To those who have done the panorama out of long Beach...

[juanarcin]

How easy is it to find authentic Mexican food while in the ports the panorama stops at? Mazatlan and Cabo specifically. We are doing these ports on our own and we are Mexican American, we aren't fans of the Mexican food served near ports because they are heavily catered to American tourist, meaning they cook with items that aren't used in most authentic Mexican meals... salsa on the milder side (not as hot), American cheeses that melt, ground beef, etc. 

 

Im sure there's authentic food if we hunt it down, but wondering how common it is if you're on your own near the port? 

[havanadaydreaming]

Great question.  Id recommend trip advisor forums for each of those cities.  

 

 Headed there this week but im a first timer to each and wont be much help.  

[juanarcin]

1 hour ago, havanadaydreaming said:

Great question.  Id recommend trip advisor forums for each of those cities.  

 

 Headed there this week but im a first timer to each and wont be much help.  

Good idea thanks! 

[Mike45LC]

Despite my many visits to these ports, I am a gringo who does not know authentic Mexican food.  

 

Mazatlan would be a better place to find real Mexican food than Cabo.  Cabo is sort of like Marina Del Rey South.  The clubs and bars in Cabo could be straight from So Cal.

 

In Mazatlan, grab a golf cart (pulmonia) or walk to Mercado Pino Suarez.  This is a huge market, filled with stalls, everything from clothing to food (butchers, pastry shops, veggies, ...).  It is over 120 years old.  There are stairs to a second floor with small restaurants.  Most of the shoppers are locals, so I would guess that the food is authentic.  I haven't seen a lot of tourists eating there.  The authentic meat displays kind of turn many of us gringos off.  

 

PV, I only know of touristy restaurants.  Ine might have some suggestions for you.

 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

In Cabo if you stay within 1,000 meters of the marina, sure you will find gringo restaurants, but the 200,000 Mexicans who live in Cabo aren't eating gringo food everyday. Talk to the Mexicans working in a shop near the marina and ask them where to find the kind of food you'd like.

 

Ditto for PV and Mazatlan. My parents had a house in PV for decades and would spend months there at a time. In a 90 day stay they might have eaten at a tourist restaurant 5 or 6 times and the rest were spent at local restaurants or home cooked meals.

[cruisingguy007]

Easy, when you are mapping around the areas, say for example Mazatlan, most cruisers will mention one of the eateries right on the beach (like Lety's) and there will be many google reviews in English. Then look down the peninsula a bit at a place like La Caleta, most of the reviews will say (translated by google) and will be in Spanish. Those are locals, the more of those, the better. Prices will also be better at these types of places. Many of them aren't the places right in front or easiest to get to, you may have to walk a couple blocks. You want authentic, go where the locals go. One caveat is the pulpas along Malecon de Mazatlan, many of those serve legit authentic food but you'll just pay the tourist prices due to location. That said, local reviews (in Spanish) are a good barometer of value and authenticity. They'll let you know! Enjoy your trip.