We ended up staying a lot longer in Puerto Escondido than we had intended to. This was largely due to an apparently very common thing that happens to many of the travelers that find their way here – an abstract pull, a feeling that this is right and you need to stay just a bit longer, indefinitely? Whatever, it’s just not time to leave right now. I think that gut feeling is either due to energy vortexes (vortices??) being real, or the very real relief of being in a free place (I think you know what I mean by a free place if you have survived the past two years) around other enlightened folk who just want to be healthy, play in the sun, dance with each other, eat, drink, be merry.
I do yoga five days out of the week here, and the knowledge that I am leaving in a few weeks, never to see the yogi’s, young traveling strong, spiritual, gifted women, I have come to truly look forward to seeing every day makes me so sad. But I am going to pack my new yogic life on my back as a gift from Puerto, and them. Other gifts from here include: The distinct joy of dancing my ass off in a sandy outdoor club, many epic beach sunsets, and a nicer toned bod due to the aforementioned yoga and the food. Let’s talk food shall we? You made it this far.
Though there is always more to be discovered, at this point with almost two months in la punta I do have some opinions.
Groceries – Moringa – we arrived here with our Mexico City gift of never ending travelers belly. On day one here we found Moringa, a health food store where we bought their house-made sauerkraut, kombucha. and kefir. We were promptly ‘fixed’. The kefir became our everyday breakfast alongside granola and fresh mangoes which are dropping everywhere in la punta. Other treats they have are fresh empanadas and the best coco water.
Dinner out – Moxie. We had so many delicious things here. Run by the talented Maria Hashimoto they serve omakase, 4, 5, or 6 courses. They also have a huge natural wine selection. We had wonderful dishes focused around local seasonal ingredients. Think fresh mango, house-made kimchi, rice, sesame, peanuts, banana, lentils, habanero, seaweed, calendula, lavender – beautiful, elegant, interesting food.
Casual lunch – Fish Shack La Punta. Nick’s fave fish taco’s live here so there’s that if you are a fish-eater. But for REAL vegetarians there are some really delicious options for us as well. The winner for me is the cauliflower taco. Just like the sweeping ‘fish taco’ there are many iterations of this classic, and theirs is very good – properly cooked with a yummy flavorful sauce. They also have ‘baskets’ of vegetables, grilled or fried eggplant with a miso dressing, courgette with a tatar serrano creamy dip, or cauliflower with curry yogurt sauce. Whatever you get, I suggest a yummy miso salad and a frozen lime mezcalita to go along with it.
Our ‘regular’ – Per Siempre Mana. Our first time here, we came for breakfast after spotting a tray of delish looking pastries. Nick was trying the house chilaquiles and after the few few bites looked up and said, I think they’re Italian! And yes in fact, they are (I asked him how he knew and he said the salsa roja tasked like an arrabiata). Of course we sniffed out the local Italian-owned family run restaurant in the middle of a surf town in Mexico, hah. We tried our luck and asked if they have any amaro and shortly after were sipping an Averna AND a Cynar alongside their creamy tiramisu and felt very at home.
Cocktails – I have found it challenging to enjoy cocktails here, this is not the place for a bourbon drinker. So many of our travels are in tropical places, and I find myself pining away for a ‘real’ cocktail’, none of this coconut bullshit. Puerto Rico helped in that it has such fantastic Pina Coladas, so occasionally I will get that, or a margarita which is admittedly pretty great here in Mexico, but typically I feel very nonplussed by most cocktail menus – long enough and you start to make do. After sampling around my favorite drink of Puerto is the Mezcalita maracuya – passion fruit, mezcal, sal de gusano rim (this is a spicy chili worm salt that is delish) – refreshing perfection. If you are looking for a good cocktail spot, I enjoyed a fantastic jamaica sour at Agua Sala (right on the beach, further up the beach in Zicatela) and also a fab Naked and Famous at Mombasa, more about them below.
Dance – Mombasa. Before I found out this was one of the dancing spots of la Punta, Nick and I felt like we just wandered by and discovered a little afro/house/electro cocktail bar gem. After subsequent trips we have discovered that Mombasa is both well known, and has many different vibes depending on when you go. People have mixed opinions as it is a bit of a ‘scene’ spot, luckily I am happily married and don’t give a shit about scenes so I find it thoroughly enjoyable as I obliviously enjoy their offerings. My favorite is to go here early and just enjoy their killer playlist and a marg – pregame. That or get in the thick of it on a Friday night and get sweaty, both are great.
Bakery – Up the beach not far from La Punta is Mercado Zicatela, a lovely place. Fresh fruit and veg stands, little cheese mongers, butchers, and lots of lovely restaurants. It is here we found Bakewell tucked at the back corner of the market. They have coffees, cakes, little keto doughnuts, but the best is their breads – the foccacia, roman-style pizzas, and boules are simply the best, not to be missed. In Mazunte there is a great little bakery called La Baguette where we had some delectable, cheap pastries.
Coffee – Every now and then whilst traveling I get a little pissy about coffee quality if its been too long without a decent cup. When you find a good cup, it’s a relief. The vibes and the food are nothing of note but Dulce Tierra def has the best coffee if you need that fix in La Punta.
Other mentions – Piyoli and Chicama have lovely, fun and interesting, chickpea salads. The Poke bowl place saved us a couple nights when plans changed (whenever we travel, poke bowl places seem to be a nice veg friendly healthy option to turn to if you can find one) Espacio Cometa or El Arbol outdoor food halls are awesome, usually good music. You and whoever you are with can wander around the vendors and pick whatever you fancy, stop by the bar and pull back up at a table, bench or floor pillow booth to eat together. We had a lot of yummy food here – the best was probably from Paco, gorgeous french vegetarian food – but they are travelers like us and were off to Bolivia that week! Meraki was also great, my favorite thing we had there were the raw jicama tacos. I think they are more permanent, however you never know with Puerto’s constantly changing, transient population this whole post could be moot next year!
Always more to see, but if you are a veg in La Punta, this should be enough to get you started if you are there anytime soon! Here is a photo album of some of our faves from Puerto (and a few from our trips to Zipolite and Mazunte). Next up, I will try to tackle our food experiences from our 21 days in Condesa/Roma Norte in Mexico City.
