-Where do you daydream about when you want to leave the daily grind behind and get away?

A place to relax by the beach.

Explore a picturesque town.

You might just be imagining Puerto Vallarta... where charming, white-painted buildings hang over the crystal blue waters.

[ Horn honks ] I'm getting a food tour with one of the best local chefs.

-Welcome to Puerto Vallarta.

-Gracias.

This is a perfect taco.

And a behind-the-scenes look at a major luxury resort destination..

They make the chocolate.

...getting a sneak peek into how they provide incredibly relaxing and delicious vacations.

They have all the cookie dough in here.

I'm going to raid this tonight.

And ending with a fresh seafood cookout on the beach.

It's been such a wonderful return to Puerto Vallarta, so unexpected.

-♪ Dame, dame ♪ ♪ Dame tu chocolate ♪ ♪ Dame, dame ♪ ♪ Dame café caliente ♪ ♪ Dame, dame ♪ ♪ Dame tu corazón ♪ ♪ -"Pati's Mexican Table" is made possible by... ♪ ♪ -♪ Avocados from Mexico ♪ -Fud brand cheese -- traditional Mexican flavor.

-Stand Together -- helping every person rise.

More information at StandTogether.org.

-Here, the typical arroz con pollo -- or not.

Unfollow la receta.

Mahatma rice.

-King Arthur Baking Company.

Find out more about our masa harina at kingarthurbaking.com.

-Oléico -- High Oleic Safflower Oil.

-Tecate Alta, cerveza suprema.

Mexico is in us.

-FEMSA Foundation.

♪ -Puerto Vallarta is a popular tourist destination for a reason.

This beautiful beach town has incredible scenery, old-world charm, and a blossoming art scene.

♪ But before you even step foot inside this city, there's one stop you have to make as soon as you exit the airport.

Tacón de Marlin.

This is what you do.

You land in Puerto Vallarta, you cross that bridge, and you come to Tacón de Marlin.

Are you guys coming to Tacón de Marlin?

Hey, are you coming to have a burrito?

-Atlanta.

I flew in from Atlanta.

-Atlanta.

See, I'm not the only one with a suitcase here.

The owner is Alejandro Garcia, otherwise known as Tacón.

-Oh!

...heel, like big, heavy heel, and he says he used to wear cowboy boots.

But tacón can also mean gigantic tacos.

This brings up an important question.

Isn't a gigantic taco just a burrito?

I might need to conduct some tasty research.

Ah.

So, by accident, you started a new thing.

The classic tacón here starts by grilling smoked marlin.

You can have shrimp, octopus, crab, and every combination thereof.

[ Laughs ] I'm obsessed with marlin.

They start by grilling smoked marlin, scatter on some raw onions, put it on a slice of American cheese, add lettuce, tomato, fresh homemade ketchup and mayo.

The whole delicious package gets toasted on the griddle.

Mmm!

And then they take it a step further and toast the cut sides for that extra yum.

Tacón de Marlin is a family business.

Tacón's daughters help their father with the restaurant every day.

♪ Mm-hmm.

Smoked...

Cheese, like just a little, pero melted into the marlin... ♪ [ Laughter ] And now to settle the big question once and for all.

For Tacón, there is one thing there's absolutely no debate about, his tacónes are the best.

-And there is no other.

No other.

Mm.

Mm-hmm.

If you're eating something and juices run down your arm and you don't care, it's because you need to come back.

[ Laughter ] ♪ Usually, when I travel through Mexico, I get to visit off-the-beaten path places and stay in all sorts of unique haciendas, hotels, and even people's homes.

♪ But for a lot of people, vacation is all about the resort.

And why not?

The pools, the service, the beach, the luxury.

But do you ever wonder what it takes to feed an entire resort full of people?

I'm at Vidanta Resort to find out.

♪ We are going behind the scenes.

We are going underground to see what it takes for this place to function and host 12,000 people.

How big is the underground?

-I think you can do, like, three kilometers in this.

-Oh, my God.

-Yeah.

-Has anyone ever gotten lost here?

Like, someone who starts to work here?

-I get lost sometimes.

-You do?

Chefs Christopher and Alexis are taking me to see how all this food gets made.

People are probably eating all the time, right?

-Yes.

-So, you really have 12,000 people a week here who can be eating any minute of the day.

-Exactly.

We have an operation 24 hours, 7 days a week.

-You have over 35 restaurants.

So, you have to make Mexican cuisine, Italian, Asian, sushi.

How do you plan and organize it?

-All the restaurants make their own orders.

We sell the dessert and then it arrives to the restaurant, and they decorate it and then they do the final touch.

So, it's like a producing delivery area.

-So, it's like a giant octopus?

-Exactly.

-And you're like the head.

They make 200 kilos of tortilla chips a day.

Oh, here's where you make your pastas.

-They make their own bacon.

Fresh pâté?

It's my lucky day.

I love pâté so much.

But one of the most fascinating operations here is their very own chocolate factory where they produce over 33,000 pounds of chocolate a year for all of their locations.

Starting with dried cacao from the Mexican state of Tabasco, which is ground using stones.

Okay, I thought that this is where they would temper and shape the chocolate, but they make the chocolate.

-Ah, come see.

This is a chocolate bathtub.

Once liquified, it's poured into molds.

That looks like so much fun.

♪ -Mm-hmm.

[ Speaks Spanish ] -So, that's the final result.

So, it's -- -So buttery.

-It's worth the effort, you know.

-Sí.

Sí, of course.

You do it for the taste.

You do it for the philosophy.

You do it for sustainability.

-And we do it for quality as well, because we believe that making our own things makes us better.

We transport all the chocolate to the other resorts.

So, all our chocolate in the resorts are made here and then we bring it to the other hotels.

-So, you don't only make chocolate for 12,000 people.

-Exactly.

-You make chocolates for, like, 100,000 people.

You have a yummy job.

♪ Venturing out from the resort, the town of Puerto Vallarta is a beautiful mix of new attractions and historic charms.

I mean, look at this.

Talking about the Puerto Vallarta that remains, I don't know how old this tree is, but I'm assuming decades and decades and decades.

And you feel that in Puerto Vallarta, like, the old Puerto Vallarta mingled in with the new.

And one of the biggest draws is the food scene.

Hola, Chef.

-Hola.

Welcome to Puerto Vallarta.

-Gracias.

Thierry Blouet comes from a family of hoteliers but always wanted to be a chef.

30 years ago, he achieved a dream of his when he opened Café des Artistes, recognizable by the beautiful mural that greets you at the entrance.

Thierry was born in Puerto Rico to French parents and has lived in Puerto Vallarta for 33 years, a cultural combination that makes for one irresistible accent.

-Thierry.

-Thierry.

-Thierry.

-Thierry.

-Sí.

-I love French.

I don't know how to speak French, but I'm just going to use the Thierry because it makes me sound sophisticated.

♪ Something that remains of the old Puerto Vallarta are the food stands which often get passed down from generation to generation.

And Thierry is taking me to one of his favorites.

-Salud.

-Mm!

-Mmm.

-Oh, super thirst-quenching.

The meat becomes a tasty treat.

Why settle for one, right?

-[ Laughs ] Mmm!

Mm.

Mm-hmm.

[ Conversing in Spanish ] Delicioso.

Okay, I officially trust Thierry's judgment when it comes to these food stalls.

And he has one more can't-miss spot to go to.

And he's taking me there in his car, which he loves so much.

Uh-huh.

Uh-huh.

For real?

-For real, yeah.

[ Horn honks ] ♪ [ Conversing in Spanish ] This stand has been here since 1993, serving birria tacos.

We're, like, two blocks from the Malecón in Puerto Vallarta.

Birria is a traditional Mexican stew from Jalisco, usually made from goat or lamb, but increasingly also made with beef.

-They cook the birria in the clay pot all night long.

-You can order your tacos soft or crunchy, but I need to try them both.

I have a soft birria taco and I have a crujiente or crispy birria taco.

It looks fabulous.

I don't know which one to bite into first.

♪ -Mm.

-Mm!

-Mm!

Mm!

This is a perfect taco.

The filling has so much flavor.

The meat is, like, luscious and falling apart.

And then it's covered in this super crispy corn tortilla.

It crumbles into a thousand pieces in your mouth.

Oh, it's so good.

-This is the broth.

It's very, very tasty.

You can drink it.

You eat and you drink at the same time.

-Mm.

[ Speaking Spanish ] -You were telling, why birria in the beach or place.

-Yeah.

-This is very local.

Birria is very special from the state of Jalisco.

-Uh-huh.

-So, and this is for breakfast.

And then we go for lunch, we go fish.

[ Laughs ] -Oh, that's awesome.

It's funny, like, such a meaty thing for breakfast.

Even though Puerto Vallarta seems to have grown so much, do you feel like there is a small-town spirit where people still know each other or has that changed?

-I thought we were going to lose that, but you still have that -- that spirit.

Something very special about Vallarta are the people.

-Uh-huh.

-The people are very, very friendly.

-And they love having tourists come and they -- -Yes.

-Has that always been the case?

-Yes.

But I love to live anywhere, I'd like to live here because you can live here your life the way you wish.

♪ -When I told friends I was going to Puerto Vallarta, they told me I needed to go to the Oyster Bar De La Docena.

Hola.

-Hola.

¿Cómo estás?

-¿Cómo estás?

-Bien.

¿Y tú?

-Claudio Javelly has been a restaurateur for 28 years.

He was born and raised in Guadalajara but he's been coming to Puerto Vallarta for as long as he can remember and has seen it change over the years.

You're so, like, chill and relaxed.

Is this, like, Puerto Vallarta and or is this Guadalajara?

-It's Puerto Vallarta.

-It's Puerto Vallarta.

The last time I was here in Puerto Vallarta was a long time ago and I feel the change, but how have you seen the change, like, coming and going in the last, say, 20, 30 years?

-Well, it used to be nicer before.

Restaurateurs come and do horrible places.

People with nightclubs with the loud music outside, with this music that you cannot stand so you never come back to that street again.

It started with the U.S. crisis in 2011 and it started developing there.

All of the places for rent in town were free and there was no one doing anything.

In the last two -- couple of years, there has been people starting new ventures in small restaurants.

I'm really surprised to be here and to be so happy.

-So, it even surprises you, a person who lives here and a person who's invested here.

-I'm considering to spend two or three months a year here, Puerto Vallarta, because I've been so happy these two months.

-So, I want to try what you have here that's special to Puerto Vallarta.

-Everything is local.

These are oysters here from Nayarit, from San Blas, and this is one of our famous recipes in La Docena.

-When the first La Docena was opened, Claudio noticed not a lot of people wanted to eat fresh oysters, but they would eat them grilled and garnished with butter, oil, onion, shallot, and parsley.

Look at this.

Come see.

This is, like -- the shell is gorgeous.

The shape is insane.

-They don't even put lime or nothing.

-Mm.

Mm-hmm.

Mm.

-I'm allergic to oysters.

-Stop.

-No, I'm kidding.

I'm kidding.

[ Laughter ] -Next is a whole flayed-open pargo fish blanketed in cilantro.

Wow, wow, wee wa.

Mmm.

-Bueno.

-I love the bountiful cilantro on top, and it's very delicate.

So, it's incredibly herby and fresh.

Lastly, Claudio wants me to try the heart of palm.

They coal-fire the trunk for hours.

Then it's cut and finished on the grill with olive oil, lemon zest and salt.

This is a heart of palm, like, from the jungle.

-The south of Tamaulipas, which was a state that was taken by the narco, a lot of the meat ranches -- -Sí, like cattle ranchers.

-The cattle ranches, the owners couldn't go anymore because they had the gangsters there.

People didn't go to the ranches for 10, 15 years and it got totally populated of these palms.

-So, it was something that it was really taken care of.

It was super protected.

And these ranches started growing this palm.

So, now they gave this special permit to cut this plant to rehabilitate the ranches again.

-So that they can do other things... -Yes.

-...but have palms?

I love hearts of palm.

The smell is just insane.

Mm.

Mm.

-So, it's amazing.

-The taste, would you compare it to, like, water chestnuts a little?

-Possibly have a little bit of water chestnut, too.

-Mm.

What a surprise.

Like, what a surprise to find such a charming and amazing Puerto Vallarta.

I really didn't know what I was going to encounter.

I'm so grateful that you came and met with me.

-[Indiscernible] that you came to Puerto Vallarta.

-Gracias.

-And just look how beautiful, to be here, working with the ocean, with the sunset.

-I don't know if I have to go get my bathing suit and jump in the water or eat 10 more of these.

♪ -After tasting some of the best food in town, I couldn't think of a better way to end my Puerto Vallarta experience than with a cookout on the beach.

At Vidanta Resort, chefs Alexis and Christopher wanted to share a couple of their favorite recipes for a meal at sundown.

We're going to have pescado zarandeado.

-Okay.

So, you go up and down in the Pacific Coast and you can taste so many different kinds of pescado zarandeado.

-What we use here, sometimes I use mayo but, to make it refined, we use a little butter.

-Oh.

So, you have the garlic paste.

-Yeah.

-And I see there you're charring tomatoes.

-We're making the adobo.

So, we char everything.

Then a little guajillo chile as well.

-We're going to cook it a little bit in water.

-Okay.

-We have some oregano, fresh one.

-Everything that you cook there, you puree it and it becomes this adobo.

-Exactly.

-Which I want to taste.

-Mm!

[ Exclaims in Spanish ] Ah!

-One tablespoon.

-Okay.

Soy sauce, butter, and a generous amount of Salsa Huichol takes this adobo to a whole new level.

Christopher makes small cuts in the fish, then adds the garlic paste... and adobo sauce.

You're going in all of the cuts you made.

-[ Speaking Spanish ] -Mm.

-What we do different is that we roast some onions on top, and some poblanos.

-Oh, so it's going to char.

[ Speaking Spanish ] ♪ -So, now I really want to learn about camarones embarazados.

-Okay, good.

-I've never tasted them.

Camarones embarazados translates to pregnant shrimp.

-Exactly.

Bara, it's like the stick.

-Yeah.

-Then azado is like a grill.

-So, it's camaron embara-azado.

-Grilled.

-And with a Mexican sense of humor, it's called pregnant shrimp.

-We use shrimps that have the head on and it gets charred with the skin.

-You leave the shell... -So, this is like a street food thing in the beaches of Mexico.

This is like a lollipop.

It's easy to eat.

You just go like this.

-Like an adobo spicy lollipop.

-Exactly.

-Which we love.

-You want to do one?

-Okay.

[ Speaking Spanish ] -Exactly.

-Oh, because you have the shrimp on the shell, the shell acts as a guide.

I got it.

-We marinade it.

-With the garlic.

-Yeah, on both sides.

-Christophe is going to do a salsa macha on it.

The salsa macha is roasted chiles that are dried, then blended into a powder.

You can try.

See if you like.

-[ Exclaims in Spanish ] -So, we have this on the grill.

[ Sizzling ] -[ Exclaims in Spanish ] You grab a tortilla.

-Yeah.

And this is so easy 'cause you guys already cut the squares into the fillet.

-Perfect.

Salsa.

-Provecho.

-Provecho.

-Mm.

-Mm.

-It's one of the best tacos you can get.

It's one of the things that we have to travel to the beach to eat.

-I know.

And it's also very easy to understand why the zarandeado is loved in all of Mexico's coasts.

-Please.

Some salt and some lime.

This is one of the things you eat with the skin on.

-Mm.

-You eat by hand.

It's fresh.

You get dirty.

That's happiness, no?

-You want to get dirty at the beach.

You know, you can just jump in the water after.

-Right.

-It's been such a wonderful return to Puerto Vallarta.

I found so many unexpected things, including the incredible food that -- and experiences that you can find.

So unexpected, from the pâtés to the meats to the view, the people.

-A pleasure to have you here.

-A pleasure to be here.

-Thank you.

♪ ♪ -For recipes and information from this episode and more, visit PatiJinich.com.

And connect!

Find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest @PatiJinich.

-"Pati's Mexican Table" is made possible by... ♪ ♪ -♪ Avocados from Mexico ♪ -Fud brand meats -- traditional Mexican flavor.

-Stand Together -- helping every person rise.

More information at StandTogether.org.

-Here, the typical arroz con pollo -- or not.

Unfollow la receta.

Mahatma rice.

-King Arthur Baking Company.

Find out more about our masa harina at kingarthurbaking.com.

-Oléico -- High Oleic Safflower Oil.

-Tecate Alta, cerveza suprema.

Mexico is in us.

-FEMSA Foundation.

♪ -Proud to support "Pati's Mexican Table" on public television.

♪ ♪