-by El Gitano Peñasco, "The Peñasco Gypsy"
I still refuse to ‘cover’ some of the negative stuff the local/regional news sources are awash in so instead let’s talk food, specifically shrimp, and maybe how you like to prepare your favorite meal.
It seems that the State of Sonora, including our local commercial fishing folks, have been scooping up a lot of shrimp recently and beginning the first week of September and ending on the last day of October the region has experienced its best season in the past 15 years!
The Peñasco take seems to work out to about 1,113,333 lbs of the little critters over the 8-week period and that works out to, assuming a population of 40,000 residents, 27.83 lbs per every man, women and child. That equals a lot of good eats for those of us who love gorging on the crustaceans!
Naturally all that got me to thinking about my favorite shrimp meals. The two at the top of the list are Gambas al Ajillo (aka Camarones al Ajillo) which I first experienced as a child in Madrid, Spain (and the more garlic and hot peppers with French bread the better).
My second favorite is Bay Shrimp sandwiches and the best I ever had (at a restaurant) was at a place called The Chowder House at the Ward Warehouse Shopping Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Sadly, after 30 years in business, it is no longer there!
And now that I think about it I just realized that in all these years in Peñasco I honestly don’t recall ever seeing either of those dishes on the menus for the establishments I frequent and that worries me because although I really don’t eat out that much these days I must have surely missed out on some good home-style eats!
So, if anyone reading this week’s Gypsy can point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated. I’d especially enjoy a place that really knows how to cook up a fantastic dish of Gambas al Ajillo because I’m at the age now where I want to be pampered a tad and would just love to sit down and eat my fill.
Of course if there are no ‘Gambas’ for the taking nor a really good Bay Shrimp sandwich (only on French Rolls) available from a restaurant then please feel free to fix up a batch (of either) and bring ‘em by and I promise, like “Wimpy” (from the Popeye cartoon), “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a…”
A Gypsy can always dream!
¡Viva Puerto Peñasco y México!
Gypsy
elgitanopenasco@gmail.com
