The Fish Market

Note: During my recent trip to California, some friends at Stacy's party said they dig the blogs a lot, but would like to see more about everyday life in Puerto Vallarta. So, here you go.

There is no Safeway, Trader Joes, or Whole Foods in Puerto Vallarta. It is one of the drawbacks of living here. There are, however, some pretty good supermarkets. Soriana and Mega are the local chains. There is a huge Wal*Mart, along with Sam’s Club and a great Costco which just opened last year. More often than not, it is Costco where we go for our major shopping.

Shopping at Costco here is pretty much like shopping in any other Costco in any other town in any other country. After all, it is a cookie-cutter Costco world, which for us is not a bad thing at all. Why? Well, you want top USDA New York steaks? Costco's got 'em. They're the same ones you buy in the U.S. (until Costco arrived, the quality of meat here was mediocre at best). You want six hearts of romaine lettuce? Walk in the big fresh food cooler and they are there (about $2.25). How about shrimp? Yeah, they got them too ... those previously frozen ones they import from Vietnam ... same as the US (but more expensive). Which is all well and good, but it begs the next question. Why, if you live in a Mexican seaside town known for its fresh fish, and especially shrimp, would you buy the previously frozen ones imported from Southeast Asia? Answer: you don't, if you know better.

When we first moved here a year ago, we thought it was really strange that in Puerto Vallarta there were no fish markets along the waterfront. There was a little shrimp stand where we would occasionally pick up what we were told were fresh shrimp right out of the bay. Other fish we'd buy at Soriana. But it wasn't much different than the Safeway fish shopping experience (and we would never buy it at Wal*Mart here ... the moment you walk in the store you're assaulted with the stench of old fish even though the "fresh fish" counter is in the back of the store).

Anyway, it was last fall when one of our newfound Mexican amigas asked if we had been to the "big" fish market. We told her we did not know anything about a "big" fish market, that Soriana was our place to buy fish and Costco was the place to buy those good Vietnamese shrimp. You could see the puzzled look on her face as she tried to determine the nicest way to say, “Stupido gringos.” Anyway, our friend, Maribel, told us there was this big fish market in town, located in a fairly run down industrial type neighborhood right behind the cemetery. The next day we discovered Pescaderia El Pelicano Plazola.

Granted, it is no Pike's Market. But it is a genuine open air fish market where, if you arrive in the morning, you see the fish, fresh out of the bay, and in some cases still showing signs of life, being delivered and ready for the locals who know where to buy their fish.

Mounds of red snapper (huachinango), rows of sea bass (baso), boxes full of spiny lobsters, and cooler after cooler after cooler of fresh shrimp (camarones) caught that morning and stacked on ice. The temptation is great, and it is easy to buy more than what you really need (kind of like Costco, eh?).

There are actually four or five different vendors all lined up, competing for your business. And they do compete. When they see you coming, they will rush up to you, tell you what they have that is really good that day and what bargains they will give you. The shrimp is separated by size and price. The smallest shrimp which are great for salads usually go for $60 pesos per kilo (about US$1.90 a pound). The biggest shrimp, which are so huge they resemble small lobster tails are usually $240 pesos per kilo (about $7.60 a pound). These shrimp are so big, two would make for a complete meal, and they don't always have them.

Part of the allure of going to Pescaderia El Pelicano Plazola, in addition to getting something that is really fresh, is that I will almost always haggle with the mongers. For one, it's kind of fun and you feel like your getting a better bargain. But mainly, it's because their damn scales are crooked! Like REALLY crooked. In fact, the scales they use are so old, they remind me of the antique ones that used to hang in the produce section at Rosenberg's Market in San Jose when I was a kid 40 years ago (ah, maybe it was 50 years ago). In fact, if I checked them out, they might actually have the faded out seal from the Santa Clara County Department of Weights and Measures dated 1956. When empty, the needle on the scales drops well below the zero mark. It makes sense then that as the needle raises to 1 kilo when they add shrimp to the scale, you’re actually getting more. But remember, this is Mexico.

The first couple of times we went there, we bought a kilo of shrimp, and it just didn't seem to be enough. When we got home, we found it was closer to 700 grams. So, one time, much to Kurt's embarrassment, I took our small kitchen scale and when they gave us our "kilo," I put the shrimp on our scale. Sure enough, 750 grams. Thieves! They added about another 12 shrimp to bring it up to the full kilo, plus a couple of more because they knew we caught them. Since then, we usually get the full kilo, but one of these days, I do need to bring our scale back just to keep them honest.

So how to they taste? The best you’ve ever had. Last weekend we had some friends visiting from the U.S. and we boiled up some shrimp for appetizers then put them on ice, whipped up some ketchup and horseradish dipping sauce. They said they never had tasted shrimp so good like that before. We have them for dinner usually a couple of times a week.

It is a bit of a hassle because to go shopping here, it usually means three or four stops. Though adjacent to the fish market is also a great little fruit and vegetable market and a tortillaria. It is part of day to day living here. And while the specialty markets, like Pescaderia El Pelicano Plazola are great, we’re also very happy that Costco is here. Because if you want other types of fish ... like fresh salmon or frozen scallops ... that’s the only place you’ll find them … and they look just like they do at every other Costco.