Today, after missing a couple lunches, we gladly, yet mistakenly, went to a little hole in the wall, literal mom and pops place.
Hello, again. My dad and I, and sometimes my mom comes along too, have been going out on the town to find some of the best not so popular cheap eats, mostly family-owned, restaurants that we can find. We go out almost every day, finding some new little place, or big place, to tell you about and review the food and prices.
Ok, so I know I've missed a few lunches, but I’ve been really busy with school! It’s lots of work, and it takes lots of time! But, I finally got a chance to go out today, and it was very,,, interesting. So, my dad and I were driving around on our way to a restaurant we had seen on Facebook, which seemed really good. And then Siri suddenly called out, “your destination is on your right!” There was no parking since the street was full of traffic, so we went down a block and parked. As we were walking back up, we took note of a seafood place, which we want to come back to one day, and then we saw our destination. Or, at least what we thought was our destination. It was what seemed like a little house, so I said something like, “Dad, there’s clothes hanging back there, so it must be a house. The map must have taken us to the wrong place.” Which was true, but the little hole in the wall actually was a restaurant, and my dad knew it! He said something about their grill up front, and argued that it may be the wrong spot, but they’d still serve us food. And they did! The place is called Asadero Cualquiera, and is located on 16 de Septiembre 414 in Bobadilla, and the longitude latitude location is 20.659111021523525, -105.21909248711242.
Ok, well I actually stretched the truth a little. I called it a restaurant, but it isn’t really a restaurant, more of just a place to pick up food that has a table. What they serve is grilled chicken, steak, and chorizo. Like I said, they do have a single table, and can serve you a plate of food, but mostly they sell steak or chorizo by the kilo and whole chickens. Asadero Cualquiera is fairly new, it’s only been there for 2 years, but the old couple have a lot of experience, and their food is delicious. Both of them are over 60 years old, and they’ve lived in that same house, which they now sell food out of, for over 35 years. Also, the wife, Teresa, says she’s lived in that same neighborhood her whole life, and remembers when it was a tiny neighborhood. In fact, she remembers when Puerto Vallarta as a whole was a tiny town. Before the beaches were full of towering hotels for tourists, and before the town was so crowded. She said that they used to go to the river by their house to collect water to drink, and they still have an old barro, or clay, pitcher. It was actually sitting at the table full of cold water, for anyone who would like some. Though, the water wasn't refrigerated, it's just that these pitchers are really interesting. They're made out of clay, so they absorb some water, and then with the breeze it gets cool or even straight up cold! They don't have lids, but when they're being made a few cups are made as well, and one of them is supposed to go on top, as they are pretty much the same size as the spout. This old one was really neat, and I wish I would've gotten a picture! Also, they said that the first area where homes were being built was what we know as Palo Seco. It's called that because people who lived by rivers where it would flood, before the areas and colonias were named, would say "vamos a lo seco," or "let's go to the dry." So, people started calling it that, and it eventually turned into Palo Seco. As they were talking about the history, and their life in a house that had no electricity or water when it was first built was super interesting, though I couldn't imagine what it's like without it. I mean, if the power goes out for even a couple hours I'm bored out of my mind. But, anyways, back to food.
Me and my dad got a plate of chicken and a plate of steak to share, even though I ended up eating mostly steak, and my dad ate most of the chicken. We were also brought two homemade salsas, which they roasted the tomatoes and chilis themselves, and a large scoop of delicious red rice. But before I talk about the food, I want to say that the man who was cooking asked us if we wanted our steak medium or well done, which is very good! Now, the meat was impeccable, except for the fact that it was a little lean for me, but to most people the lean-ness would be a huge plus! But fat or no fat, the meat itself had really good flavor, and surprisingly I didn’t need any salt, even though it didn’t have lots of salt, and I’m the type to add half a container of salt to a simple pot of soup. The steak was just delicious, not because it sat in a fancy marinade for 24 hours, but simply because it’s really good meat. The chicken was also delicious, and though I was hesitant to taste it, since it looked quite dry, it actually wasn’t at all!! Maybe it was just my imagination, but anyways, it was really good, and it, too, was full of flavor, and had just the right amount of salt. Also, the crispy skin was sooo good, it was my favorite part!! To drink, they didn’t have any aqua de sabor, only sodas, but my bull-headed dad wouldn’t let me have any, so Teresa walked across the street to the store and got us an orange juice.
My dad agrees with me, the steak didn’t have any fancy spices, but it had delicious flavor because of the quality of meat. Somehow he said it needed a little salt, yet I didn’t, which isn’t something I understand, but either way he really liked it. And he didn’t end up adding salt, he just added half the bowl of spicy salsa. Or, at least it was called spicy, but it wasn’t spicy at all to us, though it may be to others. As for the chicken, he looooooved it. At first taste he knew what spices it contained, which were onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and probably oregano, a perception skill that I do not yet have. Anyways, he also added a whole bunch of salsa, because that is what he does to all food, but he said that he really liked it with or without. Also, he pointed out that everything cooked on carbon has a really delicious and special flavor, and not only did the meat have it, but so did the tortillas and salsas!
Asadero Cualquiera, like I said, only has 1 table, but if you stop by and it’s not taken, I totally recommend having lunch there with the friendly, bubbly couple. Yes, they may be a little older than your average restaurant owners, but that doesn’t take away from their young and fun personality! Maybe it was just a good day, but they were super nice, and we sat and talked with them for a good hour after we were done eating. My dad talked with them about how Vallarta used to be, long before I was born, and Teresa went on to talk about her personal life. She has 3 sons, ages 33, 43, and 44, and she has 5 grandchildren here in Mexico and California. Actually, her middle son was there visiting her when we came, and when we first walked in he was sitting at the table, but jumped up to let us eat. Anywho, the place is very interesting, the lovely couple is super duper nice, and the food is delicious. It really is like eating at a Mexican grandma’s house, quite literally!
Asadero Cualquiera's WhatsApp: 322 373 6319
If you enjoyed this article, and would like to recommend a place that you know about, then please let me know. Or, if you are an owner yourself of a place that you would like to see written about, contact me.
And to see the rest of my food reviews go to the Dining Out section here in Vallarta Bay Times.