An interview with Chef Memo Wulff, the owner of Barrio Bistro Restaurant and Raicilleria La Lulu in the Versalles neighborhood of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We talk about his unique menu at Barrio Bistro, and about the wonderful selection of Raicilla, a popular Mexican Moonshine from the state of Jalisco.

Twelve Days of Processions Continue in Puerto Vallarta in Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Also I talk about my obsession about Mexican Candy

_{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 listening to is performed by Alberto Perez, the owner of the La Palapa Group of Restaurants. Those are La Palapa, Puerto Vallarta’s Oldest Restaurant on the famous Los Muertos Beach, and The El Dorado Restaurant and Beach Club right next door so you can enjoy that fantastic view of the Los Muertos Pier all lit up at}

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_{night in beautiful colors, or during the day in its grand splendor 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 we go to the Versailles Neighborhood of Puerto Vallarta and you will meet Memo Wulff, Chef, owner and creator of two wonderful Restaurants, Barrio Bistro and his other restaurant right next door La Lalu restaurant and Raicilla Bar but before we get to Chef Memo, let’s see what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta, the 6th of December, 2019.}

Processions in Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta

_{We are in the middle of procession fever in Puerto Vallarta, today is day 6. Each day groups gather at their prescribed times. Family’s, hotels, local service organizations, neighborhoods…all told about 360 different groups spread over the 12 day celebration. I’ve been posting and passing along the lists every day on The Puerto Vallarta Travel Show Facebook Page. Robina Oliver has been posting every day, the schedules, and I’ve been sharing them to the page so go there and check out the schedules if you are in town and interested.}

_{I should take just a few minutes to explain what all these processions are about. It’s the celebration of the time almost 500 years ago when peasant Juan Diego had the virgin Mary appear before him, and asked the peasant to go to the Bishop of the parish in Mexico City, and tell him that you saw me, and I asked you to tell him to build a church in her honor. And after a couple of tries, she asked Juan Diego to wrap a bunch of roses in his shawl, and present them to the priest to show and prove that it was she, the Virgin, and that when Juan Diego did appear before the priest to deliver the roes, when they spilled out of his shawl, his tunic, not only did they persuade the bishop that this was indeed special as it was winter and roses like those Juan Diego had couldn’t grow on the hilltop in the winter, but the roses had left an imprint of the image of the lady Juan Diego discovered, the Virgin Mary de Guadalupe. That tunic is still on display today, in the Basillica de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe in Mexico City today.}

_{And every year around the time of Christmas, beginning on the 1st of December and culminating on the 12th of December, there is a pilgrimage to the Bassilica in Mexico City, the church on Tepeyac Hill the Basillica de Nuestra Senors de Guadalupe, and in Puerto Vallarta as well, where the church on Calle Hidalgo, the Inglesia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe has throngs of visitors and pilgrims making the pilgrimage to the church, to celebrate this very special event in Mexico.}

_{The Vallarta Abuelos Gift Program Has Begun}

_{Let me read from their Facebook Page…. The Vallarta Abuelos are kicking off our CHRISTMAS GIFT PROJECT for needy children.. $25 will provide a low-income boy or girl with a bag of gifts from Santa. Please help us give back to the community we love.}

_{Santa has 400 needy children on his list, mostly children being raised by single moms or grandmothers who sell tacos / clean hotel rooms / offer chairs on the beach, women who earn the minimum wage of 100 pesos ($5 US) a day. Here’s how you can help:}

1. _{Send a tax-deductible donation through this GoFundMe page https://www.gofundme.com/vallartaabuelos-christmas-gifts-fo…, or.}
2. _{Donate through PayPal, to VallartaAbuelos@outlook.com, or}
3. _{If you would like to personally shop for a child and deliver directly to him / her, please send a message and we will link you with one of the children or families on Santa’s list.}
4. _{Mail a tax-deductible donation via check to DFW International
   2717 Hackberry Lane
   Garland TX 75042
   USA}

_{The Vallarta Abuelos is project of a 501c3 US-registered nonprofit (registration number 75-2509446.)}

 _{And thank you Anne Marie Weiss for all that you do.}

Email From Listener Skip

_{I received an email from our buddy Skip from Minnisocold, speaking of Anne Marie and it reads…}

Barry,
It’s been a while since I last reached out to let you know what a great job you are doing.
I was particularly touched by your recent interview with Anne Marie Weiss-Armush representing The Vallarta Abuelos. Her organization  is doing good things for the school children in the cinco de deciembre neighborhood.
I stopped listening to the podcast about half way through and logged into my Paypal account and made a donation to The Vallarta Abuelos. 
Thank you for bringing these issues to my attention. I thought that childrens’  bicycles on the cobblestone streets of Puerto Vallarta were impractical.  What  a noble effort she is making for children there.

I also messaged Gary Beck about Beck’s Best Restaurant Guide. I asked him how often he updated his guide. I was concerned since area restaurants come and go with fierce competition.
He messaged me that he makes revisions almost daily.
I logged back into my Paypal account- now easier since I had the password in mind- and sent Gary $6.00 US. He emailed me the document.
I am extremely impressed by his knowledge about restaurants throughout the bay. As you know I spand a lot of time in Bucerias. Gary’s Best includes a lot of my Bucerias favorites plus a couple I will try in February.

Gary does not review the restaurants. Gary provides information about pricing,  menu selections, hours, location and so forth. The document is 229 pages on my computer.

Gary has favorite restaurants in Puerto Vallarta and publishes his favorites in the following categories:

Top Seafood Dining
Top Gourmet Cuisine
Top Mexican Fine Cuisine
Top Mexican Traditional Cuisine
Top Taco Stands/Street Food
Top Beach Dining
Top Views/Vistas

I believe that these lists represent the best dining in Puerto Vallarta and are well worth the $6  alone.

Gary has done an amazing job on his Restaurant Guide and I urge your listeners to buy it.

That is all for now from..

Skip from Minneapolis 

Thanks Skip for making your donation to the Abuelos, for listening and for doing all that great homework about Gary’s restaurant guide. We had Gary on way back when. He was one of my first interviews and his guide is great. You just heard a great testimonial for the book so I’ll have a link to it once again in the shownotes, and once again Skip, many thanks for the email and the tips.

Gary Beck’s Puerto Vallarta  Restaurant Guide

https://www.amazon.com/Puerto-Vallarta-Restaurant-Guide-Becks-ebook/dp/B004NEVX7I

Sinterklaas Shoe Drive at Reina’s Bar For Cheryl’s Shoebox

 _{Now I don’t know if you remember when I had Marco on the show from the Reinas Bar, the Queen’s Bar on Lazaro Cardenas across from the taco stands nest to Guadalajara Market? Well, Christmas has arrived and he is collecting shoes…remember? Let me read from Marcos’ Facebook Page…}

_{Sinterklaas SHOE party is coming … Saturday dec. 21
Please help me , helping Cheryl’s SHOE-BOX ;
bring some pair of SHOES which i donate to them , and they
will be donated to the children who need them !!
Thank you Thank you again !!}

_{So, remember to bring a new pair of shoes or money to buy a pair. And ..Oh…wait till I tell you about the Sinderclaus Controversy they are having in the Netherlands. It’s scandalous. It’s a big deal to the Dutch but not nearly as scandalous or a big deal as it would be if you forgot to bring a new pair of shoes to the Reinas Bar. I have a link to it in the shownotes.}

Mexican Candy, it’s Salty, Spicy, Sweet and Sour and Coated in Chili Powder

_{Okay, I promised last week I would tell you about my latest obsession, Mexican candy, and so here goes.}

_{I have only one person to blame for this latest obsession. It was a clown. I didn’t even like the clown but, well. I was on a bus going from Boca de Tomatlan to Vallarta when somewhere along the way, the driver pulled over and picked up this}

_{clown. Now I don’t know if you have ever experienced a clown or any type of performer on a Mexican bus, but it can be pretty entertaining, or conversely, it can suck. The things these performers do I mean.}

_{So, this clown got on the bus and proceed to pass out candy to everyone, cellophane wrapped candy, then he did his spiel and he was bad. He had a boombox and he was talking into it and it was loud and distorted. But after he got off the bus, I looked at this piece of candy. I squeezed it to see if it was hard or soft, and it was medium. So, I took it our of the wrapper, and smelled it first. It didn’t smell good or bad for that matter, but I did notice a dusting of chili powder on it. I took a nibble and wow, it was good. A little salty, but good. It was a fruity gummy with hot chili powder on it. Wow!}

_{I spent the next couple days looking for this candy and finally found it in the market.}

_{I found suckers coated with chili powder and salt. Even the sucker sticks had chili soaked in them.}

_{Candy of all kinds made from tamarind paste, flavored with varying degrees of heat. It was kind of funny how they use straws..don’t tell the sea turtles, and plastic spoons with their tamarind paste candies. For instance they have these plastic spoons called Cucharritos or little spoons, with a dollop of tamarind paste. They also take tamarind paste and}

_{they wrap it around a straw, roll it in chili and call them banderas. They have hard candies filled with sweet and sour centers. Like we have those hard candies those watermelon ones with that soft watermelon jelly in the center, well that’s what they have only with lots of mango. Lots of mango. Lots of tamarind.}

_{Then I turned my attention to the candy stores that sell the artesian style candy and started buying up dried strawberries, plums, and just whatever looked interesting. Some were really good. Others, just too salty, or the texture was off for my taste.}

_{Then, as I was leaving the airport, I spotted a bag of artesian chili covered tamarind balls. Tamarind. I’d seen lots of candy in my search for the clown candy, made from tamarind.}

_{So, I’m sitting on the plane, and I’m tasting this tamarind candy for the first time and wow, I was hooked by these chili coated tamarind calls.}

_{How did they make these?}

_{So, I went online…Googled it and found that tamarind is a fruit, it grows in a pod. The pod is crescent shaped, it’s brown, a little fuzzy feeling, it’s about 4-5 inched long, with bumps where seeds are. And you can find them in Asian markets as well as Mexican food stores.}

_{Tamarind is a tree native to Africa which grows in many tropical climates, and it’s used for cooking and flavoring and candy, all over the world but in Mexico, they have gone crazy for the stuff. Trees get as high as 100 feet, and can get very large. Tamarind is sweet, sour, gummy, has a very distinct taste, and it tastes to me like a mixture of pineapple and}

_{watermelon flavors. It was brought by the Chinese in the mid 1600’s, and tamarind trees grow very well in Mexico.}

_{So, I went a little further and figured I would make my own tamarind balls and see if I could duplicate the ones I found in the airport. And I did.}

_{The shells of the tamarind pods are easy to crack away, The crumble pretty easily. The most difficult parts of preparing the tamarind pods is once you have them peeled, there’s the stem and some stringy vein parts you need to remove, and also, there are the seeds that are numerous, like maybe 7 to 8 per pod, but they are pretty big, and therefore easier to}

_{remove using a knife. They are about the size of a pregnant pumpkin seed. The tamarind is sticky to work with as well. But I prepared about a pound of the peeled and cleaned and seeded tamarind. Then in a saucepan I added a half cup of water a cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of chili powder, chili de arbol. Really hot chilis. A tablespoon of a seasoning called}

_{Tajin, which is a mixture of ground chilis, lime powder and salt, sold in Mexican markets and Walmart. You bring that to a boil then add the tamarind, lower the heat and cook it down to a paste. Then you let it cool. Then prepare a bowl with sugar, chili powder and Tajin, then when the tamarind paste is cooled, you put on some cooking gloves, spray a little cooking spray on the gloves, and roll the tamarind into little balls, about twice the size of a marble, then drop them into the sugar and chili mixture and roll them in it so they have a proper coating of sweet, sour and spicy.}

_{And I must say, they turned out better than the ones I purchased in the airport. Spicier, but the recipe can be adjusted if you really wanted to do it. I took pictures and also included the recipe in the shownotes.}

_{Why Hot Spicy Foods in Mexico Preservative because foods tend to spoil faster in the tropical heat, Others say that hot foods cause you to sweat, therefore cooling you off while heating you up so to speak.  But it’s cultural really. Mexicans especially like chili powder on everything. They are always looking for something to spice up. Fruit, hey I know, let’s add some chili to that. Corn on the cob? Sure, popcorn, why not, ice cream, sure it’s worth a try. So why not candy?}

_{A condiment and treat called Chamoy is huge in Mexico. Chamoy, which is, as many things in Mexico also most likely derived from Asian, Chinese and Japanese influences, is prepared by packing the fruit, be it apricot, plum or mango in in either salt or a brine. Often times the salt is mixed with vinegar or citric acid which naturally draws out the moisture through osmosis. These little dried fruits almost always still have the seed inside, and they are known as saladitios or little salty things. These are often dusted with chili powder and I just love them.}

_{According to the wicki pages …}

_{Because of differences in the type of fruit chosen and the composition of the brining solutions used, chamoy can vary widely in taste. Most are quite savory and spicy due to the addition of chile powder, and salty due to the brine. Depending on whether and how much vinegar was used, they may also vary from sour to sweet. This combination is unusual in the U.S., where chamoy is often seen as an acquired taste.}

_{Chamoy comes as a sauce and in squeeze bottles. They are sold as a condiment like a hot sauce, but they can be sweet, sour, spicy, salty, or a mixture of all of these flavors or a combination of these flavors. Again, you will find them flavored with plums, apricots, mango, and more. You see bottled chamoy all over the place where Mexican snacks are being sold. Many mistake chamoy sauce as just hot sauce, but it’s so much more. They squirt them on chips, pork rinds, fruit, sorbets, even raspados…the Mexican snow cone or shaved ice. Raspados with chamoya sauce. That’s right, they are sweet, spicy, salty and cold and they are sometimes called chamoyadas.}

_{And.. the Mexican beer drink known as a michaelada is often made with a squirt of Chamoy.}

_{Chamoy also comes in a paste in jars for dipping and for adding to a dish you happen to be cooking. But what I love are the dried chili covered fruits.}

_{Look for the bottles of chamoy, they are everywhere. When you are on the Malecon, and you see those food booths with Doritos, you will see bottles of chamoy in different flavors and varying degrees of heat.}

_{Anyway, I have all kinds of pictures in the shownotes of Mexican candy, and my tamarind past making adventure in the shownotes. You can also buy ready prepared tamarind paste in the Mexican food isle or Asian food isle in your local supermarket, so you don’t need to spend an hour and a hald making up a pound of it yourself Just saying. Although, I can’t imagine it would taste better than the fresh stuff if you care to give it a try.}

_{Okay, that’s enough with the candy, let’s get to the interview.}

Barrio Bistro Restaurant and Raicilleria La Lulu in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

_{We spend a lot of time on the Southside of Vallarta and downtown and even the Cinco de Diciembre neighborhood, but we have yet to venture into the colonia just north of Cinco de Diciembre and that’s the colonia of Versalles.}

_{If you have been to the Costco in Vallarta, it’s in Versalles, It’s adjacent to the resorts of Los Tules, Plaza Pelacanos, Secrets Vallarta. Across the 200 from these resorts is the Colonia of Versalles. The streets have very European names, Calle Vienna, Calle Milan, Lisboa, Calle Roma, Venecia, Berlin and so on. The neighborhood has a great feel. There’s an energy there you can feel it. New restaurants everywhere. Hip spots with locals and vacationers. The streets, very walk-able too.}

_{I came to Colonia Versalles to talk with Guierllimo Wulff, Memo Wulff, one of the better known chefs in Puerto Vallarta, who opened his place Barrio Bistro in this unusual location in Versalles before the restaurant boom began}

_{there. He took a chance, and quickly became recognized by the foodies in this town as one of the best restaurants in Puerto Vallarta. Next door to this place is another restaurant and bar serving my favorite local spirit, raicilla. And it’s called La lulu and it’s a great space.}

_{The restaurant, Barrio Bistro has a lovely outdoor area for dining as well as an intimate indoor dining area as well. The walls are adorned with lovely artwork that grabs your attention and adds so much substance and texture to the space.}

_{The Raicilla Bar La lulu is indoors, and is beautifully laid out with great colors, artwork too, and a great space to sample and imbibe Jalisco’s finest moonshine.}

_{When I arrived at the restaurant in the early afternoon, Chef Wulff was meeting with his staff at a table near where I was setting up my recording equipment. I could get a good idea of the seriousness of this meeting. They were discussing the new menu, discussing how items would be prepared, what kinds of ingredients they would need, and}

_{would be using. What needed to be shopped for, the proper presentation. It was a very intense meeting. I was happy to have had a chance to listen in on it. At another table in the center of the outdoor dining area, memo’s social media and photographer guy was shooting pictures of the newest dishes for the week to post on Facebook. They were busy but luckily, not too busy for us.}

_{The Wulff family is one of those families whose name is very famous and well known in Vallarta, and Memo will talk about that so let’s go right now to Colonia Versalles, to Calle Espana 305, and let’s meet the man himself, Chef and owner Memo Wulff of Barrio Bistro and Raciarilla La Lulu, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico…}

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_{Wow, I really liked Memo. He is very hands on. He comes right to your table to not only talk about the menu items, but even prepares the food tableside. He has a passion for cuisine. For unique, one of a kind dishes. He really is a magician.}

_{And you need to go see him, and witness and taste the magic yourself. It’s an experience you will remember and savor, till the next time you come to Versalles, to try another totally new menu and new culinary experience.}

_{I spent some time after my interview wandering the neighborhood and really liked it. Safe, clean and very interesting to me. So go there!}

_{I have links to the website, Facebook, a map that will take you right to the front door of Barrio Bistro and Racilla Bar La Lulu in the shownotes and you know where to find them at www.puertovallartatravelshow.com.}

 _{Contact Information for Barrio Bistro and Raicilleria La Lulu}

• Address: España 305, Versalles Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
• Phone: +52 322 306 0530
• Website: https://barriobistro.com/?fbclid=IwAR3THKL-I1SYAuSyK9TiK_rUvqtwAJv4CBf40uqpUEFkiKV6h9zDoaIkMlE
• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/barriobistromx/?epa=SEARCH_BOX

 _{Okay that should do it for this week.}

_{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.}

_{Okay, thanks so much to Memo Wulff from Barrio Bistro and La Lulu in Colonia Versailles. Make sure you add Barrio Bistro to your list of restaurants the next time you come to paradise. Don’t forget to mention you heard him on the podcast and see what Memo has for you. His dishes are to die for, his raicilla is to hallucinate for, and what a great}

_{excuse to go and explore Colona Versalles.   And 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!}

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