This week I have two Interviews with very special people in Puerto Vallarta. One is Fredy Garcia, You know him as Fredy from Fredy’s Tucan, and the other is Roberto Castellon, the Owner of Roberto’s Puerto Nuevo Superb Seafood, both on the Southside of Puerto Vallarta
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Hello fellow travelers, welcome this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel show. I am your host Barry Kessler and I am just so happy to be introducing you to my favorite vacation destination, and maybe even yours, Puerto Vallarta Mexico.
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That music you were just listing to is performed by Alberto Perez, the owner of the La Palapa Group of Restaurants. Those are La Palapa, The
El Dorado Restaurant, and at night for dinner The El Dorado transforms into the ever so romantic Vista Grill with those dramatic views of the Los Muertos Pier all lit up at night in beautiful colors. Of course, at La Palapa you can enjoy that same view of the Los Muertos Pier all day long for breakfast, lunch or dinner, seated with your toes in the sand right at the water’s edge. It’s so romantic, it’s so Puerto Vallarta my friends!
This week I have two interviews with very special people in Puerto Vallarta. One is Fredy Garcia, You know him as Fredy from Fredy’s Tucan, and the other is Roberto Castellon, the owner you know him as the owner of Roberto’s Original Puerto Nuevo Superb Seafood, both on the Southside of Puerto Vallarta, but first, let’s see what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta, the 2nd of May, 2018.
The 14th annual Altruism Festival in Puerto Vallarta is Here
The Altruism Festival has become a tradition in Puerto Vallarta. Year after year the best restaurants in town join this effort lead by United 
States Consular Agent Kelly Trainor and the Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa taking place this Sunday, May 6th, starting at 6pm in the beachfront garden at Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa featuring top 40 restaurants in the bay area offering samples of their best dishes with live music, dancing, entertainment and great company.
All proceeds will be donated to 20 chosen charities and non-profit organizations who need your help. By buying a $400 pesos ticket, you are donating the money to the great causes of these extraordinary non-profits. Each charity will be given the opportunity to host a display at the festival to highlight the great impact they are having on the Puerto Vallarta community. The organizations welcome you to come by to meet them and look forward to receiving your support. Learn about how they work and volunteer opportunities.
Tickets, which include food, drinks and entertainment, cost $400 pesos in advance or $500 pesos at the door. Buy your tickets now online, or at Fundación Punta de Mita‘s office to take advantage of the presale discounted price.
For more information, details and pictures of previous events please visit: facebook.com/Festival-Internacional-de-Altruismo
Restaurant week is Coming and it’s Bigger Than Ever
That’s right folks, it’s getting to be a running joke but Restaurant Week has been expanded for another week, so it goes from May 15th to June 10. Let’s do the math shall we? May has 30 days, so May 15 to June 10 humm looks like just over 3 weeks. Good math. Bad math, great food. So, during Restaurant week, 59 participating restaurants have a set menu and the meals usually consist of a number of courses Appetizer, main course and desert. Sometimes a special adult beverage. The participating restaurants will offer menus divided into three courses and three price points: 269, 399 and 466 pesos per person, up to 50 percent less than the original menu prices. So if you are in town for Restaurant Month, I mean restaurant week, check out the link in the show notes for this episode and see the participating restaurants, where you want to eat and go for it. It’s a great deal.
Meet and Greet at Kelly’s Pour Favor Saloon and Cookhouse May 8th
May 8th will be an open microphone meet and greet at Kelly’s Pour Favor. I’ll be there with JR from 6:30 till 8, or longer, depending on if I have people to talk with. If you are in paradise, stop by and let us know what you are doing. And if you are a business here in Vallarta, come by and let us know what you do. Give us your pitch.
So once again, Tuesday, May 8th at 6:30, Kelly’s Pour Favor Saloon and Cookhouse on Lazaro Cardenas. They have that upstairs patio bar that’s the bomb. So stop by, see JR and me and blab about what you are doing in Puerto Vallarta. If you’re good, you will hear yourself on one of the podcasts.
Open Microphone in Front of Cuates y Cuetes
If you can’t make the meet and greet, I’m going to have another open microphone in front of Cuates y Cuetes on Thursday the 10th at 2 in the afternoon. Just stop by and have a beer and chips and salsa with me and tell our listeners what you are doing in paradise.
So you have two chances if you are in town, the 8th at 6:30 or the 10th at 2 in the afternoon in front of Cuates y Cuetes.
Okay let’s get to the interviews.
Fredy’s Tucan, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
The first time I came to Puerto Vallarta in 1984, we were staying at the Hotel Playa Los Arcos, right in the heart of the Southside of Vallarta. Things were very different back then. There were no condos, far fewer cars, more mules and donkeys on the streets. It was a crazy time don’t get me wrong. It was the 80’s for goodness sake.
I don’t know how, but we ended up spending an inordinate amount of time at the bar at the Tucan. The Tucan was attached to the Hotel Posada de Roger. We weren’t staying at their Posada de Roger, but we had met some Canadian friends who were, so I suppose that’s how we found it in the first place. The hotel was a basic Mexican hotel with rooms facing in to a courtyard and pool area.
We did a lot of drinking at the Tucan. Racilla and 7 poppers, shots of tequila, I remember watching lots of sporting events there on the TVs.
And in the mornings, the Tucan would serve one of the best breakfasts too. It was quite a surprise for what I considered a dive bar, but it was one of our favorite little breakfast spots. I have pictures of the old brochure which I will have in the show notes so check out how this place looked in the 80’s. but over the years, as Vallarta changed, so did the Tucan. They put windows all around what was once a very dark place, opened things up, added much needed air-conditioning, and just created a wonderful space where thousands of visitors to Puerto Vallarta, eventually make their way to Fredy’s Tucan.
Mariscos 
When you walk up to Fredy’s there is almost always a line but don’t let that deter you, if goes really fast. They have water and coffee for you while you wait, a nice touch, and best of all, when you reserve your table at the door, you are talking to the guy you are going to hear from right now. That’s right, the boss man himself, Fredy Garcia will be there at the door of Fredy’s Tucan, with a big smile on his face. He always recognizes his clients who return year after year to the Mecca of the Vallarta breakfast Restaurant scene, the place where when you sit down, a waiter comes up and plies you with a sweet treat from a pastry tray just to start things off right. Oh my, I’m getting hungry. So, let’s go right now to Basilio Badillo 245, Emiliano Zapata, neighborhood, on the Southside of Puerto Vallarta, and meet Fredy Garcia, you know him as Fredy, from Fredy’s Tucan.
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Fredy’s Suggestions
Favorite Restaurants
- La Dulce Vida on the Malecon Fredy #3 loves the pizza there
- El Brujo, Puerto Vallarta, México
- Mariscos Polo’s, Puerto Vallarta, México
- Kensao, Sushi and Bar Puerto Vallarta, México
Favorite Day Trip
- San Sebastian del Oeste in The Summer
- Bus to Boca and Hike or Panga to Las Animas
Love Fredy and I love his restaurant. Such great memories. I have pictures of his food, the restaurant and the Posada de Roger, in the Show notes so check them out for sure and don’t miss having at least one breakfast at Fredy’s Tucan, while you are in Puerto Vallarta.
Contact Information for Fredy’s Tucan, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Address: Basilio Badillo 245, Emiliano Zapata, 48380 Puerto Vallarta, Jal., México
- Phone: +52 322 -223- 0778
- Website: http://fredystucan.com/
- Facebook:http s://www.facebook.com/fredystucanpuertovallarta/
Roberto’s Original Puerto Nuevo Seafood Restaurant in Puerto Vallarta
My next guest is a multifaceted man. Roberto Castellon has a restaurant on Basillio Badillo Called Roberto’s Original Puerto Nuevo Superb Seafood. I asked JR to introduce me to Roberto and we walked over to Roberto’s, and he introduced me, and I proceed to go into my spiel about what I do, and how I wanted to interview him about his story and his restaurant, and Roberto stood there very patiently and in the end I asked, Me entiendes? And he said, well Barry, I speak English pretty good.
I look over at JR, and he is just laughing. Thanks dude. So, we set up a time to talk and I came back later that evening.
While I waited for Roberto to finish tending to some of his guests, I couldn’t help but notice the care he took, listening to them. All of them by the way, seemed to know him personally. It was like all of these people were friends. Long lost friends in some cases with warm hugs and bug smiles. Like old friends taking off from where they left off last rear. He and his wait staff the same. You could tell this was a very special place.
The space itself is not too big, linen tablecloths, cloth napkins, nice stemware, soft music, romantic lighting. Just a lovely space.
And you are going you see that Roberto’s story, is a very special story. His path took him many places, and it takes us right now, to Basillio Badillo 283 in the Emiliano Zapata Neighborhood on the Southside of Puerto Vallarta, Roberto’s Original Puerto Nuevo Superb Seafood, Roberto Castellon.
What a great story and what a nice guy. I’m going to check out his salsa classes when I get into town and for sure, I’m going to come back for a wonderful meal at Roberto’s Original Puerto Nuevo Superb Seafood. You have to try it you guys. I have pictures and links to the restaurant, and the things Roberto talked about in the Show Notes to this episode of the show, so check it out!
Roberto Castellon’s Suggestions
Breakfast:
- Fredy’s Tucan, Puerto Vallarta, México
- Dianita, Puerto Vallarta, México
- Serrano’s Meat House, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Noah’s Cafe Bar, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Lunch:
- Home a Healthy Salad
Favorite Getaway For The Day
- The Mountains
- Up the River Cuale
- Nogalito, Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, México
Advice to a First Time Traveler to Puerto Vallarta
- Don’t be afraid. Vallarta is a very safe place
- Don’t go to the ends of town at night
For Fun Go Salsa Dancing
Contact Information For Roberto’s Original Puerto Nuevo Superb Seafood in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Address: Basilio Badillo 283, Emiliano Zapata, 48380 Puerto Vallarta, Jal., México
- Phone: +52 322 223 2266
- Website: http://robertospv.com/restaurant.html
So, this week I gave you breakfast and dinner. How about that? Both places will knock your socks off for a reasonable price. Take my word for it.
Okay, that should do it for this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show.
Next week, stay tuned for more on the ground reports from Puerto Vallarta Mexico, with travel tips, great restaurant and excursion ideas and more. Until then, remember, this is an interactive show where I depend on your questions and suggestions about all things Puerto Vallarta. If you think of something I should be talking about, please reach out to me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending us your message.
And remember, if you are considering booking any type of tour while you are in Puerto Vallarta, you
must go to Vallartainfo.com, JR’s website and reserve your tour through him, right from his website. Remember the value for value proposition. His experience and on the ground knowledge of everything Puerto Vallarta in exchange for your making a purchase of a tour that you would do anyway, you’re just doing it through him as a way of saying thank you. It costs no more than if you were to use someone else so do it. Really. And when you do take one of these tours, email me about your experiences. Maybe you can come on-board and share with others what you liked or didn’t like about the tour. Again, contact me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending off a message. Don’t forget his maps, his DIY tours and his revitalized Happy Hour Board. I have links to all of those in the show notes.
And once again, if you like this podcast, please take the time and subscribe and give me a good review on iTunes if you would. That way we can get the word out to more and more people about the magic of this place. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Remember I made it easy for you to do just that with each episode I create. But if you haven’t been to my website, you really need to have a look there. I have the links to the places we talk about, interesting pictures and the more all right there in my blog-posts and show-notes for each episode of the show so check them out for sure if you haven’t already all-right? All right.
So, thanks to Fredy Garcia from Fredy’s Tucan and thanks to Roberto Castellon from Roberto’s Suburb Seafood, both on Basillio Badillo, Don’t miss the pictures and the links in the show notes including maps on how to find them, and hey, thanks to all of you for listening all the way through this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show. This is Barry Kessler signing off with a wish for you all to slow down, be kind and live the Vallarta lifestyle. Nos Vemos amigos!