During my September, 2006 visit to my buddy Jerry Flinn, I had the opportunity to visit this wonderful restaurant, up close and personal, meet the manager Lupe, and even drink a few beers, but I didn't get the opportunity to dine at El Puerto due to scheduling issues, which is a fancy way to say that I ran out of time.  So since my friend Jerry, who writes a local newspaper column about area dining experiences, was willing to submit this article,  I'll allow him to explain one of his dining experiences in his own words. Editor's note:  I have made a few minor changes, mostly to improve the story flow on the internet.

Left:  El Puerto, in Lucio Blanco, Mexico.  Right:  They have a high-class sign that announces what they do best.

Jerry writes:  Today my buddy Kent and had lunch at El Puerto fish restaurant in Lucio Blanco, near Reynosa, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, just across the border from Los Indios, Texas.   The food was very good and the ingredients were very fresh.  We started with a tomatillo salsa and tortilla chips.  Next was the fish soup, known as caldo.

Left:  Kent enjoys his beer, as Lupe looks on from behind the counter.  Right:  Waitress Elena takes a break, as she allows us to take her photo.

Kent ordered the garlic fish filets (U.S. $3.80) and I had the garlic shrimp (U.S. $5.00.)  For drinks, I had a coke and Kent had a beer.  The bill was $119.00 (Mexican pesos,) which works out to be about $10.50 (U.S. dollars,) which is a pretty good bargain for such a fine meal.

Left:  Tomatillo salsa and chips are brought to the table, as an appitizer to our meal.  Right:  The second course consists of fish soup, a.k.a., caldo de pescado.  It's good!

Lupe is the manager of the restaurant, and he's a real nice individual. He is shown behind the counter and holding my order of shrimp.  The young lady sitting is the waitress Elena, who's very friendly and does an excellent job of making sure patrons are well taken care of.

Left:  Carmen is busy cooking our food in the kitchen of El Puerto.  Right:  Erika, one of the kitchen helpers, smiles for the camera as we snap her photo.

The lady in the kitchen Erika. My apologies to Carmen I just got her arm as she was cooking. Reyna I missed also. I guess I was interested in what was cooking, but when I come back, I will get the opportunity to photograph them again.

Right:  Lupe hands Jerry his lunch of garlic shrimp and all the fixin's.  Right:  Kent's lunch of garlic fish fillets, beans and rice.  When you're in Mexico, expect beans and rice as side dishes for every meal.  Ymmmm!

If you have an interest in good food, drive east of La Feria, head to the International Bridge and go south about 5 miles. There you will encounter a stop sign that reads "Lucio Blanco;" take the first right for no more than a mile and you can't miss El Puerto, as it is a large building on the right.

Left:  Jerry's lunch of shrimp, rice, fries, and salad.   Fries are very common in Northeastern Mexico.  Note the tortilla warmer to the right, which held plenty of fresh, warm corn tortillas, a staple of every meal in Northern Mexico. Right: From the enterace to the street, here's the layout of the dining foom of ElPuerto.

You may note that there are many similarities between El Puerto and Sandry's Restaurant, also located in Lucio Blanco.  That's true, as both restaurants are owned by the Rincon family.  Any way you look at it though, El Puerto is an excellenet restaurant!

 

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