Pati's Mexican Table - Season 8

Pati visits Culiacán, the capital of the state of Sinaloa. Founded in 1531, Culiacán is the center of trade for produce, meat, and fish and the locals pride themselves on the produce cultivated from the land and nearby sea. Pati's guide is celebrated chef and culinary ambassador Miguel Taniyama. Miguel gives Pati a local's tour of the best markets, street food stands, and restaurants, meeting friends and family along the way. In her kitchen, Pati creates recipes inspired by the experience.

Altata is a small town on the coast of Sinaloa, about 45 miles west of Culiacán with stretches of beautiful beaches and delicious seafood at your fingertips. Pati visits with locals and chefs as this town embarks on a journey to reinvent itself from sleepy fishing village to first class tourist destination. Pati takes a boat ride to sample fresh oysters straight from the water. Then back on the mainland, she stops in restaurants serving up fresh fish, oysters and shrimp. In her kitchen, Pati prepares a seafood feast based on the beautiful waters of the Altata Bay.

Pati welcomes dear friend and fellow public television chef and host Vivian Howard to her kitchen. In this south of the border meets southern food experience, Pati and Vivian will cook a couple of their classic recipes for each other, looking for connections in cultures and food.

Pati heads to Los Mochis, a coastal city in the northern region of Sinaloa that was founded by Americans in the late 1800s. After learning its unique history and getting an incredibly delicious tour of the street food, Pati returns to her kitchen to create two mouth-watering taco recipes that take her right back to those street stands in Los Mochis.

Sinaloa's premiere resort town claims 13-miles of beautiful Pacific coastline with boardwalks and pristine streets lined with brightly-colored homes and some of the best restaurants in Mexico. But Mazatlán has overcome a troubling and complicated history to become Sinaloa's number one destination. In this episode, Pati meets up with two close friends, chefs Luis Osuna and Zahie Tellez, both of whom witnessed the evolution of Mazatlán firsthand. They each give Pati a personal tour of the city, and Chef Luis takes Pati to his family's restaurant, Panama, which started as a small bakery and has grown into one of the biggest food franchises in all of Sinaloa.

Pati travels to the northern part of Sinaloa and the town of El Fuerte, one of Mexico's "Pueblos Mágicos" or magic towns. El Fuerte was founded in 1563 right at a bend in the Fuerte river. Now a quiet colonial town, for over 300 years it was the most important commercial and agricultural center in northwest Mexico. After a walking tour and a stop at the Hotel Posada Hidalgo to try their famous cauques, a local type of langoustine, Pati creates a few lobster recipes in her kitchen inspired by the experience.

Pati travels into the mountains of Sinaloa to the tiny village of Jinetes — a place that appears to be stuck in time. The small population of barely 100 people live on whatever the land gives them. Miles and miles removed from civilization, they've managed to preserve their customs and recipes for generations. Pati is the first visitor to come learn from their culinary traditions and they've prepared a feast fit for the occasion.

Originally conceived as a trade route linking cattle markets in Kansas City to the nearest Pacific Ocean port in Mexico, which is Topolobampo. Today the El Chepe railway is a historic passenger train that connects the city of Los Mochis to Chihuaha with stunning views of the Sinaloa countryside and the Copper Canyon. In this episode, Pati will ride the first section of the train's journey – from Los Mochis to El Fuerte. She will tour the train's kitchen and sit down with chef Daniel De Los Santos to taste the gourmet offerings from the train's restaurant, Urike. Later, Pati will have a drink with her friend Rosalva Analy in the train's stunning terrace. Back home, inspired by the early morning train ride through countryside of Sinaloa, Pati cooks up a delicious breakfast based on Sinaloan classics.

Founded in 1594, Mocorito is a quiet, colorful colonial town known for one of Sinaloa's most beloved recipes: a slow-simmered pork dish called chilorio. Pati visits the home of Victoria Gonzalez, a cook known for having one of the best chilorio recipes in town. Then Pati goes with Victoria to visit her sister, Fabiola, who just happens to live right down the street and specialize in another Sinaloan classic, jamoncillo — a soft, sweet candy that is made only of sugar and milk. Back in her kitchen, Pati perfects her own version of chilorio and dresses up a classic local cookie with sugar crystals and dulce de leche.

Celestino Gasca didn't exist until about 30 years ago. Now, this rural seaside town is becoming a vacation destination due to its magnificent untouched beaches and idyllic surfing conditions. Pati meets with local restaurant owner Carmen and helps her cook one of Sinaloa's most iconic recipes: pescado zarandeado. Then, she travels 30 minutes south to the tiny fishing village of Las Barras, where she meets a fisherman who catches percebes, a tiny crustacean considered a delicacy in the region.

Known as "Mexico's Bread Basket," Sinaloa produces about 40% of the meat and produce consumed in all of Mexico. In this episode Pati travels the countryside — to farms and fisheries to get an up-close look at the wealth of resources Sinaloa has to offer. She visits a dairy farm known for its fresh cheese, tours a high-tech produce farm, and gets a fresh-water fishing lesson from a master fisherman. In her kitchen, Pati cooks recipes inspired by the farm-fresh bounty of Sinaloa.

In this episode, Pati visits home cooks and iconic restaurants all over Sinaloa, sampling some of the state's most iconic dishes. Delicious destinations include fish chicharron with a master fish butcher in Maviri, to a rustic pan de mujer with a family of bread makers in Altata, to one of the most famous restaurants in Mazatlán, Cuchupetas, beloved by celebrities, politicians, and locals for delicious seafood and a one of a kind experience.

In this special episode, Pati travels north of the border to Tucson, Arizona, a city that claims to have the best 23 miles of Mexican food anywhere in the world. She visits restaurants and meets local chefs, trying to get a deeper understanding of what Mexican food in America truly is. What happens to recipes when they travel across the border? How do different cultures connect and shape the food we eat? And what is this Sonoran hot dog everyone is raving about?