Nayarit EATS: What Makes a Fajita Sizzle?

Fajitas are a popular Mexican dish and are served throughout Jaltemba Bay and Riviera Nayarit. Some of the most authentic fajitas can be found at La Piña Loca Restaurante in Rincón de Guayabitos. They start by marinating and grilling your choice of shrimp, chicken or beef (or a combination of all three), and sautéing chunks of onion, bell pepper, mushroom and tomato. These ingredients are then piled high in a hot molcajete and topped with cheese – and before you know it, your fajita is delivered to your table, steaming and sizzling alongside a basket of warm tortillas de harina (flour tortillas), salsa mexicana and La Piña Loca’s flavorful and beautifully spicy chimichurri sauce. Oh, and if your cerveza is empty, this would be a good time to order another one.

A molcajete (pronounced mol-kah-HAY-tay) is a three-legged bowl that has been carved out of volcanic rock. It is “the perfect” vehicle to serve fajitas in because it literally keeps your meal hot until the very last bite… which is why you should NEVER touch the bowl. Yes, consider yourselves forewarned.

The proper way to eat a fajita is somewhat debatable. The majority of people tend to overfill their tortillas. This is a rookie mistake as most of the ingredients will inevitably fall out the sides and back into the bowl. A select few seem to have calculated the exact amount of ingredients a tortilla will actually hold, and masterfully fill, roll and eat one after another as if there is nothing to it. And others, like myself, have simply succumbed to eating the ingredients straight out of the bowl with a fork, dunking our tortillas and adding more salsa as needed.

Regardless of how you eat your fajitas, these are a must try… along with a bowl of their to-die-for Sopa Azteca (tortilla soup) to start!