The San Felipe Blog

For those of you who wish to enjoy the best of San Felipe’s fine dining, you need to know about Paco’s. Paco is a chef, trained in France, who has been serving up his delicacies at various locations around San Felipe for years now.

Recently, Paco set up a restaurant in the Ejido (the property right before El Dorado if you’re going North out of San Felipe towards the U.S.). Every thing I’ve tried from Paco’s has been amazing.

Last Sunday night I enjoyed a pork appetizer (I don’t remember the name… sorry) which was an absolute thrill for the taste buds. The main course I tried was the lamb and beef skewer which did not disappoint.

I also had a taste of a friend’s scallops appetizer (served cold and like everything else at Paco’s was delicious). Everyone in our group was very satisfied with their meal, and I give it a hearty two thumbs up.

The one drawback to Paco’s is the location. It’s not the easiest place in the world to find. I wish I had better directions than this, I really do (if you ask some of the persons living in San Felipe, especially el dorado tenants, they’ll surely have heard of Paco’s and be able to point you in the right direction).

In the Ejido, the streets don’t seem to be named. You have to look for one of the side streets (really close to where the del sol campo is on the other side of the Mexico 5) which has a large tree right in the middle of the road a few blocks in. Turn down that road and pass the tree. Take the next left, and Paco’s is right there on your right!

It’s worth the trouble in finding. Trust me, you can’t go wrong with Paco’s.

Sorry for the lack of posting. The server this site lives on got hacked, and since it’s my server, I’ve spent a lot of time restoring websites. This one got back up really quickly, but I’ve been working on others.

I realized this blog comes up number one for “sandrail pizza” in a search, so I wanted to help all you all out by giving you the number. If you’re in San Felipe, Sandrail Pizza is 576-0441. In the U.S. (I don’t know why you’d call a pizza joint from outside of San Felipe, but here goes anyway) dial 011-52-686-576-0441.

Sandrail Pizza is very good pizza, and they deliver to El Dorado Ranch and the Ejido. It’s pricier than Chumpo’s, my San Felipe favorite, but it’s very convenient when you’re staying at El Dorado.

Sandrail Pizza is located at Playa de Oro on the Mexican 5.

At least once a week, I stop in at Don Fidel’s for one of the best, if not thee best, tortas in San Felipe.

Being a creature of habit, I’m almost always compelled to get the torta de pollo (chicken torta). The last time, mostly because I knew I’d be posting about Don Fidel, Jr. and his scrumptious tortas, I tried a torta de machaca (beef). While I still prefer the chicken torta, the beef torta was also excellent.

Don Fidel’s “restaurant” is an outdoor stand with a few plastic tables and chairs. Don’t let this scare you away. I know a lot of persons who visit or live in San Felipe who’ve eaten at Don Fidel’s and none have ever gotten sick. One of the best ways to decide whether to eat at a stand is if they have running water or not. Don Fidel’s does.

When you’re taking the Mexican 5 into San Felipe, it turns into Chetumal. There are two circles on Chetumal in San Felipe (only one has roads going off of it, the first is by the arches at the beginning of the town). Right before the second circle on the right hand side is Don Fidel’s Tortas. There are two Don Fidel’s, his dad also runs a hamburguesa and hot dog stand in the evenings. So enjoy great Tortas for lunch and the best hamburgers and hot dogs in San Felipe during the evening!

It would be easy to talk about all the great Mexican food here in San Felipe and neglect the cuisine from other parts of the world. Last night, I had Chumpo’s pizza, which is personally my favorite in San Felipe. To get to Chumpo’s, you take Chetumal (the road which the Mexican 5 turns into in San Felipe) to the stop sign one street before the Malecon (the last street which runs down the beach) and turn right. On your left you will see Chumpo’s down the street a short ways. Chumpo’s also sells Thrifty ice cream, so when you see “Thrifty” on your left, you’ve also found Chumpo’s. There’s also a Thrifty on the right-hand side of the street, but they only sell ice cream (and it’s very good ice cream!). I must admit that though I consider Chumpo’s the best pizza in San Felipe, I haven’t had pizza from all of the places here, as there are several.

If you are north of town staying in or near El Dorado Ranch and Playa de Oro, then you should definitely check out Sandrail Pizza. Sandrail’s very good pizza, and they deliver to El Dorado Ranch!

Although I haven’t personally tried Los Arcos’ Pizza, I hear it’s very good. I’ll give it a try myself, soon. Los Arcos is located right before the arches when you enter San Felipe. You can’t miss the arches, so if you get to them before seeing Los Arcos on the right, you’ve gone just a bit too far.

There are a couple of other pizza places in San Felipe, and when I try them I’ll post a review here.

I fell in love with San Felipe in the spring of 2000, and I’ve returned many times since. Currently, I’m living north of town in a nice home on the El Dorado Ranch.

Living and vacationing in Mexico is a bit of an adventure every time. To make things easier, and to keep those interested in San Felipe updated on local news and events, I’ve created this blog.

I’ll be posting “how to’s” and other information to make your time, whether it be long- or short-term, in San Felipe more enjoyable.

As I discover fine eating establishments, I’ll review them and provide directions (as well as pictures when available). A lot of the stands in San Felipe have amazing food, but foreigners are afraid of getting sick if they eat the food. There are some tips and tricks for picking out which stand is okay for eating, and I’ll be sharing that information, too.

I’ll be leaving the comments open, so please feel free to add advice. Just keep your comments relevant to the post, or they may be deleted.

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy San Felipe news and views!