In Search of Jay’s Potato

Hi again from sunny Mexico,

This is a catch up post to bring you up to date.

One of the things that’s special about staying at a small resort is that you often  meet some new, interesting people.  In our case, with only a few rooms filled at our resort, that has been our experience.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I went for a run into town at around 7 AM.  I found the fish market open on the beach.  Fisherman had small tarps spread out on the sand beside their boats and were selling the day’s catch.  What a busy place!  Everyone looking for fresh fish was there.

The most of the rest of the day was spent at the pool, talking to other guests, picking on people with iPads,  and generally trying to mitigate the heat.  We talked with Julie and Ed, who are from the San Francisco area and Paige and Jay who come from Portland, as we whiled away the day at the pool.

Eventually, our discussion turned to what dinner plans we had.

 Jay came equipped with some pre trip research about one of the best restaurants in Zihuatanejo, called La Papa Loco (Crazy Potato).  It was characterized as a local restaurant that specialized in baked potatoes.  That sounded like an interesting enough outing for our little group so we set out in search of Jay’s potato restaurant.

The research Jay had included a street map so we kind of knew where we were headed.  We walked down the hill and found a taxi just after crossing the bridge into town.  He offered to take us but 6 people would not fit into his little Toyota so we elected to walk. We headed down the street, checking occasionally with locals to make sure we remained on track.  After missing one turn and going around the block, we found it.  It’s the kind of place you wouldn’t give a second look without it being our specific target.  It is right next to the Victoria Hotel and a car wash operates almost next door .  We seated ourselves at one of the plastic tables in the street and readied ourselves for dinner.

There was a large Mexican cook behind an open grille that contained the largest baked potatoes I have ever seen.  They were the size of small watermelons!  Our order was taken by an equally large server.  Looks like these folks have been sampling their own  goods too much.  We were delivered a table full of food, salsa, chips, sauces, and drinks.  It turns out that the large potatoes I spotted on the grill were just the starter level potato.  Once you place your order, it gets loaded up with all the rest of the stuff that makes up what you ordered.  This causes the size to grow by another 25% or so, kind of like my belt size.  They are huge!

We enjoyed a great local experience and by the end of the meal we all felt as stuffed at the potatoes we had been served.  Dinner for 6… 400 pesos (about $40.00) and a large thumbs up from our little group of intrepid travellers is awarded to La Papa Loco restaurant.

After dinner we wandered back to the beach, stopping for a gelato hit along the way before climbing the mountain back to the resort, which was our next order of business.

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