A Run to Popotla in Baja California, Mexico

Man, I wasted my time with that Puerto Nuevo place yesterday. I should have just come straight here, a tiny little beach down a dirt road just south of the former Fox Studios. It was filled with fishermen bringing in their catch from the day, like those local marciano spider crabs above. The males in the front were larger, but apparently less tasty than the smaller females behind them. They were also twice the price, so I grabbed one female at a bargain price of just 50 pesos (US$3).



After cleaning the crab, they took it to another lady who fried it in lard. I asked for it a la diabla, or spicy. And it was delicious. The meat itself was fine like a dungeness but even sweeter. The lard that it was fried in made it tastier, and of course the spices made it even more fun. Unlike Singaporean chili crab, this sauce wasn't sweet. This was hands-down one of the best meals that I've had in a long time.



I learned though that crab isn't very popular in Mexico; I invited my driver to eat with me and he had no idea how to eat a crab ("Where is the meat? How do you crack the shell?"). Instead, most locals eat fried fish and shrimp. Sea urchin was a possibility here, but it was out of season. So we got plenty of raw bivalves both on the half shell and in campechana form instead. I'm definitely coming back.