Monday, June 15, 2009 11:24 PM
Rob Kinnon
Sunday BBQ at La Suegra de John Gray in Puerto Morelos
For the past few months we have been hearing some good things about the new Sunday family BBQ at John Gray's place on the beach in Puerto Morelos. So, last Sunday we broke from our traditional Sunday Funday in Playacar Phase 1 and made the drive north to check it out. In striking contrast to John's other culinary venues, La Suegra (which literally translates to the mother-in-law) de John Gray is a cozy, no-frills beach restaurant located just north of the town center, an easy walk from the zocalo by way of the beach or along the narrow streets of this still sleepy fishing village. This being our fist visit to La Suegra, we managed to walk right by the front door, completely unaware that the entrance is straight through the middle of the busy kitchen! The staff directed us inside where we were greeted by John's lovely wife Nora who was putting the finishing touches on a cake to celebrate their anniversary. Her mother, for whom the restaurant is named, was behind the line, head down, buried in work preparing the food for today's guests. The party was just getting started as we settled in to a table on the beach, kicked our shoes off and buried our feet deep in the sand.
The beach in "downtown" Puerto Morelos.
La Suegra de John Gray.
I had been given a "heads up" by John Gray's PR director, Karena Black, that the film crew from TV Azteca would be filming John and his family for several segments airing later this week. John has recently been chosen as one of the participants in the 2010 South Beach Food and Wine Festival and this recognition served as a perfect excuse to get in some valuable TV face time. We were just there to watch the action unfold and enjoy the BBQ!
John quickly dispatches a barracuda he caught just moments before!
Discussing the finer points of better BBQ over the enormous grill that he and Executive Chef Karl made themselves.
Fresh grilled snapper!
Lining up the final shot.
The kids played soccer on the beach as Rob and I tucked into the food. Pork and beef ribs, grilled chicken, spicy chorizo and shrimps were served up hot off the grill accompanied by baked beans, grilled onions and corn, creamy coleslaw and potato salad, everything you need for a BBQ feast, the homemade sauce for the ribs is worth the price of admission, a perfect balance of sweet and tangy.
At $175 pesos for unlimited servings (children pay by their weight!) it's not the least expensive of the recent all-you-can-eat BBQ offerings but the quality of the food well outweighs the difference in price. You can be sure our family will be back for more sun and fun at La Suegra.
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