Cuisine
 Great
food, cool refreshments and friends are always a winning combination. You will find good restaurants and street taquerias (street taco stands) everywhere we will go. In Cuyutlán seafood is the main fare. You will also find numerous open air seafood restaurants at the beach and the very good restaurant at our hotel the Hotel Morelos.
At the Hotel Morelos you have the option of ordering the comida corrida (set meal) for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The comida corrida is a Mexican tradition. It is a set meal that includes several courses and is always a great value. For example the desayuno corrida or set breakfast at the Morelos begins with a big slice of fresh papaya, a tall glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and a cup of dark cafe de olla (coffee of the pot or brewed coffee). In this region of México coffee is always served with an assortment of fresh baked sweet breads and cookies. This is followed by huevos (eggs) fixed any number of ways including the national favorite huevos Mexicanos (eggs scrambled with onions, tomato and jalapeno's), huevos rancheros (eggs sunny side up on corn tortillas with red salsa on top), huevos revueltos (plain scrambled eggs), huevos tibios (poached eggs) and huevos natural (eggs sunny side up, over easy or over hard). Eggs are served with a side of refried beans and shredded lettuce with a tomato slice. You will have a choice of fresh baked french style bread with butter or a stack of hot corn tortillas. For desert there will be a delicious banana prepared in a way I will let you experience without description here. All this will cost less than $4.00 USD and you will need to call a fork lift to get you up out of your chair!
 Street food is generally safe to eat if it has been cooked well. Most street food is built around some form of meat and bean taco or tostada. Depending on the vendor the tacos can be greasy or they can be seca or dry. Look and observe before you order. Quesadillas are also popular as are a variety of Mexican tortas (sandwiches). You will also find plastic cups laden with fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruit and Vegetable cups are normally served with chili and fresh lime to squeeze on the vegetables and fruits. Always squeeze lime juice on fresh fruits and vegetables. This acts as a final food purification process.
Aguas frescas (fresh waters) are a Mexican specialty and are shown in the photo at the top of this page. These are refreshing iced drinks made from fresh fruit or flower blossoms like strawberries, coconut, jamaica (made from hibiscus flowers and my personal favorite), carrots, grapefruit, orange and pineapple juice. They are delicious and not to be missed. Be sure to ask me to assist you with having one of these wonderful liquid treats.
 In Colima City, Comala and Suchitlán you will find a wide range of restaurants and cafes from regular everyday cafes like you find in your home town to informal restaurants serving delicious regional cuisine. Just off the Jardin Nuñez in Colima City you will find an excellent vegetarian restaurant. I had a very tasty vegetarian sandwich there made with wheat free bread. This restaurant is a short walk through a beautiful Jardin Nuñez(plaza Nuñez) and close to our hotel the venerable Hotel La Merced which is also across the street from the Jardin Nuñez. We will be sampling from this range of fine cuisine as we travel. The photo on the right shows the cool shady dining area under coffee trees at Los Portales Restaurant in Suchitlán.
One constant in Mexican cuisine is the often served quarters of lime. The lime is then squeezed to add the acidic juice to salads and fruit for flavor. Historically this served as a final insurance step to sanitize fresh fruits and vegetables by subjecting any lingering microbes to an acidic bath rendering them harmless. This is less of an issue now however as Mexican sanitation has improved vastly. However I always make sure I squeeze lime juice on my salad greens, fruit, fish and other appropriate food.
Breakfast generally is served between 9:00 am and 11:00 am. Lunch in this area of México comes in the mid to late afternoon and dinner is normally consumed after 9:00 pm. Most restaurants open around 6:00 pm for dinner. They tend to get busy with locals after 9:00 pm.
Remember time in México is relative. A cafe may advertise that it opens at nine o clock am. That can mean a lot of things. Depending on the mood of the owner or any number of variables the restaurant may open a few minutes late or on time or not at all. You never know and you have to accept this or you will be frustrated. Mexican's view time a lot differently that people from the US or Canada. In fact most Mexicans don't pay much attention to time. They order their lives differently.
México has come a long way in the last twenty years. Refrigeration is common and food vendors are very conscious of the need to prepare wholesome safe food from fresh ingredients in a sanitary environment. When water is used to prepare a shrimp cocktail or a cup of fresh fruit or in an aqua fresca in most cases it will be aqua purificada (purified water). It is in the vendors best interest to serve safe food. Mexican customers will get ill just like traveler's from outside of Mexico will and that is bad for business! The only *exceptions* to this general rule are if you are way out in a very small rural community that is not near a town with a purified water works.
There is no question about the fact that food from a restaurant or vendor may contain bacteria that will make you sick. You have to know your gastronomical self, scrutinize the vendor's kitchen or street cart, observe how the food is being prepared and eyeball the equipment and vendor for general cleanliness and level of professional presentation. With this information you must make a judgment call that you are comfortable with.
 Always drink bottled water. At your hotel draw purified water from the garafon (water container) that will be available nearby. You can buy purified water in most stores from a liter in size to 4 liter size.
That's it in a nutshell. Be a little daring, take a few risks, if you don't know what it is try it! Nothing ventured nothing gained. Travel well, eat well and bon apetit or as they say in México provecho!
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