5 great Rocky Point street foods to try

If you like street vendors, you are probably fiercely loyal to your favorites. Good food is part of the adventure of traveling to a place like Puerto Peñasco. Want to taste something new that you just might love? Here are 5 great street food choices that are a little bit different, but full of the flavors of Mexico.

Zapata Fruit salad

Let’s start our 5 course meal with some fruit. The shaded Zapata fruit stand is out near the road leading into Las Conchas. A glass display case offers up today’s options, all sitting on a big block of ice. Fresh fruit is a wonderful thing, and you can pick and choose, or just let Señior Zapata mix them all together. Either way, you end up with kilo of pineapple, jicama, oranges, green apples, coconut…and more. It’s up to you if you want it drenched in freshly squeezed lime juice, dusted with chile, drizzled with honey. YUM!

Chile Relleno hot dogs

Sonoran style hot dogs are on a lot of people’s list of favorite street vendor food. Who doesn’t like a dog wrapped in bacon, sitting in a puffy homemade bun, covered with some Pico de Gallo, a little bottled hot sauce, and that ubiquitous Mexican condiment . . . Mayonnaise!

Hot dog stands dot the street corners around Rocky Point. You’ve got to have something different if you want to stand out from the crowd. One place that does is the stand just a half block off of Benito Juarez, near Plaza de Madre Park.

Here you will find a hot dog going where no hot dog has gone before. Who does not like chile rellenos? This Muey Mexican dish – a green chili, breaded, fried, and filled with gooey white cheese, gets stuffed with a weiner. Does not sound like much, does it? You have to try it to believe. You WILL get religion about this one.

Capitan Maguchi’s Spicy Tuna

Have you strolled through the park in the middle of town? Right across from City Hall? There are lots of well watered, lush trees, manicured grass (“Please do not step on the grass” says the sign), and the world’s largest statue . . . of a shrimp! Well, the biggest shrimp statue I’ve ever seen anyway. Really shows where the town is coming from.

At the curb you will find a bright blue truck with white waves that are right out of a Japanese wood block Print. It’s the Capitan Maguchi food truck, named after a notable founding fisherman from Peñasco’s past.

Little white tables and chairs invite you to sit beneath those big green trees, and enjoy a fusion of Asian and Mexican cuisine. Order the Spicy Tuna Tostada for a taste of something different.

A crunchy corn tortilla is topped with cool, raw chunks of tuna. This gets topped with a spicy salsa combining chile and dark soy sauce. Big pieces of avocado, and biting radish slices garnish the top. In a town known for it’s seafood, this one is something different, and a real winner.

Coctel de Elote

You may already be a fan of the creamy, chewy, lemony cups of corn that can be found in a number of places. The stand in el Centro, or ‘downtown’ Peñasco’ always has people waiting every evening for a cup of corn, or the churros they sell. Just a block from the main Telmex office.

The lady dips the long handled ladle down into a vat of firm, yellow corn. It goes into a Dixie Cup with cream (crema), aged cheese (queso añejo), and a squirt of lime, freshly squished! Then it’s off to the races. Want chile? Or hot sauce? Mayonnaise (there’s that Mayo again)? Everyone has their own, personal mix in mind. Stir it all up and enjoy the combo of textures, and complimentary tastes. Sweet sour, chewy, creamy. As the kids say, it’s all good.

Nieve de Garrafa

If this was a five course meal, here’s desert! I can’t tell you exactly where to get Nieve de Garrafa, because it’s always moving around. A little ice chest welded to a three wheeled bike, covered with an umbrella. Try driving by the elementary schools when the kids are getting out. That’s like tax season for the Nieve guys.

Nieve de Garrafa is traditional Mexican style ice cream. It is less creamy than standard ice cream, approaching the consistency of a slushy. Getting into Sorbet territory. Home made and hand cranked, Nieve de Garrafa is a cup full of intense flavor. You will invariably find Vanilla, Lime, Mango, or Banana flavored Nieve. You can even go half and half, giving you two flavors in a cup. Don’t be surprised if you get to the bottom of your cup and want to try the other two. Don’t worry, he’s on a bike, we can catch him.

5 great Rocky Point street foods to try