaurant on this strip. And that’s not because of a lack in quality either. Most of the places here are tourist prices, overpriced in a lot of cases, but not El Brujo. Elysia and I ate there last night and for garlic bread, 2 Coronas, and 2 mains we paid about $22 USD – compare it to $44 at other places on this strip and you start to see what I mean.

2. Breast Romero – Our first night at El Brujo, a Canadian lady dining at the next table leaned over to us and made a recommendation out of nowhere. We didn’t ask for it. “I haven’t been to Bucerias in a year and I’m back and the first thing I wanted was this chicken”, is what she said. Elysia took the recommendation and from that day forth has been a feign for Breast Romero.

Imagine this…

A thinly sliced chicken fillet rolled up into a cylinder. Inside that cylinder is placed spinach and mozzarella. On the outside of the cylinder is wrapped, almost prosciutto thin BACON. Next, that roll is placed in a delicious thick creamy, slightly mushroomy, slightly cheesy sauce. You’re picturing Breast Romero. Even if my pathetic ability to describe it didn’t make it sound mouth watering… just trust me… it IS!

3. The Chi Chi cocktail – This drink is a pretty simple concoction, creamy and fruity, pretty close in fact to your average Pina Colada. The reason it makes this list is the childish, borderline immature sense of amusement you will feel when it is brought to your table in a cup shaped like a Chi Chi… that is, a woman’s breast. And, because I know you were wondering… yes, there is a hole in the nipple, and yes, you can drink out of it. We ordered this drink and were suddenly the talk of the restaurant. Another guest actually turned to us, clearly unable to contain his curiosity and asked “Where did you get that glass?”, which caused our next 10 minutes to be spent laughing at the fact that he thought we must just carry a breast cup around with us to take into local restaurants and cause a stir!

So that’s it. If you need more reasons than those to check out El Brujo, you’ve got rocks in your head.

Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say that if I’m in a new country and I see a sign that says “(that country’s) Finest Traditional Sweets”, I’m pretty much there like a bear.

That’s the sign I saw, colorfully designed in aqua green and purple, strolling down Lazaro Cardenas blvd in centro Bucerias, marking the entrance to Dulce Galeria. Truth be told I wasn’t that excited at first after having left a couple of stores making similar claims in downtown Vallarta being rather disappointed at their lack of any uniqueness or authenticity.

Dulce Galeria in Bucerias however, is an exception; the kind of exception that you hope to find at the smaller, slightly less touristy town that exists that little voyage out from the main city center.

Striking up a conversation with the store’s owner, you learn that the selection is a combination of traditional sweets that she acquires from all over Mexico; from Jalisco, from Nayarit, from small towns and big towns; anything interesting,  unique and excessively sweet might find it’s way here.

If you’re smart you gravitate quickly towards the plate free samples, that glorious feature that makes your  trip to a candy store enjoyable whether you’re buying or not. On the plate you see tiny slivers of candy of many a strange variety.

First you get introduced to an ingredient common to many of the store’s items, called Guava. I couldn’t manage to work out whether this was some extract or manipulated form of the fruit guava, because in taste and appearance it bears no resemblance, despite being delicious in a non traditional way. It’s coloured the brown of caramel and has a consistency similar, almost like but not quite as thick as that of not quite fully caramelized condensed milk. The taste of this is relatively expected, sweet and thick and… caramelly… particularly compared to the peculiar first taste that hits your mouth, one that you’d swear was something mildly and sweetly alcoholic.

Many candies in the store are innovations using this Guava substance including the delightful Guava coconut roll who’s name accurately sums up it’s content and implies it’s deliciousness.

A strange sweet on the menu who’s name is both less and more mysterious is called simply “Mango with a splash of chilly”. Learning that it is not in fact spicy allows you to put this one to the test. Surprisingly (for me at least) this was an instant favorite, the sweetness of the mango combining with the faintest hint of heat from the chilly provides an unusual yet easy to appreciate lolly that leaves you wanting more.

Other available treats included marshmallows covered in sprinkles, mango cream mixed with chopped pecans, toasted pumpkin seeds, and various crystallized fruits.

While at first glance the store is tiny, the hardest part of a visit quickly becomes deciding what of all the awesomeness you’re going to take home with you. Unfortunately the prices are such that you’ll probably only want to select a few things and leave the rest for next time.

There’s no mix and match, and no familiar western favorites, but at Dulce Galeria, you’ll certainly find your sweet tooth satisfied. Much like the nearby Gringo’s Bookstore, I say that Dulce Galeria is not a store but an experience. The enjoyment of learning the composition of various sweets you’ve never seen before, finding out where different items come from and making your selection between so many things that look so nice is almost as great as the enjoyment of stuffing your face with the sugary snacks after you leave.

Mezzogiorno

Now having eaten there twice, it’s a restaurant that we’ve decided we both passionately love and strangely hate… but mostly love. Before we can get into why, some preface is needed.

Mezzogiorno is the last restaurant in a strip of about 10 at the northern end of Avenida del Pacifico, stretching about 400 meters from the overly conspicuous orange Adriano’s on the north side of the Bucerias town square.

Walking from the town center at dinner time on most days of the week you will pass bar owners and restaurantuers in sequence, each standing at their respective doors with special offers, imploring the tourist passers by to make this, not any other on the strip, their choice for dinner this evening. The offers are anything from live music, to 2 for one cocktails, to local seafood, to buckets of 5 Corona’s for about $16 USD. It almost gives a stroke of the ego, to walk along the strip and feel each mostly empty restaurant gallantly vying for your attention and your business… that is… until you get to the last in the line… Mezzogiorno.

Mezzogiorno sits smugly and inconspicuously in place, it’s front wall covered in plants and greenery, almost obscuring it’s entrance from view, making it seem like the doorway to a secret hideout. No restaurant owner greets you as you wander by, no waiters tempt you at the door with special offers. In fact as we learned, the menu they put at the front door isn’t even their real menu, but a mere sampling of some of the delicasies you’ll be likely to encounter if you become part of the special club. At Mezzogiorno, they don’t need your business, and it shows.

Our first night there, we strolled through the unassuming entrance way to be greeted with the mouth watering smell of sauteeing mushrooms and a hive of activity. The restaurant’s regulars were coming in in droves, greeted with hugs by the staff who were simultaneously busy rushing from table to table, pouring frozen Margherita’s and hurriedly calculating table bills.

“Table for 3 please”, we asked, as one does.

“Do you have a reservation?” came the swift, ambivalent reply.

Walking down the strip past 10, for the most part totally empty restaurants has a way of erasing the word “reservation” from your vocabulary. In fact, not once in our 3 weeks and probably 15 meals out in Puerto Vallarta had we been at a restaurant that looked like it would have even taken reservations, let alone taken them seriously.

Partly embarassed, we were forced to admit that we did not have a reservation.

Fortunately by some stroke of luck we only had to wait about 10 minutes for a table.

Unlike any other restaurant on this strip, and while I haven’t seen them all, I dare say any restaurant in the whole of Bucerias, Mezzogiorno is packed to the rafters with eager tourists and (mostly) locals each and every night of the week… and for very good reason.

Geographically, the location of the beachside bar is one of the best on this strip because, being the closest to the north end, you have the best view of the proceeding towns along the beach all the way to the point at La Cruz where you see yachts and sailboats floating peacefully against the backdrop of the horizon. Not only do you have clear views of the coast in a northerly direction, you can also follow it from Mezzo’s balcony South all the way to downtown Vallarta assuming it’s a clear night.

Aesthetically the place has a cozy, almost romantic feel, with it’s dim lighting, similarly dim yet passionate red lamps, and elegant white table settings.

Finally the issue of the ‘comida’… the food.

The cuisine is Italian, and the menu ranges from a wide selection of pasta’s to light and interesting seafood dishes, to the other Italian staples like Parmigianas and Risottos. Meat eater or vegetarian, the size of the menu will ensure you have plenty to choose from, and plenty of reasons to come back a second and third time.

As expected once we picked up the fact that this was a restaurant run by a manager and a chef that really know what they’re doing, our individual selections that night we’re masterpieces.

We all went with pastas, getting a taste of the Gnocchi, the Quattro Fromaggio, and a creamy mushroom and chicken Penne… that is after a sampling of the garlic bread for starters, seemingly made in house with a tasty light garlic and herb butter. None of us are even big pasta lovers but each dish had a perfect combination of deliciously tasty pasta sauce, with succulent, well balanced, well cooked ingredients (no dry chicken, no excessive cheesiness, no lack of flavor).

And the price? We we’re more than happy to pay an above average price for our meals at Mezzo, but as we discovered after eating at a few places on that same strip, this Italian hotspot is in fact very competitively priced. The three of us ended up paying about $68 USD for 3 mains, 5 drinks, and a garlic bread.

With it’s picturesque setting, buzzing atmosphere, outrageously tasty food and affordable price, a trip to Bucerias shouldn’t be undertaken without a visit to Mezzogiorno… just don’t forget to book your table before you do!

You can call Mezzogiorno at 329-298-0350,  find them at 33 Avenida del Pacifico or visit their website at www.mezzogiorno.com.mx

To our surprise, even at uber commercial chain marts like Mega and Walmart, the book section is solely titles in Spanish. Even the ritzy Liverpool mall in downtown PV, built solely for tourists strolling across from their cruise boats, do you think you can find books in English? No hay nada!

It was exciting then to learn after a little internet search (and thanks to this blog) that in fact our own town of Bucerias in fact had it’s own English bookstore, appropriately named Gringo’s Bookstore. In fact, it still seems to be one of the few English bookstores in PV, another (bigger) being at Plaza Caracol, inside the Soriana complex about 5 minutes south of Sam’s Wal-Mart on the bus down town.

On a typically perfect bright and clear Friday morning, Elysia and I made our way down to 7-A Calle Morelos (off Lazaro Cardenas) in Bucerias centro to experience this local gem for ourselves.

What at first seems like a relatively small selection of books turns out to be potential hours of hunting, as you experience the simple pleasure of scanning the shelves not knowing exactly what you might find, or what you might take home. On the densely packed shelves you can find used titles of both fiction and non fiction (seemingly more of the former) organized alphabetically on the authors name, in many cases regardless of their subject or content, making your search that little more interesting.

More enticing still is the mysterious aroma of baked goods (maybe a nice Banana Bread, I thought) coming from the store’s backrooms. I put a mental post it note on that one for further inspection later.

You also notice that none of the books have prices. The bookstore charges 50% of the publishers price, and gives you the option to return the book for a store credit of 25% of the purchase price that you can use to purchase your next set of books.

After you pay for your books you learn that the smell of baked goods is emanating from the store’s own coffee shop, where you can pick up anything from a chai frappe to a home made slice of numerous kind.

But the experience of Gringo’s Bookstore is yet not complete, in fact, perhaps the most special part is saved for last. Attached to the bookstore is a quiet patio and garden setting. Here you can sit down with your newly acquired treasure, in an open room that (on this divine winter day) feels like perfect room temperate, neither too warm nor too cold even by a degree. You can sip your latte and turn the pages of your book as the combination of sunlight and the gentlest of breezes carresses your skin, the owner’s 2 cats half heartedly play fight around your legs, and the odd tourist saunters in and out without making too much of a stir.

Gringo’s is one place that you immediately know isn’t just a shop… it’s an experience. You won’t spend much money, you won’t expend much energy, and you’ll certainly leave a happier and more relaxed person than when you arrived.

Technorati Tags: bookstores, Bucerias

1. Easy Access

The great part about the Bucerias Beach is that you have easy access to it almost regardless of where you’re staying or living. Most of the good stuff at Bucerias happens on the beach side of the highway passing through, so there’s never more than a 10 minute walk to the shore from where ever you are. Even from the highway itself, the beach is only 2 blocks. As you’re driving through you can even see the water from your car, that’s how close it is.

2. Quiet

Being 45 minutes from downtown Vallarta (by bus) there are far less people at Bucerias to bother you. Most times of the day you can enjoy the beach almost like its your own (besides weekends). You’ll see less merchants selling stuff from the sand, less rowdy tourists, and less chaos in general. Furthermore, alot of the land back from the sand at Bucerias is timeshare properties rather than hotels, meaning when you walk past, you’re passing 6 people in a house, not hundreds on their balconies at a hotel… makes things quieter and a little more private.

3. Clean, Quality Beach

Less touched by tourists, the beach at Bucerias is cleaner and nicer than elsewhere in Vallarta. There’s a good width of sand meaning there’s plenty of room to find a spot to sunbake or sit and read. The sea can be less rough here too as there’s less big rocks out in the water, influencing the waves. Speaking of waves, the beach at Bucerias isn’t a surf beach either, meaning no surfers, just those enjoying the ocean in more relaxing ways.

4. Plenty of Activity

Whether you want a good meal or a cocktail in the sun, there’s a strip of bars and restaurants along part of the beach that’ll see you more than satisfied. You can sit under a bungalow on the sand, or elevated up higher on a balcony to enjoy the rolling waves and the sunset. On the weekends you can check out the markets right near the shore, or the festivities at the Bucerias town square.

If you’re coming to Bucerias for the beach, congratulate yourself on a decision well made. And if you remember, come back here and let us know how you found it!

Technorati Tags: Bucerias, Puerto Vallarta

Yet less ravaged by the touristy sprawl, Bucerias stands out amongst the beachside towns on this stretch of Mexico’s west coast for a number of reasons.

Firstly you quickly notice that, while various towns along the highway from Vallarta, like Nuevo Vallarta, Mezcales or Jarretaderas are mostly centered on the inland side of the highway, Bucerias’ town center, and alot of its shops and restaurants are on the ocean side of the highway. This means that it’s never too long a walk from what ever you’re doing in Bucerias to the peaceful, glistening ocean front.

You also realize before too long that Bucerias is elevated slightly higher above sea level than some of it’s northern Jalisco counterparts. Even from the highway (that runs parallel to the shore just a couple of blocks back) at certain points you can look down between the buildings at a grand view of the bay right out to the mountains on either side.

When you get down to the shore, Bucerias continues to impress, with a stretch of beach that’s as clean and picturesque as any around the bay’s crest. Looking out from the sand you can see almost 180 degree mountains, giving the impression that you’re about to go swimming in a volcano’s crater filled with sea water; and If not for what appears as a delicate bite taken out of the bay’s rim, a gap to which the rest of the vast Atlantic opens itself up, you probably wouldn’t know otherwise.

Walking around the township, you feel a much gentler ratio of locals to tourists, a welcoming feeling in a place like Vallarta. You will still see westerners around Bucerias, but most of them are those that have retired to live in the area, or own timeshare properties down near the water. You’ll see tourists too, those that venture up the coast for a day trip as part of their Vallarta vacation, but Bucerias is also a popular spot for locals who work in down town Vallarta, seeking to get away from the hustle and bustle of tourist haven.

Catering to both halves of the local population are more than enough beachside bars to grab a drink at, and half authentic restaurants to find a decent feast at any time of day; not to mention alot cheaper than you would find down town. There’s also cafes, a local market, houseware stores, a couple of gyms, and if there’s anything else you still need, a Mega mart with everything and shuts just a few minutes taxi south down the highway.

If you’re a tourist, Bucerias is well worth a trip up for the day. If you’re looking for a place to retire, Bucerias is close enough to everything to be convenient, but quiet enough to give you the relaxation you desire.