Los Mercados- Everything Under One Roof

One frustrating thing about living in Puerto Vallarta is having to go to multiple locations to find everything you want, especially when it comes to grocery shopping. (see previous article)

If you are not a cook or a aficionado of food, then grabbing a few things at your local market is easy, but trying to locate pastrami, Italian sausage, shallots, sweet potatoes, fresh baked bread, a bottle of wine and mixed baby greens will have you running all over town.

Tonight I found my shopping Mecca. It is called Los Mercados and it is Heaven in Paradise.

Located (see map) on the same block as Rizo's, right in the heart of the South Side of Vallarta is five shops within one building that stock just about everything you need to fill your fridge, fill your tummy and fill your craving for creativity.

Last night we attended their preview party and for once I was able to convince my husband to stay more than 10 minutes. Probably because the wine was flowing from Cork and Bottle and the passed canapes were streamlined, timely and absolutely delicious.

The venue is beautiful, stylish and comfortable, retaining a Mexican vibrancy in the décor and the architecture fitting in with the neighborhood. The shops house high tech coolers, product show cases and state of the art equipment, keeping all products at optimal temperatures for freshness.

On the main floor, when you first enter, you will find Cork and Bottle on your left. This impressive shop houses imported and Mexican wines and spirits. Nina Goodhope , wine extraordinaire, stocks this shop with her extensive knowledge of wines and spirits and offers wine paring classes and many chilled wines available for you to take to a dinner party.

On your right, there is Mikey's Fine Foods and Delicatessen which made my mouth water the second I entered the shop. The display cases were full of beautifully prepared salads, salsas and side dishes, all available to eat there at the courtyard tables or to bring home. Everything was fresh, beautifully presented and just begging to be sampled.

Next to the prepared foods is what really took my breath away. Homemade sausages, cured meats, deli meats like pastrami and roast beef, cheeses such as sharp cheddar and Swiss, all calling to be made into a sumptuous deli sandwich. Not one of those typical Bimbo bread sandwiches but an honest to goodness deli sandwich on freshly baked bread, with spreads and fresh fixins. Oh be still my heart! I love me a good sandwich! And incidentally, right as I was wiping drool off my chin and making nose marks on the glass case, the server came by with samplings of their pastrami, smoked turkey and a delicious smoked duck. One word: fabulous!

Also in Mikey's you will find a nice assortment of imported goods, often hard to find in Vallarta, from Hot (not prepared) Horseradish, Kosher Salt, French mustard and many sauces and jams, to crackers and pickles and specialty olives and vinegars. You can order items by weight or order a sandwich from their menu and dine in the courtyard. Another plus, Cork and Bottle sells wine by the glass for you to enjoy with you meal.

For those who can live on bread alone, Mikey's has amazing breads available and K'Rico (my next stop) offers a plethora of pastries.

K'Rico is a caffeine and carbohydrate addicts dream. Serving up all of the traditional coffee drinks, along with some twists, they also offer scrumptious pastries and tarts that are almost too beautiful to devour. All items can be enjoyed inside the cafe or out in the courtyard but I do highly recommend also purchasing something for that midnight snack attack. (Trust me, this comes from experience! I awoke around 1:00 AM wishing I had stuck one of the Jamaica empanadas in my purse.)

They offer many whole cakes, pies and tarts for sale or by the piece, so when you are invited to bring dessert to your next dinner, party, head to K'Rico and be the hit of the party!

The next shop to peruse is Don Fresco which is a vibrant splash of colorful produce and healthy deliciousness. Inside this climate controlled shop you will be surrounded by the best looking and most varied fruits and vegetables in the area. You name it, you need it, they have it. I could already envision my fruit vegetable bins in my fridge exploding with a bounty of those beauties. Everything in Don Fresco is brilliantly displayed, clean, and hand selected, so you do not need to delve deep and squeeze every tomato to find a good one, they already did the work for you.

I took a peek into the cold storage room where they house the extras and was amazed at the level of cleanliness. None of the products are ever stored on the floor, instead in freshness bins on shelves to keep them ventilated and fresher longer. Wow- that is a new concept here and a testament to the over-all thoughtfulness and quality of the entire operation.

And lastly, the last shop is upstairs and one that makes my heart and creative spirit overjoyed! Fireworks (aptly named) is a “Paint Your Own Pottery” shop where your creativity can be unleashed. Even non-artistic types can pick a piece of pottery and paint it at their whimsy or use one of the many books on hand for inspiration or stencils available.

Beatrice, the owner is a delightful woman who is there to help with selection, tips and techniques, offering advice and then she will take your work of art and fire it for you. Everything in the shop is non-toxic, including the pottery and the paint and glaze, so your creations can be used for food purposes.

I see a plethora of painted pots, mugs, canisters, pet dishes, and bowls entering my life! Even if you do not live in Puerto Vallarta, visitors can come and paint their own piece, fire it and pick it up within three days and have it safety packed for the trip home. I highly recommend this to anyone with children as what better souvenir can be had than one created by their own hands?

If you are redecorating your kitchen, they also have tiles available to paint for back splashes, so you can design a tile mural or individual tiles that perfectly match your design, especially if you have a hard to match color scheme or want to create something that reflects your collection (roosters, chickens, grapes) that you will never find on tiles where you live. Bring pictures and color samples and create your own designer kitchen at a fraction of the price.

Prices are extremely reasonable and includes everything. I fell in love with about 50 items and it will be hard to decide what to paint first. I do need a big giant coffee mug (95 Pesos) and there is a rooster canister (250 Pesos) that it itching to be in my kitchen and I see many Christmas platters and bowls to be painted for gifts (90 to 200 Pesos)

I am already planning a painting party at Fireworks-so if you are interested in joining a group of ladies (or men!) for some fun painting, French music (Beatrice is from France and loves French music), lunch and wine, please send me an email so I can alert you when the first “Ladies Who Create” lunch will be.
Prices are what you select to paint, what you chose to eat and what you chose to drink, in essence, no extra fees... just FUN!

So, if you cannot already tell, I am in love. I am thrilled that Peter and his wife took a dream and brought it to fruition. Puerto Vallarta needed something like this, especially in this area. It is one stop shopping at its finest and an all around delight.

Location: Aquiles Serdan #265  (see map)
Website: http://www.losmercadospv.com/index.php
Phone: 222-0383