A first-class international culinary tour in one evening ---
Dining at a four diamond restaurant is something that most people don’t do very often - dining at three fine restaurants in the same evening is something most people would not imagine doing, so it was really a rare experience when I got the opportunity to enjoy a special dining tour called Gourmet Experience. Organized by several of the top restaurants in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, Gourmet Experience tours guests through a six-course dinner at three upscale restaurants. Each restaurant prepares two courses and pairs it with wine from Casa Madero, the oldest winery on the American continent.
I enjoyed the company of a small group of fellow food lovers as we toured around. At each restaurant, we were treated as special guests and were served immediately. We started at Nicksan, a Japanese restaurant known for its creative fusion of Mexican and Japanese flavors. The restaurant imports authentic Japanese products and fuses them with local Mexican ingredients to create unique, yet balanced dishes. The staff welcomed us with a delicious lychee martini and manager Alberto Gonzalez welcomed us and explained that he would be our host for the entire tour.
Nicksan’s chef also greeted us before we were served a marvelous tostada de atún made with Pacific Ocean yellowfin tuna and served on a rice cracker tostada, with sliced avocado, habanero-infused red onion and sesame seeds. As a lover of Japanese food I was intrigued about the fusion concept and after the first taste all my senses were pleased. The chile habanero is known for its heat and most people, including myself, cannot handle much of it. With this dish, though, the habanero-infused red onion gave a perfect little kick to the flavor of tuna making a perfect balance.
After some tasty sushi rolls and a second glass of wine we moved to Lucca, a four diamond Italian restaurant located at the five diamond Grand Velas resort. At Lucca we were welcomed with an alcohol-free piña colada, fresh bread, olive oil and vinegar. The eggplant parmesan and potato gnochi in a creamy gorgonzola sauce were fantastic and the service was outstanding - there were at least four servers gracefully attending to everything for our table of seven people.
My favorite at Lucca was the dessert - a frozen pannacotta cup with berries in Lambrusco. I usually do not like sweets and desserts but the berries were so refreshing and went nicely with the Lambrusco and the chardonnay. We then returned to our private shuttle to travel a few minutes to La Casona, the third and final destination in our progressive dinner.
At La Casona we were welcomed with an alcohol-free tamarindo margarita and by the chef Eugenio Villafaña, who has traveled around the world to develop his culinary vision. Chef Eugenio likes to get creative and cooks food that could be called fusion or classic evolution. His passion for food is evident in the dishes and in his great interest in the diners’ feedback. He joined our table to explain some things about the dishes and to ask for our honest opinion on each dish. This kind of interaction with a passionate chef was a very rare and enjoyable aspect of the whole tour experience.
Chef Eugenio served us quinoa ‘risotto’, langosta (lobster) a la parrilla ‘Tikin Xic’ style, and asparagus and corn Montrachet paired with a chenin blanc. The whole meal was fantastic including three kinds of dessert.
Eugenio mentioned that most of the ingredients that he uses are organic and that he has a garden where he sources his spices, herbs, and vegetables for cooking. He also travels to small Mexican towns to get local and quality ingredients.
After enjoying the meal, the wine, and the company of my fellow diners, I was fully satisfied. I love good food and I believe that to truly enjoy food you need to enjoy every aspect of the experience - the smells, the taste and the presentation, but also the environment and the company, all of which the gourmet tour provided. It was a very special dining experience and a once in a lifetime experience…until I take the tour again!