Sandry Restaurant - Lucio Blanco, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Before I talk about the wonderful dining experience I enjoyed at Sandry's Restaurant, located in Lucio Blanco, Tamaulipas, let me introduce my long time friend, Jerry Flinn, and his friend, the owner of Sandry's Restaurant, Rodolfo Rincon.

For the last year or so, my friend Jerry Flinn had been telling his friends, the Rincon Family, of Lucio Blanco about me. I have the impression that he's been saying a lot of good things about me to the Rincons, as he's told me that the Rincons say "Any friend of Jerry's is a friend of ours." It tuned out that Monday, September 25, 2006 I flew into Harlingen, Texas, and Jerry picked me up at the airport, and almost immediately, we were headed south to Lucio Blanco, Tamaulipas, Mexico to meet the Rincon family, and enjoy dinner at Sandry's Restaurant.

Photo: Sandry's Restaurant is located in downtown Lucio Blanco, on Calle Hidalgo. It's just after 6 in the early evening, on Monday, September 25, 2006, and we're ready to enjoy a dinner like I've never been treated to before. The restaurant specializes in fish cocktails, but the menu includes a little bit of everything enjoyed by the residents of the State of Tamaulipas. Note the ice machine, labeled "hielo," in front of the restaurant, and the stand that's occasionally used for events that require outdoor cooking.

Photo: The temperature is hot in Sandry's kitchen, yet Elena and Dora are busily preparing a special meal for me, in my honor. I still find it hard to believe how wonderful the staff of Sandry's Restaurant, and the members of the Rincon family treated me.

Photo: Yoli prepares gravy for the chili rellenos. I'm in Mexico, so it's ok to wander into the kitchen to take photos, but on this Monday evening, I was the "guest of honor" at Sandry's Restaurant. Elena is in the background of the photo, dipping another stuffed chili into the batter she has just prepared, which will soon become another amazing chili relleno.

Photo: Yoli spoons chili gravy on to a plate that she's ready to serve in the dining room. I absolutely love being able to come into a kitchen, and watching the friendly staff in action.

Rodolfo Rincon and his charming wife Dora, and their extended circle of family and friends, have lived in Lucio Blanco for all of their lives, which is more common to live in your home town, in Mexican society than in the United States. Rodolfo has many family members who live in the Lucio Blanco area, including two brothers and a sister, and their families, plus countless friends. As a former mayor of Lucio Blanco, and a guy who's contemplating entering politics again, Rodolfo knows everybody in the area, and I mean everyone! If you want to anything about anybody, or anything about the state of Tamulipas, Rodolfo is the guy to ask.

Photo: A Chili rellano is filled with goodies, and battered, and ready to be deep fried in Sandry's fantastic kitchen.

Photo: Chili rellanos, which are already stuffed and battered, are deep frying on Sandry's back burner. Note the lack of a separate deep fried, as all deep frying is done in a cast iron skillet. "Low tech," but it's a great way to fry fine food, and makes the meal taste all the better.

Photo: Elena, shows me another chili rellano she has just finished cooking, and taken out of the frying pan of hot cooing oil. The food prepared in Sandry's kitchen is simply amazing!

I had no idea until I got to Sandry's, that my friend Jerry, and the Rincon family were planning a special dinner for me, as a way to get aquatinted and to welcome me to Lucio Blanco, and into their circle of family and friends. I had the opportunity to tour Sandry's fine kitchen and get a chance to watch Dora, one of her employees, Yoli, and a couple of other ladies prepare the feast. I couldn't believe the trouble these folks were going through, to prepare such a fine meal in my honor....

Photo: I'm totally overwhelmed at the love and hospitality that my friends have given me. The Rincon family, who own Sandry's, had never met me prior to today, yet they and their staff prepared me this amazing dinner, in my honor. I have never had anybody do that in my honor before today, and I can't imagine it ever happening again. No, I'm not praying, but I'm thanking Jesus for these wonderful friends, but I'm simply nodding in awe and humility.

The fine meal started out with a bowl of some of the finest fish and vegetable soup that I've ever had the pleasure of eating. I asked Dora for her recipe, and she shrugged and gave me the list of ingredients that she uses. She says the secret to the soup is her homemade fish broth, which is easy to obtain, as Sandry's specialty is delicious fresh and saltwater seafood dishes. Dora adds in a few crushed tomatoes, some onion, cilantro and a little salt and pepper. According to her, that's about it, as you mix the ingredients together and simmer until the soup smells right. She says her soup always changes, as she's always adding a "little of this, and a little of that," depending upon the ingredients she has on hand. Whatever method she uses, her soup is delicious!

Photo: The meal started out with a bowl of Dora's fish and vegetable soup. The soup was so delicious that I could have stopped there, and eaten the complete pot of soup. I asked Dora for the recipe, but she say's it's nothing special, as she uses "a little of this, and a little of that" and each batch turns out a little different. I can't vouch for the other batches, but this bowl of fish soup was the best fish soup that I've ever tasted!

Photo: A plate of stuffed, battered and deep fried chili rellenos are brought out to our table. Honestly, I can tell you that I've never enjoyed chili rellenos like I enjoyed them on this Monday evening at Sandry's Restaurant in Lucio Blanco, Tamaulipas.

Photo: My first plate of enchiladas, carrots, a fresh tostada, along with a battered, deep fried chili rellano, with everything topped in cheese. How can it get any better than this?

Photo: I didn't plan on going hungry tonight, so this plate amazingly delicious tostadas was "round two" for me. Nobody in their right mind could resist this delicious food. Note the avocado slices, and the anjo cheese that garnish the tostadas.

After a couple of beers and a couple of bowls of Dora's delicious fish soup, the dinner arrived. What a dinner! The dinner consisted of chilli rellanos, enchiladas with mole sauce, baked carrots, shredded beef tortillas, covered with tangy queso, and a salad of shredded lettuce, sliced onions and tomatoes, and halved key limes. The chilli rellanos were the centerpiece of the meal, and I had the choice between cheese, ground beef, or seafood. How could I choose? ... so I had a sample of each variety.

Photo: Jerry, friend "Nacho," Rodolfo, Dora and Edna enjoy the fine dinner at Sandry's. We enjoyed the best dinner imaginable with some of the best people on the planet.

The wonderful staff at Sandry's Restaurant put a lot of time and effort into this meal, and it was totally on the house, in my honor. Dora, Rodolfo, Edna, Jerry and I enjoyed one of the finest meals that I've ever eaten, prepared and presented to me by people that I'd only known a couple of hours. Simply amazing!

Photo: Jerry, Edna and I settle down to enjoy an amazing dinner. Thanks you Rodolfo, Dora, and the entire staff at Sandry's Restaurant!

Let's flash back to early Monday evening, October 10, 2005, and join our friends Jerry and Edna Flinn at Sandry's Restaurant, in Lucio Blanco, Tamaulipas. The article was written by my friend, Jerry Flinn, and has received minor editing from me, the owner and publisher of this web site.

Editor's note: Oh yes, much of this article was written by my friend Jerry Flinn, so I thought that I'd let him write the article and take the photos for a change. I've thrown in a few comments, as I've had the pleasure to dine at Sandry's and meet their personable owners, Dora and Rodolfo Rincon. Back to Jerry's story...

Sandry is the name of the restaurant, and I was told that it is named after the owners' daughter, Sandry Rincon. The restaurant is located near the "Cucero del Muerto," where the railroad tracks cross Mexico Federal Highway 2. The owners, Rodolfo and Dora Rincon, who will make you feel home as soon as you walk into the place as they are friendly folks who will treat you like you're a member of their family. Sandry's specializes in cocteles y mariscos (seafood cocktails and seafood) as their sign advertises, but they also serve delicious meat and chicken dishes.

Photo: Sandry's Restaurant features carnes, mariscos and lots of good food. The restaurant is located in the small town of Lucio Blanco. Lots of easy parking!

Photo: Restaurant owner Rodolfo Rincon, smiles for our camera, as she shows off one of the many pastries the restaurant offers.

When we arrived we were instantly greeted by the Rincon's and ushered to our seats, where chips and salsa awaited us. Then came the before dinner soup a fish broth, one of my favorites, and a favorite of the locals. Our dinner entrees followed. We also had three cokes and two beers between us. The bill came to two hundred seventy-five pesos about twenty-six U.S. dollars; a real bargain for a delicious meal.

Photo: Ranchero sauce and jalapeno peppers are cooking on Sandry's propane-fired griddle. If you look closely, you'll see a pan of refried beans simmering on the back burner. Since we're friends with the owner, Rodolfo, access to the kitchen isn't a problem.

Photo: Right: Romy pounds my steak to a slice only a few millimeters thick. Sandry's makes outstanding milanesa steak, which in case you're not familiar with what a milanesa steak is, it's the Mexican version of a "chicken fried steak."

Photo: Hard at work in the kitchen, Romy and Rory prepare food, as Kara rushes to serve other customers. Rory is making fresh salsa, which is a staple in any Mexican kitchen, including Sandry's Restaurant.

Photo: Rory, Yolanda and Romy preparing customer's dinners in Sandry's kitchen. A large table or counter in the middle of the kitchen is a very common in commercial Mexican restaurants, especially in the State of Tamaulipas.

Photo: We take a photo inside Sandry's kitchen... from left-to-right, Romy, Rory, Yolanda and Dora, who happens to be Rodolfo's wife, and co-owner of the business.

Photo: Dora, Yolanda and Romy work to prepare our delicious meal in Sandry's kitchen.

Photo: Sandry's charming hostesses, Mary and Kara strike a friendly pose for our digital camera, as they pause between serving tonight's diners.

Photo: The "foodie friends" in action, from left-to-right, Edna Flinn, Ray Stein, Jerry Flinn and Fran Stein. We're ready for dinner, as Rodolfo snaps our portrait.

Photo: Kara, one of our friendly hostesses, always with a smile on her face, prepares a salad for our table. Lots of fresh limes are featured in our delicious salad.

Photo: Rodolfo smiles, as he poses beside a happy family, after enjoying a fantastic meal at Sandry's. Mary, in the background, seems quite busy, and not able to strike a pose for the photo.

My wife, Edna and I came with another couple the Stein's from our home Mercedes, Texas. We did an interesting thing, in that we really ordered five meals for the four of us, which is an unprecedented thing to do in a Mexican restaurant, as Mexican restaurants are known for their feeding skills. I know what you're thinking: Man these people are big eaters! But, to nobody's surprise, we took home leftovers, and plenty of them to last us into the next week. The problem that confronted us was just that so many things on the menu sounded soooo good... oh heck yes, you know what I mean, as its hard to choose what you really want to eat with a menu that is so extensive...

Photo: Edna's "Beef Special Dinner" is to the left, and, naturally, includes salad, rice along with refried beans. Ray's "Fish and Shrimp Combo Dinner" is to the right of the photo.

Photo: Close-up of my "Fish Combo Dinner," including rice, salad, and fries. I chose fries rather than refried beans, as fries are a staple at restaurants in eastern Mexico. Note my empty bowl of fish soup, which is served as an appetizer with nearly every dinner at Sandry's Restaurant.

The Stein's had the fish combo, which is fried fish fillets with shrimp. They told me that this rated right up there in taste with any delicious dish served at a five-star restaurant. Edna had the beef special, which is marinated steak that made for a very tasty meal. I had the beef milanesa, which is a Mexican a version of chicken-fried steak. The slices of steak are pounded really thin then dipped in a coating and deep fried. Their beef was sliced very thin; perhaps the thinnest that I've ever seen and very delicious and not greasy at all. I decided to order entree number five- seafood soup, a traditional fish broth that was loaded with fish and crab. This is a favorite of mine and my thought was my guests would also enjoy it. I was right, as everybody loved it!

The Rincons are gracious hosts and will make you feel at home when you enter Sandry's. We recommend this restaurant for its fine food, efficient service, friendly staff, quality food, and skilful presentation. If you've never had the pleasure to dine at a Mexican restaurant that specializes in seafood, Sandry's would be the place to start. After dining at Sandry's, you'll fall in love with Sandry's, the Rincon family and Mexican seafood restaurants.

Sandry's Restaurant
Lucio Blanco, Tamulipas
Mexico