Sandrina's
Lázaro Cárdenas 33
Bucerías, Nayarit.
329-298-0273 sandrinasmx@hotmail.com www.sandrinas.com
Noon-10:30pm Closed Tuesday.
Owner, Sandra Neumann [Sandrina, in Spanish, Hi!] has created a unique lovely garden getaway where you can enjoy her specialties. Food preparation has a Mediterranean/Greek accent, with wonderful creations as hearts of palm with feta, garbanzo and chile mayo 85p, curry chicken salad 85p or sandwich 45p, Saganaki fried Greek cheese 65p, snapper fillet and garlic shrimp with 2 pestos 175p, pizzas 45-85p, pita with hummus, pesto and chicken 55p, breakfast bagel with scrambled egg, ham and cream cheese 35p, blue cheese mushroom burger on garlic toast 75p plus an array of tempting desserts. Dinner from 3:30pm includes pollo Mediterráneo with artichoke, caper and feta 155p and salmon filet with Hoisin and red chile sauce 135p. You are treated to Sandrina's artistic endeavors, including original artwork on canvas and uniquely tiled walls and benches in a garden courtyard. Margarita Monday, Sangría Saturday specials 25p. Live music some evenings, call first. Call about morning Internet breakfast special plus jewelry by Stefan Wed. and Sun. nights in season.
It was such a pleasant stopover and although we hated to leave, we had much still ahead and she had her own work to do. we had to head back east to the dusty highway and cross over to one place and then head north over the river and turn left taking a western direction into the northern portion of Bucerias. Immediatel;y before the zocolo [plaza or central square] there were several eateries on my list, then parked at the square and started heading north along the bayfront. Beach vendors headed up and down the shore with such a gorgeous backdrop of the entire bay. Refreshing with a cold agua mineral, we rested and collected our thoughts, mapping out the final portion of this sojourn of data-collecting. The number of stops may hit 25 making a very productive and satisfying day! Menu upon menu began to look similar and thoughts were more difficult to put down into words, so we decided it was time to go back to the highway south and home. But we happened upon a place which was a new sister of two Puerto Vallarta restaurants, one of which I had eaten at many times over the past 20-some years, and thought that since we were there, we might as well get some info. Immmediately greeted by one of the owners, we introduced ourselves and explained our aim. She sat us in the midst of adorable rabbits and small chickens, living happily in sort of a park or unrestricted zoo. Tortilla chips were their desire so we obliged them and enjoyed their antics as we looked over the menu and chatted with Irene. Sherrye suggested we stay and have a small dinner so we did not need to seek out another place in an hour or two. Sharing a Caesar salad and hearts of palm from Brazil, we added an order of coconut prawns with a slightly sweet sauce. Plenty of food for an early repast after a formidable lunch.
Cueto's Mariscería III Hidalgo 102 Bucerías, Nayarit 329-298-2410 Noon-9:30pm Family's third establishment with many fresh seafood choices as seafood cocktails 75p, 5 soups 59-89p, mariner's special salad for 2 189p, 7 seafood cazuelas 109p, broiled whole fish 109p, mahi mahi, sea bass or red snapper fillet 89p, crawfish from Río Ameca 215p, frogs legs 89p, sea conch 109p, jumbo shrimp garlic or coconut 199p, Sayulita oysters 109p and lobster 3 ways 250p.
Time to be dropped off at a bus stop and onward I flew down the road with a packed bus of locals finished with their day's work, as was I. Energized, I visited my Interent cafe and worked a little before going back to my residence and putting my feet up, relaxing [especially my sore back and feet] in front of the TV and reading some of the day's brochures and menus. It was good to get out of the hustle bustle town and then wonderful to return with a new perspective.