| Secret Spots - La Gaviota - Troncones |
by K.L. Moore
It is hard to escape eating good seafood while here on vacation, or even living here. There are a variety of dishes that most places prepare, and one of my favorites is the pulpo a la diabla (octopus in the sauce of the devil). Lots of places make this dish, but few do it right, and none make the dish as succulent and as perfect as the beach restaurant, La Gaviota in Troncones.
My roommate, Huw, once made the slight remark that La Gaviota had the best ‘Pulpo a la Diabla’ and I have been on a quest for the best of the best of diabla sauce ever since. I have eaten at many establishments, requesting the dish. My quest has taken me from Zihuatanejo to La Union, up and down Highway 200 stopping at many of the roadside eateries and beachside restaurants. (I do this, of course, for you the faithful reader) Right in my own backyard I find the best. Isn’t that how it usually happens? A la diabla is a smoky flavored sauce with a base of the pepper chile de arbol, or depending on the recipe, a chipotle pepper, garlic, onion and other secret spices. But perhaps the secret is in the preparation of the octopus itself. Pulpo is a very chewy and tough mollusk and needs to be softened before cooking. All chefs have their own ways of softening octopus. It can be boiled for a few seconds, beaten with a meat cleaver, or sautéed lightly with cooking oil and garlic on a comal or in a sauté pan. At the restaurant La Gaviota, Amada and her daughters who own La Gaviota are of the school of softening the octopus on the comal with a few various spices and garlic. She, of course, will not tell me her true secrets, but will release a few. The preparation of the octopus is key, it must be cleaned properly and softened properly. Most of the tentacles and inside is removed. Then, very carefully, the ink sack and the head are removed. You might remember last year I wrote about a dish of octopus in it’s own ink, well, a la diabla style is not this at all, so please do not confuse the two. The sauce for her is easy, as she has been making it all her life, but her touch and her expertise make it one of the most amazing dishes around. The dish itself is served with rice and black beans and as many hand-made tortillas as you would like. It is spicy, but not too spicy. The smoky flavor is created by a combination of chiles and spices, which she says is a family secret. She guards it well and well she should. I can’t imagine this divine sauce in a bottle, mass marketed for all the world to taste and buy. I like the fact it is a bike ride away for me and a taxi or a car ride away for you.
La Gaviota has more on the menu. You can order shrimp a la diabla, or even fish with the sauce on top. Or fish or shrimp any style you would like. The restaurant itself is located in Troncones - take a left at the beach and look for the sign, it is very close to the intersection. It is great place to laze away the day, enjoying Troncones’ beach and swinging on one of the many hammocks.
Buen Provecho.
March 2002
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