Traveling to Ciudad Obregón
Street Food Highlights: Carne Asada, Sonoran Hot Dogs & Seafood
This small city in the Sonoran desert may not be your typical tourist destination, but it sure does pack a whole lot of greatness into its casual and street food scene that make it worth a visit.
If you’ve ever been a fan of carne asada in a taco or burrito, you owe it to yourself to try it from the source of the best beef around. Sonoran meat has no equal and you’ll know it when you bite into a carne asada taco filled with grilled or “ceboso” meat. Add to that menu the option of shredded “cabeza” head meat which sounds odd but tastes amazing and you’ll be rolling back home in no time. That’s not even mentioning the flour tortillas from Obregón that can’t be beat elsewhere. Of course if you want to stay on the healthier side, the white corn tortillas that are more popular in the region tend to have a more nuanced flavor than the yellow corn tortillas down south.
Now that the extended gushing over meat is over, I suppose I should recommend that you try out some other Sonoran delicacies. The Sonoran hot dog is something you may have heard of or even tried in Arizona, but Obregón style is where it’s at. A hot dog wrapped in bacon, placed in the best, spongiest homemade hot dog bun around, and then topped with your choice of onions, mayo, avocado, chipotle mayo, and melted cheese. Seafood here is also delicious with your usual shrimp ceviche and tostadas available everywhere, but I highly recommend scallops, known locally as “callo de hacha.”
Obregón is a city where restaurants are only open at certain times of day, so make sure to check the hours before heading anywhere.
If you happen to visit Ciudad Obregón between October and January, then you can catch a game of the local baseball team the Yaquis de Obregón. The Pacific League as it’s called, plays during the MLB offseason and often features players that are staying sharp for their chance to get called up the next season. The small, modern ballpark lets you sit right up close to the action and take in the differences to the major league.
In less than two hours, you can be in the small beach town of San Carlos. The ocean water here is very warm and absolutely worth a swim at most times of the year, even if the air outside is a bit cooler in winter. If you’re in Sonora in the summer, a visit to the beach is practically a must to relax from the 100 degree weather.
Two hours in the other direction will take you to the “Magic Town” of Alamos. As one of many Pueblos Mágicos throughout the country, designated for their history, small town vibes and charm in general, Alamos is home to cobbelstone streets and some very cool hotels that you can simply relax at for a few days by the pool.
Baseball, Excursions to the beach & a Pueblo Mágico
We can’t write about coffee travel without providing some tips for where to eat and drink during or after your cup of coffee.
Best Food & Drink
1. Asadero del Valle
A massive outdoor grill with tons of options to choose from, the beef ribs, bone marrow and cabrería tacos are excellent, adding the flame-grilled flavor that one would expect from a BBQ.
Address: C. Veracruz, Centro, Fundo Legal, 85000 Cd Obregón, Sonora, Mexico
2. Tacos Luis
While the menu is a bit more extensive, all you really need to order at Tacos Luis is tacos de cabeza, extremely juicy shredded beef tacos that come packed full of meat and accentuated perfectly with onions, cilantro and your choice of two salsas.
Address: C. Allende, esquina con Calle California, Cd Obregón, Sonora, Mexico
3. Tawita Hot-Dogs
Those bacon-wrapped Sonoran hot dogs I mentioned earlier? This is the place. You can also catch the Yaquis game or other sports on the TV here while enjoying your “hoc-dog.”
Address: Av. Jesús García, Nainari del Yaqui, 85137 Cd Obregón, Sonora, Mexico
Check out the Ciudad Obregón episode for more information on coffee culture in SD.
Other Recent Travels
Traveling to Santiago
Chile is not spoken about nearly as much as other famous countries in South American like Brazil, Argentina, Colombia or Peru. But I can assure you it has just as much to offer as its outspoken neighbors. And that's not just my bias for the country I was born and...
Coffee Roasting Advanced Course with Café Sublime
Café Sublime's Coffee Roasting Basics course opened my eyes and inspired me to learn even more with this Advanced course. The icing on the cake was that this turned out to be a one-on-one course where I was the only student, compared to the group setting of the basics...
Espresso Fundamentals Course with Café Sublime
I'll be honest, espresso has always played second fiddle to pour over and immersion methods in terms of my appreciation for coffee. Call me a hipster or whatever you want, but the fact of the matter is that espresso's significantly more widespread recognition and the...