Mr Choby’s, San Luis R.C., Sonora

Well folks, since Kirk has been sharing stories about his international travel, it is only fair that ed (from Yuma) should share his latest foreign adventure with mmm-yoso readers.

What with the sick economy and the exchange rate at 12 pesos to the dollar, it seemed like a good time for Tina and I to cross the border for a night of, we hoped, reasonably priced fine dining.

Our taxi driver actually had to stop and ask directions (and he was a man) because Mr Choby's is fairly far from the border on Calle Obregon and not a common tourist destination. Since we were driven directly into the parking lot, I have no exterior picture, but it is on the north side of the street and its logo features a lighthouse and a Mariner's wheel. The inside is modestly and tastefully decorated, though you will find no white tablecloths:

 Using our best Spanglish (a pretty feeble excuse for communication) and a lot of pointing at the menu, we were able to order. We started with margaritas on the rocks:

Along with the drinks, arrived some rather ordinary yellow cheese spread thing and some rather good crackers:
 Both Tina and I preferred dipping the crackers into the complex and spicy table salsa:

For our first course, we decided on steamed clams. They arrived dripping in butter on top of some grains of rice on a large plate. This was a generous portion and the clams were fresh and balanced between tender and chewy: While not the best rendition of steamed clams that I have ever had (I would've liked a little garlic), they were quite serviceable and their flavor was enhanced by squeezes of lime juice:
 Along with the clams came our bottle of L.A. Cetto chenin blanc. This dry and fruity white wine from the Guadalupe Valley, which we chose from the modest list of about a dozen Mexican wines, paired nicely with our meal:

We then each had a marlin taco. While not much resembling the smoked marlin tacos at Mariscos German, these were things of culinary craftsmanship in their own way. The lightly smoked marlin had been cooked with green chilies and a bit of onion and was balanced in the soft grilled flour tortilla  by typical Sonoran white melty cheese. This picture shows the taco opened up just before I spooned in the flavorful salsa:

This taco was very good, but not "in your face" powerful. What I mean  is that the flavor was complex, multilayered, and subtle, adjectives that I do not often use when describing Mexican food. The next time I have this, and I sure hope there is a next time, I will simply spoon salsa all over the taco and eat it as if it were a mini marlin quesadilla.

For her main course, Tina chose the camarones chipocludos, which turned out to be eight large shrimp in a wondrous rich and creamy sauce with just a hint of smoky chipotle flavor in the background:
 The shrimp were of excellent size and quality and perfectly cooked, and the sauce was a wonderful complement to them. The main courses were accompanied by okay coleslaw and a tasty truncated cone of buttery rice. We also received a basket of toasty bread, which was great dipped into the that great creamy chipotle sauce:

Since Tina and I habitually pass plates back and forth, I wanted a dish that would balance hers. When I saw combinacion jarocha on the menu, I thought that would be a good choice. In addition, it would let me see how the restaurant approached the traditional Veracruz presentation:
 I was very impressed by both the look and the taste of this dish. Sometimes Veracruz sauces can be much like an Italian pasta sauce, with green peppers, olives, and capers in a thick tomato sauce. At Mr. Choby's, the chef had decided to present the mariscos integrated with  an assortment of vegetables. The fish fillet pieces were fresh and tender as was the octopus, and the shrimp, while smaller than Tina's, were also very good. Fresh tomatoes, seafood juices, and olive oil were the basis of the brothy sauce. Even with the frozen peas and carrots, the collection of vegetables (in particular the seeded and deveined jalapeno slices) was excellent and provided color balance and textual variation as well as a variety of tastes. The jalapeno flavor, in particular, added a nice touch of picante spice and capsicum flavor without overwhelming the other ingredients:

We were happy. Our mouths were happy. And when we got the check, our pocketbooks were not too unhappy:

Even adding a generous tip for the friendly service and $3 each way for the cab rides to and from the border, and we'd had a pretty economical night out.