Mexico’s rich and diverse cultural history lends to uncountable regional dishes. Nearly every small town across the country has its own specialty or rendition of a National dish. Recently added to the UNESCO world heritage list, Mexican cuisine has at once some of the most complicated and simple recipes in the world. This dichotomy of complexity — where hundred-ingredient mole sits alongside raw fish garnished with nothing more than lime and salt — makes Mexican food so incredibly unique and delicious.
In coastal towns like Los Mochis, Sinaloa where seafood is easily caught, simple shellfish becomes the crux for local cuisine. (Actually as it turns out, Los Mochis has great just about anything.) It’s no coincidence Chicago’s Rick Bayless named his seafood restaurant Topolobampo after the port a few miles west of the city center. Don’t expect anything fancy: in Mexico, flavor and ambience are often inversely correlated.
Mariscos Cepy’s, a small restaurant at the end of a residential block, is always crowded. This is partly because of the exceptionally fresh shellfish, but also because Mexicans know how to take their time and enjoy the afternoon. There’s never any rush here, and a few cold drinks and outdoor seat in the sun makes time stand still.
Molcajete de mariscos – An oversized 3-legged stone pot filled with fat chunks of chilled scallop, shrimp (both raw and cooked), octopus, and squid. The seafood is splashed with bright Mexican lime and a drizzle of salsa maggi. Freshly cracked black pepper and cilantro crown the top. The shellfish is so fresh it’s sometimes hard to believe it’s not still moving — it tastes naturally sweet. The callo de hacha in this region of Mexico are firm and crunchy, almost like squid. The mixture of raw and cooked shrimp was particularly interesting — the raw shrimp had a slight bitter taste which contrasted against the cooked shrimp. This dish was a truly exceptional potpourri of fresh shellfish.
Plato de camarones con pulpo – Coarsely cut chilled shrimp and octopus in a plate of shrimp broth garnished with fresh avocado and tons of lime. The combination of avocado, lime, and raw shrimp is one of my favorite Mexican flavors. The sweetness of the shrimp and octopus with the bite of the lime and the buttery-smooth flavor of the avocado make this exceptional.
Tostadita de jaiba y camarones – Local crab and shrimp mixed with tomato, red onion, and cucumber atop a crispy corn tortilla. The pile of shellfish is adorned with thin strips of avocado and a drop of salsa maggi. Mexicans seem to be able to eat this without a fork and knife; my attempt at mimicry resulted in a total mess. I guess that’s why they gave me a spoon.
Cocktail de pulpo – A goblet of chilled shrimp broth with tomato, red onion, cucumber, lime, and giant pieces of octopus. In a lot of ways this is like a thin broth gazpacho filled with shellfish. The broth tastes exceptional by itself — even when the chunks of shellfish and vegetable are gone.
Los Mochis is an essential stop for travelers who love Mexican cuisine and seafood. This town has some of the freshest and best tasting seafood in the entire country. Mariscos Cepy’s is just one of the many, many seafood restaurants in this city that serve exceptionally fresh fish. I can’t wait to go back.
9 Comments
why don’t you sometime try chinese food or another Asian country like Malaysia or Singapore ? I’m sure it’ll be as fun as mexico !
Hi Adam,
There is a great book from Nichollas Gilam about food in Mexico City. Nichollas blog is http://goodfoodmexicocity.blogspot.com/, he is a great guy with a deep knowledge of mexican food and founder of a Sloow Food chapter in Mexico,
I am mexican but currently living in Bangkok (learning for fun Thai cuisine) if you come to Thailand don’t hesitate to contact me.
Buen Provecho
Joaquin
@antonius I was in Singapore and Malaysia last year, I just haven’t had the chance to write about it. The chicken rice in Singapore was one of my all-time favorites.
@Joaquin Thanks so much for sharing Nichollas’ blog with me. I wish I saw this before my trip last weekend. I’ll be going back in a few weeks and hope to visit some of Nichollas’ well-documented recommendations.
son los mariscos mas buenos de todo mochis y si hicieran un concurso estaria seguro que el ganaria por que es muy buen marisquero no como los mariscos el pato ahi tire el dinero no aqui con los mariscos el cepys el lugar es igenico y huele a marisco.
Los Mochis rules… I’m proud of being from there
Born and race, hometown boy and pround to be 100% pure mexican and love Los Mochis, people region seafood the entire enviorement is fun.
There are the most incledible Restaurants, famous for anything you eat seafood likes El Farallon has been in town for over 50 years.
Los Mochis is lovely and unique with only 108 years old, gateway to Cooper Canyon and on and across the most beautiful beaches on earth. Grow fresh Tomatoes, Peppers, Potatoes, etc shrimp, fishing etc etc welcome at any time!!
Im proud to be born in Los Mochis. This town in the northern mexican pacific has indeed the best food ever, everywhere you eat here has the best ingredients, that makes the food delicious!!!!
I don’t have enough good things to say about the food ofLos Mochis. Sometimes it reminds me of Japan; the seafood is some of the freshest I’ve had. The Horchata and Cebada in downtown is the best I’ve tasted (that one old man in downtown with the jarrafon de cebada, my god!).
I am very proud to be from Los Mochis, especially all the people that come to visit us from all around the world end up fascinated from our people and our foodis simply delicius. You can stop at any place where our seafood as Cepy’s is one of the best and very well served; especially freshed. I recommend you all to come and visit us even though is just for our food. And the costs really cheap! I am very proud to be from Los M Mochis.