Food and Drink in Puerto Vallarta

If you were set the gluttonous task of dining in each of Puerto Vallarta's 600 or so restaurants it would take you the best part of two years, by which time you would have circled the gastronomic globe several times. Puerto Vallarta 's Spanish heritage means that there's an understandable lean towards Mediterranean cuisine, but the resort's culinary reach extends well into Asia and caters to some niche palates en route(such Bavarian and Dutch). If you look hard enough you'll even find some Mexican restaurants. Eating here is a serious business and each November the town swells with chefs attending the Gourmet Food Festival.

Much of what ends up on the menu comes from the tropical waters of Bahía de las Banderas. When seafood's this fresh anything more than a flash frying and a squeeze of lime would be a sin that most Mexicans aren't prepared to commit. Red snapper(huauchinango) and grouper(mero) are the most abundant fish and other seafood includes lobster, clams and shrimp. If you order tuna you may be slightly disappointed when presented with prickly pear fruit(tuna in Mexican), the familiar fish goes under the name atún. For something different ceviche is raw fish marinated in lime juice, onion, tomato, chilli and coriander, and huacacinango a la veracruzana is a popular dish of red snapper, capers and olives drenched in a rich tomato sauce.

Seafood aside, the three cornerstones of the Mexican kitchen: corn, chillies and beans continue to dominate. Tortillas are wrapped round roast meat or grilled fish to become tacos, smothered in sauce they become enchilidas and fried with cheese quesadillas. Several specialities conceived in the neighbouring highlands have also made their way down to the coast. A winter favourite is pozole, a broth made from giant corn kernels cooked with pork or chicken and heavily garnished with lime, chilli, oregano and onion. When the Spanish pulled out of Mexico they their goats behind them. One solution to the impending famine partially caused by these animals' titanic appetites was to eat the culprits. Birria was born. To tenderise the goat's meat it is stewed in underground ovens and seasoned with chilli, garlic, marjoram and garlic, cinnamon.

There are few vineyards in Mexico, which may come as a disappointment to wine lovers, but on the upside a conspiracy of Mexico 's climate and spicy cuisine makes beer the perfect culinary accompaniment. Puerto Vallarta 's international flavour means that wine is available, as are all spirits, but you'll have to pay for it. Mexican beer( cerveza) is good enough to be exported all over the world and is often served with a squeeze of lime in a glass with a salted rim(michelada).

America alone drinks 1.5 million margaritas each day, the main ingredient for which, tequila, comes from a small town of the same name a few hours' drive from Puerto Vallarta. The hills surrounding Tequila are covered with the cactus-like maguey plants, which are steamed, shredded, squeezed and distilled to produce the nation's favourite tipple. True hombres tend to take their medicine straight as a shooter, while gringos generally prefer to dilute it as a margarita or with a mixture of orange and tomato juice(sangrita).