Let's Talk Soup–Nuevo Vallarta

I’ll bet you thought this would be a recipe posting.  Ha! It’s not. However, it is a food posting of sorts. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d go to Mexico and enjoy eating soup so much. I had it for lunch, and frequently had it at the a la carte restaurants for dinner while we were in Nuevo Vallarta.
We arrived to Dreams Villamagna in the late afternoon close to the end of the lunch time for some of the restaurants and we were waiting for our room to become available, so we headed to the buffet which would be quick and keep us close to the lobby so we could get our room key after eating. Now, I’m not usually the biggest fan of buffets in an all-inclusive resort, but it made sense logistically since it was the closest restaurant to the reception area.
Trying to keep it light, since we were getting closer to dinner time, I opted for a bowl of soup and a salad. The soup was a Cream of Chicken and Vegetable and man, it was incredible! You’d think in Mexico that a spicier option would have been more appropriate, but the cream soup was spot on.IMG_1785As the week proceeded, I sampled a lot of soup. Despite the warm weather, that first bowl had won me over and started a quest for my favorite.  First up, was lunch the next day, which was a Chicken and Vegetable. This was a basic take on Chicken Noodle soup without any noodles.  I was amazed at how flavorful the broth was.IMG_1786Later that evening, which was Valentine’s Day, we went to Portofino, the Italian restaurant. Just when I thought I had been eating some pretty tasty soups, they really impressed me with a Cream of Asparagus soup. It was off the chain and even came with a small, crunchy breadstick as garnish.


The next night we had dinner at the Seaside Grill, which would lead you to think we were dining at a seafood place. It was not. It was what I would consider to be the Steakhouse, since the majority of options on the menu were grilled beef selections. Considering I’m not a fan of creamed corn back home, I had low expectations for liking this one. To my surprise, I had a Corn Cream soup that would have knocked my socks off had I been wearing any. This stuff was delish! I hope someday to go back to Dreams and get a hold of this recipe!IMG_1913Oddly enough, the next night’s dinner was a Mexican BBQ in the courtyard of the pool area. This was also the location of my least favorite soup selection, which was a Chicken Tortilla soup. Granted, I didn’t add the tortilla garnish or cheese to the soup, which may have been what was needed, but this soup just wasn’t hitting the mark for me. It was ok, but not “knock my socks off” good.IMG_2003Basically, I was completely taken off guard by the quality of the soups at Dreams Villamagna Nuevo Vallarta. I had no idea I would end up sampling a bunch of soup at an “unlimited luxury” All Inclusive resort. But now that I have, I tip my hat to whoever they have on their kitchen staff that is making these soups. They have a real gem right there!