Sad but true, when traveling I don’t eat out at restaurants very often. I know that is a bit loco, because a big part of the travel experience is the food. I have my reasons. If I don’t keep a close eye on what goes in, I can pack on the pounds in a heartbeat. Because I am traveling solo, sometimes eating out alone makes me feel even more alone. Eating out, even in Mexico, can get expensive. Quite frankly, I usually prefer my own cooking ~ it is rather frustrating to get all excited about going to a nice restaurant for a special dinner and leaving disappointed.

That said, sometimes I do go out, and sometimes it is “all that.” One example is El Rey del Taco in Loreto. A number of my friends told me that, “I had to try El Rey.” So I succumbed to peer pressure and made my way over on Easter afternoon. My first thought was that it would be closed. I was wrong. There was a line out the door, and another for the take-out window down the sidewalk. This was one time when being solo was a good thing, I was able to sneak in and take the last lonely spot at the counter, next to the wall and in front of the chef. There are two menu options: carne or pescado tacos. If you order two tacos they will fling you one at a time. The tacos are simply grilled, chopped meat or deep fried fish on a tortilla of maiz or harina. The rest is do-it-yourself. They have a big selection of condimentsand you are free to pile your taco as high as you please. It is no wonder the waistline of the typical Mexican is expanding (although this probably has more to do with the profusion of soda pop and junk food, and the increase in car ownership). It was absolutely delicious, and I was able to polish off two fish tacos, fully loaded.

On the way home from El Rey, I stumbled upon a proud and charming man, with his sweet, beautiful daughter, selling mariscos from the trunk of their car. I was going to walk on by, but I had to peek. One peek and I had to buy. The camarónes were absolutely fresh and beautiful, and only 220 pesos ($14.50) for a whole kilo (2.2 pounds). The following day I made fresh ceviche. Truth be told? Itwas much more delicious and satisfying than El Rey Tacos. But the experience wasn’t nearly as interesting.