Jorge Meraz: Folks, today, in "Crossing South," we visit San Felipe where we learn the story of how the Alfredo pasta was invented in Mexico, and we hit a funky blues party, all coming to you right now.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Jorge: Hey, folks, we are in San Felipe and a lot of people have found this place as a playground, as a camping ground, as a place to just come and enjoy nature and a slower pace of life.

We're gonna show you a group right now, so stay with us.

More "Crossing South" coming your way.

Jorge: So we are at the El Dorado Ranch Resort in San Felipe, golf course by the sea.

The reason why you're hearing that noise, there's a blues fest going on, and the organizer?

Standing right next to me.

Jorge: How you doing?

Anna Martinez: Nice to meet you.

Jorge: What's your name?

Anna: My name is Anna Martinez.

Jorge: Anna Martinez--Anna, tell me about this event, like.

Anna: This event, we've done it for 16 years.

Jorge: Sixteen?

Anna: Sixteen years.

Jorge: Always here?

Anna: No, not always in el Dorado.

For the last 6 years in El Dorado Ranch.

We have the bands there.

We have all the VIPs, we have all the vendors, so.

Jorge: Yeah, it's a good event.

It's good to have people coming together here.

Anna: Its a San Felipe blue event, because its part of the San Felipe Lions.

Jorge: Oh, okay, this is part of the Lions Club.

Anna: Nonprofit organization.

Jorge: Right, right, right.

Anna: So we're 1.5 million volunteers.

But in San Felipe, we have 62 volunteers.

All what you see here, all this money, every penny, is going back out to the community, to nonprofits.

We have Better Together that do the cataract surgeries with our vision.

And then we have the sleep clinic with the dogs, and then we have the orphanage, and then we have Fire Department, Red Cross, and all the other little identities that make San Felipe great.

Jorge: You guys are contributing to the community for sure.

Jorge: Giving back, right?

Anna: We're always giving back.

♪♪♪ Anna: Fifteen years ago, there was a lady, it was Sam Grub's wife and she did it more of a vendorship.

And then the following year she inducted the music and she said, we have salsa, we have Cumbia, why not blues?

And why not blues-- because-- Jorge: There's enough of an expat community.

Anna: Yeah, and so ever since then, 16 years later, we're doing blues.

Jorge: Oh, nice.

How have the locals, either government or people, responded to this event?

Anna: They love it.

They love it because a lot of the fans that come here go and help the community in San Felipe where all the money goes out.

We do food vendors, we do all of the donations for all the nonprofit organizations, for the women's shelter, for the men's shelter.

Jorge: Yeah, for sure.

Anna: So, and so schools, for the schools, we do the vision testing.

Jorge: Because I believe it is a small town.

So there's a lot of things that aren't maybe readily available.

So the fact that you guys are contributing to that, it's a pretty good thing, right?

Anna: It's very good.

It's good.

Hey, you know what, the turnout today is beautiful.

There is four other events going on right now in San Felipe, but look at our crowd.

Jorge: Right, right, despite four other events out there.

Jorge: San Felipe has a significant community of retired expats.

So when you hit this town throughout the year, you're very likely to stumble upon events like this one organized by San Felipe residents.

It's fun to see all these folks have a ball out there.

What kind of groups are you bringing?

I mean, what kind of bands play here?

Anna: Some bands that are here are from Chicago, from Illinois, Chicago, L.A. and San Diego.

And we have the one band that played earlier.

It's--they're called Austin Thomason Band Trio.

And there are 15, 16, and 17 kids.

It's a whole family that plays together.

And then another kid that came, there was a local from San Felipe, a 16, 17-year-old that plays.

He sings musica de banda, musica de Mexicana.

And so that's the Fiesta part.

Jorge: If somebody wants to look up your event to see, you know, when it's gonna come next year, what day, where would they look at that?

Anna: It's at BluesAndArts.com.

Jorge: BluesAndArts.com.

Anna: All together.

Jorge: And that's the San Felipe Blues Fest?

All right.

There you go.

Every year, tickets go on sale in March.

The event will always be in October.

Okay, good to know.

So, do you mind if I get in there and dance a little bit?

Anna: Yeah, let's do it.

Why not?

Jorge: "Crossing South," folks, don't go anywhere.

More coming your way.

Let me go there.

Jorge: I think Anna may be one of the main party animals at this event.

People like her contribute to make this community the best version of itself.

And we are glad we came to see all these people coming together.

The headline band, they were really getting their groove on.

And so was I. Jorge: So after leaving the fest, we took a short spin through the famous Valley of the Giants.

This place has cacti that are so big, it makes our vehicle look like a little Hot Wheels toy.

Many of these specimens are estimated to be over 1000 years old.

This place gained much international publicity after the transport of one of these giant specimens to Seville, Spain.

Just imagine them using three cranes and digging up the extensive root system of a 14 meter, 18 ton cactus.

China sends out giant Pandas, Mexico sends out giant cacti.

So after enjoying a ride through these imposing giants, we drove down to a place directly linked to the story of the creamy Alfredo pasta, a place aptly called "Alfredo's."

Jorge: So, you know, folks in San Felipe, we are at a place that actually has a beautiful story, has a lot of history, because of the person that founded it.

And the daughter of that person is standing right next to me and it's Palma-- how are you doing, Palma?

Palma Bellinghieri: Good.

And yourself?

Jorge: Good, Palma, nice to meet you, very nice to meet you.

Palma: Nice to meet you as well.

Jorge: Who's your dad?

Jorge: We know that that's part of the story here.

Who is--can you tell me who your father was?

Palma: My father was Don Alfredo Bellinghieri Conti.

He was born in Sicily and he came to Mexico City when he was 26 and he had Alfredo's Restaurant in La Zona Rosa and la-- Jorge: In Mexico City, yeah.

Fancy area, right?

Palma: Very nice plaza, open area, and La Trucha Vagabunda, which it was a seafood restaurant, where it was the place to come to Mexico City.

Jorge: Yeah, your dad, from what I know, he's known for something, right?

Palma: His sauce for fettuccine Alfredo.

It's the one that America knows and the whole world knows.

Fettuccine Alfredo creamy is not Italian recipe.

Jorge: Really?

Palma: Yes.

Jorge: And your dad made that sauce?

Palma: Yes, and he made it in Mexico City with Mexican cream and nutmeg and Parmesan and butter.

And he was very good friends of Alfredo of Rome, which he gets insulted if you would put cream in his fettuccine.

But my father did his with the cream and that's what started coming to the Americas.

And that is a fettuccine Alfredo that the whole world knows.

Jorge: The original fettuccine Alfredo does not come with cream.

The creamy version is the one created in Mexico.

Well, we wanted to taste this now-popular dish as it's prepared by the inventor's daughter who carries on her father's legacy and who is an accomplished chef in her own right.

Jorge: Okay, folks, so the first thing we're gonna try obviously is the house dish, the staple of it, the legacy of Mr. Alfredo.

And that's the--their version of the Fettuccini Alfredo, fresh pasta along with the shrimp.

We're going to--let's stab this little sucker right here.

Let's see if we can roll some pasta in there.

Look at, folks, you always want glistening food, right?

It glistens.

I need to make a T-shirt off of that.

So we got the shrimp.

You see the oregano, you see the seasoning to perfection.

You know, I was expecting something good and she somehow exceeded my expectations.

This is incredibly creamy, cheesy, seasoned to perfection.

Wow, this is such a good dish.

I have to be honest, I was kind of thinking that, you know, maybe it'd be more story than dish, that the dish wasn't gonna be maybe that great.

I mean, not that it wasn't gonna be that great, that just not as phenomenal as the story, right?

As this legacy dish handed down by the daughter from this accomplished, you know, world renowned chef, but this is very good.

This is very, very good.

Oh, my goodness.

The restaurant here is called Alfredo's.

Is it just a name in honor of your dad or did he get to see this place here in San Felipe?

Palma: When he semi-retired and came to San Felipe because he loved fishing.

He loved fresh produce here.

So he saw the proximity and the Sea of Cortez, the weather.

So he came to San Felipe and we opened Alfredo's as soon as we came, of course, with the same menu.

And we started 35 years ago.

Jorge: Thirty-five years ago.

When did your dad pass away, I'm sorry?

Palma: He passed in 2017 and we got here in 1988.

Jorge: 1988, wow.

Did he get to enjoy San Felipe?

He enjoyed the retired lifestyle here?

Palma: Well, buying a hotel is not exactly retired, I wouldn't say, because it's open 24 hours.

But he love--he love hospitality.

He couldn't live without people.

Jorge: Well, the fresh produce was an important factor for Don Alfredo.

He came to the right place.

The menu here is part of his legacy.

So let's see what other dishes he got to play with by using Baja's produce.

Jorge: And just so you know, I'm talking a bit--a little bit low key because it's, like, a fancy restaurant.

Patrons are here eating in other tables and I don't wanna, like, intrude.

I'm pretty loud.

Only those who know me in person know how loud I am.

My decibels.

A little bit of hard of hearing, that's why.

So if I seem a little mellow right now it's 'cause I don't wanna, like, intrude in the atmosphere of the restaurant.

Just FYI.

Anyway, let's continue with the dishes.

This is a stuffed calamari.

You know, apparently it's got eggplant, peppers, you know, it's like a nice little marinara sauce.

You see that?

It's a homemade marinara sauce, and it's got, from what I was told, it's got eggplant stuffing.

So, you know, it's got a little bit of some flowers in there, ornamental flowers.

And I think these are Brussels sprouts or that's a Brussels sprout, right?

These are always good.

So let's open-- Oh, I tried to make the incision and it kind of spit out some of the eggplant stuffing.

Okay, let's try it.

Make sure some--sufficient marinara is on that.

I wish I could add a little Brussels sprout there, but let's try it.

So this is stuffed calamari.

A little chewy so it took a little--a little bit to get there.

Have to chew really well.

But the flavor is phenomenal.

Like the marinara sauce, the stuffing, everything around it.

But this particular calamari, it took me a little bit to bite-- to chew through.

The Brussels sprout with the marinara?

Fantastic.

Maybe, cut another one of these.

See if--see if it--if it's the same.

Smaller piece, a little piece of calamari, maybe half a Brussels sprout.

Add some marinara because that is really good stuff, I'll tell you.

That is really good stuff.

All right, it's right there, folks.

I'm telling you, I'm not kidding you, the flavor is fantastic.

The calamari, maybe I haven't eaten as much calamari to know whether that's normal or not, but it's a little bit chewy.

Took me--it's taking me quite a little bit to get there.

If that's normal, you guys might be at home going like, "Jorge, that's typical."

If it is, then it's a fantastic dish because that's the only complaint I would have about it.

It's a little bit chewy.

A little bit--I'm taking too many chews to actually get to, like, you know, work through that calamari.

But the flavor is fantastic.

All the flavor around it.

Phew.

From what I've heard, he cooked actually for very distinguished people, right?

Palma: Yes, I mean, Charles Aznavour would come with his suitcase to the restaurant to have dinner.

Marilyn Monroe would be a good friend.

Undercover of my father, they used to walk in the Zona Rosa to go and buy antiques.

So she would have her scarf and dark glasses and choose her antiques.

And my father would buy them for her at a very good price.

Jorge: Okay, your dad was the liaison, her guide, her friend, confidante.

That's amazing.

Would your dad cook for her?

Palma: Oh, yeah, my father would cook for everybody.

This is just a bit, because I have so many pictures, of the memorabilia and the history that happened.

He fed 15 million people in 35 years.

So we have from Domenico Modugno, Jacobo Zabludovsky, Don Mario Moya Palencia.

He served four presidents of the country in Mexico.

He was the godparent of Domeq Wines and Santo Tomas.

Charlton Heston, when he made the movie of Ben-Hur, he gave a whole armor to my father from the movie.

Jorge: Wow, your dad had quite the life, right?

Palma: Yes, yes.

And he introduced a lot of food and--to Mexico itself, the fountains of seafood.

He started them in La Trucha Vagabunda, in Pul Pua, Siciliana.

He introduced many recipes.

Jorge: It's amazing what immigrants do for a country, right?

Palma: Yes, but he was more Mexican than a Mexican, my father.

Jorge: At the end, he was more Mexican.

Palma: He loved Mexico more than anything.

Jorge: That is not the first time I've heard that.

Lots of foreigners fall in love with this country.

But onward to the next dish, a seafood special.

So this is a three--a three-chili octopus.

It's a--it's a grilled octopus, three peppers.

It's an avocado-tomatillo paste.

I love tomatillo in sauces, in hot sauce, like, for tacos and stuff, I love the flavor of tomatillo.

I've never had it with avocado on a paste, so we'll see.

The texture is nice, tender.

Let's add a little bit of that-- of that paste, that avocado-tomatillo paste.

Oh, wow, that's good.

There's a reason why it's called three peppers.

It has quite a kick.

It is spicy, it is tender.

It is just crunchy enough where it's not rubbery, the tentacles.

I don't know if it's the three peppers.

It's gotta be the octopus because it's grilled, three peppers.

I don't think the paste, the avocado, is the one that's spicy, but it's quite a kick.

The spiciness is quite a kick.

Let's see again.

The spiciness, I think it's on the avocado.

I tried the octopus without the avocado-tomatillo paste.

It's not as spicy.

It's a combination.

It's almost like part of the spiciness is in the octopus seasoning and part of it is in the tomatillo-avocado paste, and together, they just explode.

It's like, if you don't try them together, you won't know the degree of spiciness that this has.

Jorge: You seem to be wanting to carry on your dad's, you know, legacy.

Can you tell us a little bit of what you're doing here with Alfredo's?

Palma: Well, we remodeled the restaurant, and it's been a big success.

We have a lot of retirees in San Felipe that they love to have a great place to dine.

And I'm a chef myself.

So, my father gave me the taste and I just like to make people happy and give them a good experience, all with good ingredients.

So here at the home of the fettuccini, which is how I call this place because he spent the last 30 years of his life.

We are proud to make fresh pasta every day, fresh bread, fresh dressings, everything from scratch.

You know, there's nothing like the real food made with fresh ingredients.

And we have the best produce.

San Felipe is blessed with the produce.

So, you know, when you have that, you don't need many, many ingredients, you know, to make it tasty.

Jorge: Can't mess it up, right?

It's a--it's just a matter of letting the ingredients speak and knowing what you know and applying it.

Jorge: Look at this.

This is a Baja caught sashimi with soy dressing.

You see some Serrano peppers there, some cilantro.

But let's try some of that sashimi.

Baja's produce.

I'll tell you, if you like sushi, you like seafood, this sashimi is, wow, it's phenomenal.

Yeah, it's such a--such an elegant, simple, and fresh meal.

I think if I had to choose two, it would be the--number one would be the Alfredo, the fettuccine.

Number two, the sashimi.

Number three would be the octopus.

And like, in that order.

Jorge: And how has the population here in San Felipe responded to your restaurant?

Palma: Amazing.

I think we're the hangout place.

All the local Mexicans, working families, are here.

They come and celebrate all their different events.

I think the Americans that live here are very happy.

We have live music every day in the dining room.

And, my idea is just to create a perfect place to come and relax and good food and good energy.

Jorge: We kinda went backwards.

I ate the protein before the salad.

But apparently this is the house salad and they were really proud of it.

It's a Danish Roquefort cheese dressing, caramelized pecans, bacon.

So it sounds really good.

But of course, we need to give it the old Jorge test.

Hm, delicious.

I'm pretty picky regards to salads.

If it's not incredibly tasty, like, I'll just put it to the side.

A forgettable salad-- There's nothing more awful than a forgettable salad.

You're like, why even bring it?

Why even bring it out, right?

Just to fulfill the menu description?

No.

Make an effort on the salad.

This is a good--this is a very good salad.

Hm, it has seasoning, it's got herbs.

The crunchiness of the pecan and the bacon, immediately as soon as you bite into it, it's the first thing you perceive and it's almost like eating, you know, the type of cheese hors d'oeuvres you'll have with some wine.

But you know, the Roquefort cheese intertwined with the salad just gives it that perfect, perfect taste, wow.

So you guys know how excited I get with desserts, right?

So this is a non-dairy chocolate mousse.

Belgian chocolate mousse.

So let's try it with everything, right?

You see some caramelized pecans there.

You've got some almond shavings and let's try all of it.

So just so that we--so that we're all on the same page, right?

Hm, I would be fooled because I wouldn't know what made it non-dairy and vegan.

So if she hadn't told me, I wouldn't have been able to tell you.

To wash it down, you're gonna see something right now.

You're gonna see in sequential order, the name of the drink and me just giving it a little shot, okay?

Ready?

One, two, three, Mezcal.

Shark attack: Jaegermeister and Malibu rum.

Classic Sangria.

Strawberry mojito.

Out of those, strawberry mojito and the Mezcal were my two favorites.

And that is it, folks.

We are happy to have tried what Palma has to offer here at Alfredo's in San Felipe and we're gonna continue right now hitting this.

More "Crossing South" coming your way.

Please don't go anywhere.

I've got some appointments here pending that I need to attend to.

"Crossing South," folks.

Let me see if the mojito with the Sashimi has any kind of chemistry.

Let me see if that, you know, if I try that together.

Jorge: Wow, what an experience, right?

San Felipe gave us so much today.

We really enjoyed it and we hope you did too.

We'll see you next time, folks.

Take care.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Jorge: So after getting to hit a blues party, visiting giant guardians, and getting to see the advent of the fettuccine Alfredo in Mexico, we leave wondering what other adventures we'll see the next time we get to Cross South.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ male announcer: Like to know more about the places you've just seen?

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