Restaurants

Palapa restaurant Rene’s (cell tel. 615/103-0008, around 8 A.M.–9 or 10 P.M. Mon.–Sat., dinner only Sun., mains US$8–12), on the east side of the San Ignacio [1] town plaza, prepares good-value seafood dishes and antojitos. If it’s not too hot or buggy, you can sit outside under the brick arches for a pleasant outdoor dining experience.

Antojitos Mexicanos Fong (8 A.M.–11 P.M. daily), at the San Ignacio town entrance, has a simple menu featuring fresh ingredients. Nano Fong, who owns the restaurant and attached motel, is an ex-circus performer and marathon unicyclist (and Guinness-record holder); magic tricks and tales of his 50-hour unicycle marathons all over Mexico to raise money for various causes are free with your visit or meal. He is a living piece of Baja history.

Northwest of town, near the highway, Ricardo’s Rice and Beans (tel. 615/154-0283, http://ricardoriceandbeans.googlepages.com [2], 7 A.M.–11 P.M. daily, dinner US$5–15, breakfast US$5–15) serves traditional Mexican and seafood dishes; to find it, make a U-turn at the Pemex station and follow the road parallel to the highway four blocks.

On Mexico 1, about three kilometers northwest of town, Restaurant Quichule (no tel., 8 A.M.–11 P.M. daily, mains US$5–10) is owned by Rancho El Carricito and uses homegrown meat, milk, and cheese in its dishes. The seafood cocktails and clam cakes are particularly good here.

San Ignacio has a new market in town, Mercado La Huerta (no tel.) which stocks a wide variety of supplies and produce. Look for the market on the road to the lagoon, just past the mission. You can find basic supplies at a few other tiendas and miscelanéas in town.

Try Mercados Mayoral López (no tel.) or the Diconsa (no tel.) next to the Pemex on Mexico 1 for groceries, and Tortillería La Misión (near Rene’s, just off the plaza, no tel.) for flour tortillas. You can also buy dates at various stands for about US$2 per kilogram.