Rocky Point Foodie Tour

The best laid plans...

We started out the morning deciding we would take a trip to the Oyster Farms, with half our crew in our Razor Side-by-Side (4WD) and half of us in our parents truck. Since not everyone is a fan of oysters, we decided to stop at one of our favorite local restaurants to get lunch on the way.

Birrieria "Los Mezquites" is an authentic eating experience! They serve delicious birria (beef, or goat) in a rustic, open air atmosphere with very friendly, local staff. The tortillas are hand made in-house, cooked on a stove in the center of the restaurant and they are delicious!

If you've never had birria, you are missing out! It is a traditional Mexican soup or stew made from a combination of chili pepper-based goat or beef with various seasonings. Slow-stewed at a low heat, it is garnished with onion, cilantro, and lime, and accompanied by those delicious handmade corn tortillas!

Birrieria "Los Mezquites" has a pretty simple menu. A bowl of the stew in small, medium or large, and tacos or quesadillas with the seasoned meat. Whatever you order, it comes with a small bowl of Birria for dipping! And beware of the chili oil on the table! You better like things really hot if you plan to use that!!

With our brother's mouth on fire from the chili oil and red sauce, we decided we needed a pallet cleanser before heading for oysters. So we headed to La Argentina Empanadas for a taste of something different!

La Argentina has a variety of sweet and savory empanadas, cooked in their al fresco courtyard six days a week (open 1-9pm and closed Wednesdays). At 35 pesos (about $1.50 USD) each, they are cheaper by the dozen, so we went that route!! Strawberry/Nutella, Peaches/Cream, Apple, Pineapple/Cream, Pecan/Dulce de Leche, and Banana/Nutella on the sweet side (we tried them all except banana). For savory, they have "Original" (with ground beef), Spinach/Cream Cheese, Caprese, Philly, Ham & 4 Cheese, and Shrimp/Cheese.

A trip to Rocky Point just isn't complete without some of these delicious Empanadas!

We were now so stuffed that we couldn't fathom adding oysters to the mix! So we headed west to check out the newly remodeled (and under new ownership) JJ's Cantina in Choya Bay. JJ's has been a Rocky Point Cantina for over 50 years. Most are used to it as the rustic, local place you "had to go" since the early 80's. If you visited Rocky Point from 1980 until 2021, you likely sat at one of the concrete tables out on their extensive terrace, overlooking Cholla Bay, with a cerveza in hand. Mornings and evenings, it's a great place to watch the local fisherman launching and returning with their catch of the day!

There is so much nostalgia at JJ's, that we were hoping that the big revamp wouldn't ruin its charm. We were pleasantly surprised. The terrace remains very much the same (but with much needed shade umbrellas!), and the other improvements are just beautiful! The extensive food menu is a far cry from the simplicity from the past, with prices to match, of course. I think that's ok though. We never really came to JJs for the food (unless it was a visit to the Mr. Fish Taco stand next door), but for those who will, I think they'll like the menu!

We ended our day at JJ's with a rather unfortunate incident. But that will be another post, as I'm hoping I can write about its resolution soon!