That Sweet Taste of Mazatlan Shrimp

El Paraje (The Place) Restaurant Camarones A La Parrilla (Grilled Shrimp)

My parents-in-law have been coming to Mazatlan, Mexico, for twenty years, so they have naturally become regular customers at the most famous eateries in town.  One of such eateries is a restaurant called El Paraje (or The Place) located on a street with a colorful name Camaron Sabalo (Or Shrimp Shack). Greeted by the owner’s son Victor, we concentrated on the menu that offered a variety of shrimp and lobster specialties. I craved the pure grilled Mexican shrimp (Camarones a La Parilla) and when my plate arrived, I knew I was in for a treat.  Adorned with a drizzle of butter and garlic, the shrimp were juicy, sweet, and firm to the bite. They still bore very subtle hints of the sea aroma reminding me that perhaps even that morning my dinner was still in the ocean. Not a bad thing when we talk about seafood. I did not even finish the sides of rice, vegetables, and baked potato that came with the meal, for I thoroughly enjoyed that subtle reminder that the best meals in life are also the simplest.

          After this meal spiced with the warmth of Sinaloan night, I have come to a conclusion that exploring Mazatlan’s charming subtropical scenery and its long, vast beaches absolutely cannot be complete without tasting one of the best seafood in the world. The fact that the state of Sinaloa, Mexico, is a well-known capital of the world shrimp industry sparked my curiosity, so I searched the World Wide Web for an answer. As it turns out, the beginning of the shrimp industry in Mazatlan dates back to the 1920s when American and Japanese fishermen arrived on the shores of Sinaloa. It was not long before the first wooden shrimp boat named “Jesus” was built in the place of Teacapan and, shortly after, three fishermen entrepreneurs Isaac Coppel, Camilo Medrano, and Juan Gavica started the first shrimp export business to the United States. Today, ten percent of exported Mexican shrimp comes from Mazatlan shores that host more than six hundred shrimp vessels and thirteen thousand (!) small motor boats.       

          To me, in some mysterious way, that simple grilled shrimp at El Paraje has accumulated a century-long history of shrimp industry in Mazatlan and opened the door to a whole different world of fresh and delightful seafood that can only be truly savored at the place that unites family, tradition, and good meals.