The best of mexico in naples
What if I tell you that you can take a culinary tour around Mexico without even leaving Southwest Florida?
When we think about Naples, Florida we think about fancy places, 5th avenue, and an older population. Naples is so much more than that though. At only 8 miles North East of Naples we find Golden Gate, a community full of culture, diversity, and flavors. Liz Valdez, a Navy veteran with a passion for food, has made it her personal mission to show people this less known part of Naples, and she does a great job at it.
Liz brings an authentic experience to everyone that hops on her SUV. She is friendly, very knowledgable, and cares about the community she is serving. Every place we went to she was welcomed with a smile and everyone knew who she was. I went on one of her Driven Foodie Tours and here is everything we tried and the places we went to.
Here are some quick things to know about the tour:
Liz will drive you around in a luxury SUV, you just eat and have a good time.
The tour lasts around 4 hours.
There is food, included in the price, at each stop.
All the food is authentic, which makes the tour unique and perfect.
You can be paired up with a random group of people or go with a group of your friends.
When I went on the tour, I got paired up with two other groups of foodies and we had a blast! We all met at Coastland Mall to start the tour.
La Oaxaqueña
Our first stop was at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Naples: La Oaxaqueña. To get to the restaurant you go through a convenience store first and then find the colorful tables, decorated with cultural imagery, where we sat to try sopes and agua frescas. A sope is a super popular Mexican street snack. Their base is a shell thicker and crispier than a regular tortilla, and it is topped with beans, meat, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. I paired it with a pineapple agua fresca and it was a perfect combination of flavors.
2. 7 Food Mart & Tortilleria
The second stop in our tour was a Latin American grocery store. In the back of the store we found all the prepared foods and it was beautiful. All the meats, sides, and tortillas are prepared daily from scratch, the experience took me back to traveling and visiting my brother in Mexico. Here, we had the best barbacoa tacos I’ve had in Southwest Florida, definitely recommended. I’m usually an al pastor girl, but I am glad Liz convinced me to go with the barbacoa. They were tender and super flavorful.
3. Patria
At this point of the tour, I feel pretty good, I’ve tried two great places and can’t wait to see what’s in store for the third place. On the way there, Liz tells us the story about Patria and how she is getting ready to open her restaurant, she currently operates by people calling her directly and ordering from her, she also tells us to be prepared to be amazed. Well, that was an understatement. When we got there, Patria had a big table waiting for us, on top of it there was guac and chips waiting for us as well. We all got margaritas to pair our food with them. I am picky about my margaritas, but I am happy to report that these margs were really good and their rim had tajín, so it gave it an extra kick that I wasn’t expecting, but was grateful for. After the guac and chips, Patria brought out an incredibly tasty ceviche that we devoured! But it didn’t end there, the food kept coming after that, and for the main act: Quesabirria PIZZA! Complete cheesy and meaty goodness, with the consome to dip in. This is definitely the highlight of the tour. Needless to say, we didn’t walk out of there, we rolled our selves back to the SUV!
4. Antojitos y más
We obviously needed a little sweetness at the end of the tour, and we got what we were looking for at Antojitos y más. Even though we were all super full and ready to lay on the couch and watch movies, we all had a little something. I actually had cheesecake ice cream, and it was great, but I want to highlight the authentic option here: the mangonada. This is a very popular treat in Mexico because of its variety of flavors in one cup: sweet, tangy, and spicy. The base of this treat is mango sorbet. The toppings include tajín, chamoy, lime juice, and a tamarindo straw. Very refreshing and the perfect way to end our night.
If you want a full authentic experience with a guide that will drive you to all the places and is knowledgable about her industry, definitely run to book with Liz over at Driven Foodie Tours.
Liz: Thank you for the amazing experience!
