Here are the top 21+ restaurants on Trip Advisor and my thoughts on them:
1. Cafe Creme
I thought it was going to be awful and it wasn't. We sat in the garden and we were not alone. I'm going back some day soon. I had one of their croissants recently at Coqui Coqui and it was delicious.
2.Rescaldos
I've not been there for two years and there must be a reason.
3.La Chaya
Just plain awful. Worse than I expected and my expectations were set very very low. Pretty girl at the entrance and competent friendly waiters but when they don't ask you why you did not touch your main course I think I must not be first the person to hate it. Oh & wilted brown greasy lettuce....yum.
4.Bruno Bistro Gourmet
Never been the word Gourmet scares me perhaps.
5.La Recova
Loved it the first 6 months and went there every week. Hated it the second 6 months after it opened and became trendy. 5 years later never been back.
6.Hacienda Xcanatun
The most consistent quality for the past 11 years of any of the restaurants in this price range. The only really good Yucatecan cuisine I've had outside of the villages. The restaurant interior reminds me too much of Miami but I love to sit on the terrace.
7. Helados Colon
This passes for the best sorbet in Yucatan and unfortunately it might be true. It's not a restaurant though.
8.Hey Joe
Never heard of it. Don't know where it is. Don't care.
All the reviews are from locals and it's an American restaurant so be very very wary.
9.Acqua
Some people I know like this place. I've never been. I don't like stacked food and squiggles on my plate.
10. Hennessy's Irish Pub
OK
11. Bel-Ami Cafe
I don't expect this will be no. 11 for long..It seems the owner has run out of friends to write reviews.
12.Trattoria La Pasta
I don't eat pasta at restaurants unless there is absolutely nothing else on the menu worth ordering. I've heard less than appetising things about this place...never been.
13.Trotters
Yuk Yuk Yuk a tan. If you've ever eaten in the upscale restaurant in mall in America that hopes to become a chain then you've eaten at Trotters. Have not graced the threshold in the past 6 years.
14. Casa San Angel
I've never had anything here that I loved and I've never hated anything about the place. I recommend it for breakfast.
15. Marlin Azul
*****
16.La Rueda
I'm a vegetarian but when I wasn't I used to go here. Local steakhouse with lots of families and lots of TV's and bad accoustics. But I did love the place. Ask them not to salt your meat...
17.Casa Thai
Heard good things. Gotta remember to go when I'm out in the boondocks.
18. La Pigua
I just cannot bring myself to eat here. The food is not bad if you keep your order simple (not easy).
They use the cheapest fake olive oil on the salads and for me that says it all.
19. La Tradition
I want to try the new location but the huge photos of food on the facade have scared me away. I've eaten some years ago at the old location near the Fiesta Americana hotel and the food was good though the atmosphere was ... off putting.
20. Punta del Mar
Can be good can be bad should be better than it is considering the owner chef knows what he's about.
21. Habaneros
I don't eat at restaurants with clowns passing out menu's ... pre clown I did walk in sit down read the menu and walk out however.
26. Rosas y Xocolate
It should probably have a higher rank. This year it has been better than the past two years. If you're going to splurge once I'd choose Xcanatun if your going to splurge twice I'd try RyX.
34. Ku'uk
I hear it's very Ku but I'm sure it's very Uk. Afraid to go but someday I will.
38. Miyabi
I'm glad it's number 38 ... if it were in the top 10 where it should be there would be no table for me. I go weekly as do most of my friends.
60. Alberto's Continental
It was once rated #1 in all the guide books. I think the first review I opened it unfortunately correct. "Overpriced, Good Location-Average food" stick to the Lebanese dishes ... but it's seriously overpriced for what it is.
I'm glad to see that most of my favorite places are very lowly ranked
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Oh no, It's Wednesday!
Yesterday we went to Miyabi for lunch but Miyabi is closed on wednesdays. Pez Gordo is next door & so.... They have a new menu. The first thing you see is a long list of ceviche's but you don't want to order ceviche here. Also they have another long list of platos (main courses) but you really don't want to be sitting on those uncomfortable chairs next to a TV blaring music videos any longer than it takes to eat a few tacos. They have a new chile relleno taco which is an jalapeño stuffed with tuna & cheese that is delicious...too hot for my friend from Paris but not for me. The Olympio taco which looks great on the menu and sounds great..sashimi blah blah blah is actually awful. Over marinated blobs of tuna they replaced with a Crochi. Crochies are very good fish or shrimp tacos in a crunchy tempura-esque batter with a creamy xcatic chile sauce. It's a good fast food restaurant if you stick to the fast food.
The real dilemma was finding a place to have dinner. Frida was mentioned. Even Pancho's was mentioned. We thought about just having quesadillas at Mescaleria or a snack at La 68... So on our Parisians last night in Merida on her 4th visit...we went to Rosas & Xocolate... I hadn't been since last new years day Jan. 1, 2012. One always hears that NOW R&X is really good and it never is. Well last night to our amazement it was actually pretty darn satisfying. J & C ordered the fried fish (grouper) with avocado appetizer and I had the octopus aguachiles ceviche with habanero sorbet..sounds stupid but was excellent. They loved their fish too. Then there was a mixup and while I thought I was ordering a veggie plate with mashed potatoes I just got the potatoes. (my mistake) Josh had the mixed vegetable side dish. So we split the difference and we were both happy. Cathy had an nice arugula salad. We drank a bottle of French Vigonier/Chardonay after searching for an reasonable red Mexican wine...not to be found. Coffee and a few chocolates from the boutique in the lobby and we were ready for a drink at Fundacion Mescaleria. Even the jazz upstairs wafting through the downstairs alfresco dining room was pleasant. Maybe Rosas & Xocolate is finally NOW a place you can have a good meal.
The real dilemma was finding a place to have dinner. Frida was mentioned. Even Pancho's was mentioned. We thought about just having quesadillas at Mescaleria or a snack at La 68... So on our Parisians last night in Merida on her 4th visit...we went to Rosas & Xocolate... I hadn't been since last new years day Jan. 1, 2012. One always hears that NOW R&X is really good and it never is. Well last night to our amazement it was actually pretty darn satisfying. J & C ordered the fried fish (grouper) with avocado appetizer and I had the octopus aguachiles ceviche with habanero sorbet..sounds stupid but was excellent. They loved their fish too. Then there was a mixup and while I thought I was ordering a veggie plate with mashed potatoes I just got the potatoes. (my mistake) Josh had the mixed vegetable side dish. So we split the difference and we were both happy. Cathy had an nice arugula salad. We drank a bottle of French Vigonier/Chardonay after searching for an reasonable red Mexican wine...not to be found. Coffee and a few chocolates from the boutique in the lobby and we were ready for a drink at Fundacion Mescaleria. Even the jazz upstairs wafting through the downstairs alfresco dining room was pleasant. Maybe Rosas & Xocolate is finally NOW a place you can have a good meal.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Bye Bye Baktun 13
Meanwhile 5, 120 years ago the 13th Baktun began and in 5 days it's going out with a gastronomic whimper here in Merida at least. There is a new interest in Mayan Food around the world and all of the good cooks are working in private houses (see Saveur Magazine) or San Francisco. Here we are left with the dregs. Chaya Maya has opened a new place on Calle 55 x 64 y 62 that has the same menu I've heard and cost more I assume and it's called La Chaya. I'm going to stick my head in today on my way to see Ana Sabrina to talk tacos and catering. (It was closed for lunch today but then I drove by and saw it open for dinner).
The NY Times Style magazine arrives this week to talk about Stylishness in Merida and then World of Interiors is coming to see what they can see next week. What will all of these people eat??? I gave my recommendations here.
But here are a couple of new places in town
Vite is an Italian place that is somehow related to Elio del Mar in Progresso. I went there with David Vincent and Laura Kirar and the household of Manolo Maestre and we were underwhelmed. But it should be good...it's new so there's room for improvement. Maybe they'll work the kinks out. I hope so. Throwing out the polyester burgundy table cloths from 1972 would be a start in the right direction.
Vite
calle 16 no. 111 x 13 & 31(circuito colonias)
Colonias Mexico
Merida
Chaya Maya is still rated at the top of recommended restaurants at Trip Advisor and it's just not that good. But they have a new place that is prettier and roomier (I hear) so I'm going to at least stick my head in the door today. I might go eat there too.
La Chaya
Calle 55 x 62 & 64
Centro Historico
Merida
Mansion Merida on the Park is a new hotel in a beautiful old Casona on one of the nicest and noisest parks in Merida. Lots of bus traffic going down calle 59. It opened just before the Phillip Glass concert at Ochil so there were a lot of fancy folk staying there from all over the world & many who stayed there were horrified at the service, accommodations & the food. I walked through the lobby into the restaurant and into the bar. It knew before I asked to see the menu that I would never sit down in the hotel and chance are slim that I will ever sit down under an umbrella in the park but that is more likely.
Mansion Merida on the Park
Calle 59 at Calle 62
Centro Historico
Slow Food Market
On the corner of Calle 72 (Reforma) & Avenida Colon is an ugly strip center mall and at the back of this compound on Saturday mornings there is a farmer's market with a few suppliers of fresh veggies and a lot of decent prepared foods. Italians making cheese-Hippy Chicks making bread. Checz making kraut and bunny pate. Somewhere nearby is a black hole that is sucking all of the energy out of this solar system and producing krypton. If you drop by and scoop up your arugula and tomatoes and don't get sucked into the granola vibratron you'll survive to shop another day. I lived two years in a commune when I was 15 years old and I do yoga 4 or 5 days a week. I like to think I am immune from most new age nuageness but this place give me the Soylent Greenish creeps.
The NY Times Style magazine arrives this week to talk about Stylishness in Merida and then World of Interiors is coming to see what they can see next week. What will all of these people eat??? I gave my recommendations here.
But here are a couple of new places in town
Vite is an Italian place that is somehow related to Elio del Mar in Progresso. I went there with David Vincent and Laura Kirar and the household of Manolo Maestre and we were underwhelmed. But it should be good...it's new so there's room for improvement. Maybe they'll work the kinks out. I hope so. Throwing out the polyester burgundy table cloths from 1972 would be a start in the right direction.
Vite
calle 16 no. 111 x 13 & 31(circuito colonias)
Colonias Mexico
Merida
Chaya Maya is still rated at the top of recommended restaurants at Trip Advisor and it's just not that good. But they have a new place that is prettier and roomier (I hear) so I'm going to at least stick my head in the door today. I might go eat there too.
La Chaya
Calle 55 x 62 & 64
Centro Historico
Merida
Mansion Merida on the Park is a new hotel in a beautiful old Casona on one of the nicest and noisest parks in Merida. Lots of bus traffic going down calle 59. It opened just before the Phillip Glass concert at Ochil so there were a lot of fancy folk staying there from all over the world & many who stayed there were horrified at the service, accommodations & the food. I walked through the lobby into the restaurant and into the bar. It knew before I asked to see the menu that I would never sit down in the hotel and chance are slim that I will ever sit down under an umbrella in the park but that is more likely.
Mansion Merida on the Park
Calle 59 at Calle 62
Centro Historico
Slow Food Market
On the corner of Calle 72 (Reforma) & Avenida Colon is an ugly strip center mall and at the back of this compound on Saturday mornings there is a farmer's market with a few suppliers of fresh veggies and a lot of decent prepared foods. Italians making cheese-Hippy Chicks making bread. Checz making kraut and bunny pate. Somewhere nearby is a black hole that is sucking all of the energy out of this solar system and producing krypton. If you drop by and scoop up your arugula and tomatoes and don't get sucked into the granola vibratron you'll survive to shop another day. I lived two years in a commune when I was 15 years old and I do yoga 4 or 5 days a week. I like to think I am immune from most new age nuageness but this place give me the Soylent Greenish creeps.
Two Months in Heaven/ redux
I've just come back to Merida from a 2 month trip in Europe which started on July 7th in Paris and ended on September 8th in Paris. Since I lived in Paris for 12 or 13 or 14 years depending on how I count I decided to not enter any of my old favorites like Chez George on rue du Mail or Anahi on rue Volta. I ate where my friends ate now. My best new find was Chez Rene on Bvd. St. Germain and a tiny little place on the edge of the Marais called Thai Spices.
A year later...
I went back to Europe for July and August again in 2012. This year I flew to Madrid where I stayed for 3 days to get over the jet lag. I hate to eat alone so I ate in the food stalls at the Mercado de San Miguel. Greek food is great in Greece but I've never had a Greek meal anywhere else that compares. In Syros the food was outstanding and in Patmos this year almost every meal was out whereas last year every meal was in. In Turkey they've just seem effortlessly produce the most tasty dishes from thin air or the sea. In Paris I learned to not look back...the places I liked last year had lost their luster and my favorite place this year was Bob's Kitchen for lunch and the food stalls at Marche des Enfants-Rouge. I went to Shropshire for the first time and London for the first time in almost 20 years...a memorable lunch at home in London and a great dinner with two Grand Dames at 4 Cheyne Walk in George Eliots home. It was my second year in Tangiers and I don't think I've had a meal in a restaurant yet...the local expats know how to party and entertain and the grilled sardines and frites on the beach in Assilah are unbeatable.
A year later...
I went back to Europe for July and August again in 2012. This year I flew to Madrid where I stayed for 3 days to get over the jet lag. I hate to eat alone so I ate in the food stalls at the Mercado de San Miguel. Greek food is great in Greece but I've never had a Greek meal anywhere else that compares. In Syros the food was outstanding and in Patmos this year almost every meal was out whereas last year every meal was in. In Turkey they've just seem effortlessly produce the most tasty dishes from thin air or the sea. In Paris I learned to not look back...the places I liked last year had lost their luster and my favorite place this year was Bob's Kitchen for lunch and the food stalls at Marche des Enfants-Rouge. I went to Shropshire for the first time and London for the first time in almost 20 years...a memorable lunch at home in London and a great dinner with two Grand Dames at 4 Cheyne Walk in George Eliots home. It was my second year in Tangiers and I don't think I've had a meal in a restaurant yet...the local expats know how to party and entertain and the grilled sardines and frites on the beach in Assilah are unbeatable.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Drinking Again
For many years we longed for a place where one could lounge and hang and have a drink and it just never happened. Now that my friends kids are old enough to get out and get in trouble we have discovered another side of Merida. You can start out early at one of these places and end up staggering home after 3am happy as a clam at high tide.
La 68
If it's too early to go out you can hang out or have a light dinner at this cultural center or see a documentary film Wed-Sat at 9 selected by local filmmaker Lorenzo Hagerman.
Mayan Pub
This indoor outdoor eatery drinkery often has live music on the weekends and while it's not comfortable sitting on a bench at a trestle table with 3 out of 4 legs full or termites it's a fun place to be early on a weekend night. If it's too early have a beer at the Bierhaus down the street and then go the the MP.
La Fundacion Mezcaleria
You'll want to get here before 10.30 if you don't want to stand in line. A couple of French guys opened this Mescal and beer joint earlier this year and it's popular with the local artist and the visiting artist crowd and the hipsters and the hippies alike. It's a mesclada of mescal drenched bohemians and since it's 80's local and the BMW crowd up north is none the wiser it's really pretty cool. If I can still use that word. They also serve food.
Casa Pompidou
Your last stop on the downtown bar crawl and one you might want to skip if your over the age of 40.
It's too crowded to dance so people stand around hopping and sweating and sloshing beer on one another. I think it's great I just think I've been there done that and it's probably a lot of fun if your 21 and high or if your high and think your 21.
It's 3am and your out on the street and you can have a burger on the corner before stumbling home or you should have heard about an after hours party in an abandoned terrano steps away from the bars or a rave at a hacienda just outside of town. The locals would be off to find a cochinta pibil sandwich about now.
La 68 on Calle 68 x 55
Mayan Pub on Calle 62 x 57 y 55 opens at 7.
Bierhaus on Calle 62 x 57 y 59 open lunch and dinner
La Fundacion Mezcaleria on Calle 56 x 55 y 53
Casa Pompidou on Calle 58 x 55 y 53
La 68
If it's too early to go out you can hang out or have a light dinner at this cultural center or see a documentary film Wed-Sat at 9 selected by local filmmaker Lorenzo Hagerman.
Mayan Pub
This indoor outdoor eatery drinkery often has live music on the weekends and while it's not comfortable sitting on a bench at a trestle table with 3 out of 4 legs full or termites it's a fun place to be early on a weekend night. If it's too early have a beer at the Bierhaus down the street and then go the the MP.
La Fundacion Mezcaleria
You'll want to get here before 10.30 if you don't want to stand in line. A couple of French guys opened this Mescal and beer joint earlier this year and it's popular with the local artist and the visiting artist crowd and the hipsters and the hippies alike. It's a mesclada of mescal drenched bohemians and since it's 80's local and the BMW crowd up north is none the wiser it's really pretty cool. If I can still use that word. They also serve food.
Casa Pompidou
Your last stop on the downtown bar crawl and one you might want to skip if your over the age of 40.
It's too crowded to dance so people stand around hopping and sweating and sloshing beer on one another. I think it's great I just think I've been there done that and it's probably a lot of fun if your 21 and high or if your high and think your 21.
It's 3am and your out on the street and you can have a burger on the corner before stumbling home or you should have heard about an after hours party in an abandoned terrano steps away from the bars or a rave at a hacienda just outside of town. The locals would be off to find a cochinta pibil sandwich about now.
La 68 on Calle 68 x 55
Mayan Pub on Calle 62 x 57 y 55 opens at 7.
Bierhaus on Calle 62 x 57 y 59 open lunch and dinner
La Fundacion Mezcaleria on Calle 56 x 55 y 53
Casa Pompidou on Calle 58 x 55 y 53
Thursday, February 03, 2011
If I can't eat at home
I eat at Miyabi. In fact I do eat at Miyabi often. It's one of the three places I eat lunch almost every week. It get's a little noisy at dinner so I go less often in the evenings. I like the seaweed salad and the salad with pickled octopus or scallops. Soft shell crab rolls and the roll with avocado & tuna on the outside with tempura shrimp on the inside...yummy & fresh. The first time I tasted the miso it sent me back to Tokyo for the first time in 20 years...not bad. Great Iced Green Tea. In fact I've never had anything that wasn't good at Miyabi. Sometimes the bill is painful but otherwise...I love it.
Miyabi
Calle 34 no. 396 x 39 & 41
Colonia Emialiano Zapata Norte
I'm pretty sure I ordered the wrong thing at the cute little seafood taco stand in the Montecristo neighborhood of Merida. It seems to have promise and it came hightly recommended. The little eatery sits behind a little food cart parked in a garage next to Bryan's. The first thing on the menu are crab burgers made with shrimp and not crabs for some reason and they might be delicious if you can eat raw onions (and I can not). Next we had tacos. There are 4 offered and we tried them all. Unfortunately 3 of the 4 were breaded and had been sitting out getting cold all morning. Or maybe they were in the fridge from the day before because I don't see how anything in the Yucatan could be cold at 2pm on the last day of summer with 99% humidity and 95°F. The were octopus, grouper and shrimp. And they would have been delicious perhaps if they were even room temperature or warm but alas they everything but yummy. I'll go back once more to try other things but I'll not only ask them to turn down the music when I sit down, hold the onions and serve me only freshly made food. Otherwise I don't see the Punta!
Punta Del Mar
Calle 18 # 117 x 5 x 7
Fracc. Montecristo
Merida, Yucatan
Tel. 252 6590
I've been back and it was better but I'm not a fan like a lot of other people I know. It's a place you can go if your in the area and your hungry but it's not a destination.
Miyabi
Calle 34 no. 396 x 39 & 41
Colonia Emialiano Zapata Norte
I'm pretty sure I ordered the wrong thing at the cute little seafood taco stand in the Montecristo neighborhood of Merida. It seems to have promise and it came hightly recommended. The little eatery sits behind a little food cart parked in a garage next to Bryan's. The first thing on the menu are crab burgers made with shrimp and not crabs for some reason and they might be delicious if you can eat raw onions (and I can not). Next we had tacos. There are 4 offered and we tried them all. Unfortunately 3 of the 4 were breaded and had been sitting out getting cold all morning. Or maybe they were in the fridge from the day before because I don't see how anything in the Yucatan could be cold at 2pm on the last day of summer with 99% humidity and 95°F. The were octopus, grouper and shrimp. And they would have been delicious perhaps if they were even room temperature or warm but alas they everything but yummy. I'll go back once more to try other things but I'll not only ask them to turn down the music when I sit down, hold the onions and serve me only freshly made food. Otherwise I don't see the Punta!
Punta Del Mar
Calle 18 # 117 x 5 x 7
Fracc. Montecristo
Merida, Yucatan
Tel. 252 6590
I've been back and it was better but I'm not a fan like a lot of other people I know. It's a place you can go if your in the area and your hungry but it's not a destination.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Where I Eat What and at What Time
This is my 9th year in Merida and I’m a bit jaded about the state of food in the state of Yucatan. You can read my blogs and see where I’m coming from and why I’m so opinionated or snobbish when it comes to tastes and taste. Everyone wants to know why I’m not posting any more & I’m feeling a little guilty about it so here goes…I am avoiding dining out at night this year. Tis part of my New Years resolution to loose weight, save money and eat healthier food. I have a new organic garden with lots of herbs and veggies. If anyone has a good insect or caterpillar recipe please send it on…
Breakfast.
While you are in Merida you should try all of the tropical fruits in season because there are so many you never see anywhere else besides Ediard in Paris. But if you want your eggs go to the market in Santiago and have huevros divorciados or rancheros at “La Virgen de Moreno” or to the Hyatt which does still have the best breakfast in town. Waynes tacos (huevros con chaya or papas con chorizo) are great for breakfast and on Sundays Ana Sabrina serves great tacos in Santa Lucia Square. Café Club has a decent breakfast and Hotel San Angel has good pastries and cakes if you are on vacation and feel like indulging. Teddy’s Corner has biscuits and gravy and o.j. from Florida from concentrate for some reason. Any time of day you should have juice and licuados from the juice bars around the market. In fact you could just have breakfast every morning the market.
Lunch
I’m eating fish and loving it maybe 4 or 5 times a week. I go every week to Aquamar, Marlin Azul and Campay Sushi Express and less often I have fish tacos at El Congrejito. On the non fish days I might go to El Reforma and have chile rellenos or I might grab a pizza at Costco. Rafaello’s is much better pizza but it’s not grabable since it’s made to order. I go to Café Almeda for Lebanese or Café Club for soup. I don’t eat at cocina economicas much anymore because I’ve bored with the menus but they are great options for tourist or visitors. One gets a real taste of the real Yucatan. If I’m famished I might go to La Rueda for a steak. Once in a blue moon I might go to La Pigua or Muelle 8 for a more expensive seafood lunch or I might go sit on the terrace of Xcanatun and have a salad and stuffed pepper.
Dinner
The trendiest restaurants of the moment are at Rosas y Xocolate & C’a D’Oro. For me they are must avoids on the weekend but that is when the crowds compete for service and attention. Nectar and Xcanatun can be just great or just awful. These four restaurants are too expensive too have mediocre service or less than perfect food. For me they all have passed my 3 strikes and you’re out quota. For you it will be hit or miss but you will get over it. I may not. Trotters American Bistro atmosphere or and La Recova ‘s Argentine grill might be a good option if you are with friends and want some noise and French fries with your Steak. All of those restaurants are as expensive as the restaurants in New York (my former home) and not as good. None of these restaurants are in Centro Historico.
If you are looking for a more reasonable place to have dinner you could try Italian at Villa Italia or Pane y Vino. People (not me) do like Panchos, and Frida’s for Mexican food. I order the mole at Frida’s but I don’t go to Panchos. I still enjoy having the tapas at Meson de Sergovia. Beware the expensive wine pushed by the charming owner. Most of the wine is good here and all Spanish. I still go to Santiago Market to Reina de Itzalana for tamales and soup. Seafood is not a dinner option in Merida though La Pigua is open at night on the weekends and Muelle 8 is open til 6.
Breakfast.
While you are in Merida you should try all of the tropical fruits in season because there are so many you never see anywhere else besides Ediard in Paris. But if you want your eggs go to the market in Santiago and have huevros divorciados or rancheros at “La Virgen de Moreno” or to the Hyatt which does still have the best breakfast in town. Waynes tacos (huevros con chaya or papas con chorizo) are great for breakfast and on Sundays Ana Sabrina serves great tacos in Santa Lucia Square. Café Club has a decent breakfast and Hotel San Angel has good pastries and cakes if you are on vacation and feel like indulging. Teddy’s Corner has biscuits and gravy and o.j. from Florida from concentrate for some reason. Any time of day you should have juice and licuados from the juice bars around the market. In fact you could just have breakfast every morning the market.
Lunch
I’m eating fish and loving it maybe 4 or 5 times a week. I go every week to Aquamar, Marlin Azul and Campay Sushi Express and less often I have fish tacos at El Congrejito. On the non fish days I might go to El Reforma and have chile rellenos or I might grab a pizza at Costco. Rafaello’s is much better pizza but it’s not grabable since it’s made to order. I go to Café Almeda for Lebanese or Café Club for soup. I don’t eat at cocina economicas much anymore because I’ve bored with the menus but they are great options for tourist or visitors. One gets a real taste of the real Yucatan. If I’m famished I might go to La Rueda for a steak. Once in a blue moon I might go to La Pigua or Muelle 8 for a more expensive seafood lunch or I might go sit on the terrace of Xcanatun and have a salad and stuffed pepper.
Dinner
The trendiest restaurants of the moment are at Rosas y Xocolate & C’a D’Oro. For me they are must avoids on the weekend but that is when the crowds compete for service and attention. Nectar and Xcanatun can be just great or just awful. These four restaurants are too expensive too have mediocre service or less than perfect food. For me they all have passed my 3 strikes and you’re out quota. For you it will be hit or miss but you will get over it. I may not. Trotters American Bistro atmosphere or and La Recova ‘s Argentine grill might be a good option if you are with friends and want some noise and French fries with your Steak. All of those restaurants are as expensive as the restaurants in New York (my former home) and not as good. None of these restaurants are in Centro Historico.
If you are looking for a more reasonable place to have dinner you could try Italian at Villa Italia or Pane y Vino. People (not me) do like Panchos, and Frida’s for Mexican food. I order the mole at Frida’s but I don’t go to Panchos. I still enjoy having the tapas at Meson de Sergovia. Beware the expensive wine pushed by the charming owner. Most of the wine is good here and all Spanish. I still go to Santiago Market to Reina de Itzalana for tamales and soup. Seafood is not a dinner option in Merida though La Pigua is open at night on the weekends and Muelle 8 is open til 6.
Something Fishy
Aquamar
Calle 62 at the corner of 63.
Open for lunch til 5
Aquamar is something I never thought I'd see. A good restaurant on the Plaza Grande. It's a little room with 3 tables that seat 11 people. There is another table for 4 by the kitchen. I've never had to wait for a table but I'm sure that will change. The fresh and flaky filets are thicker than most of the other restaurants down town. The problem is that they run out of filets most days around 2 or 3 or whenever I walk in the door. I like equally well the octopus ceviche or in ink. The mixed seafood ceviche would be perfect were it not drenched in a local green oil called gary. So one must remember to say hold the oil. The shrimp tacos are great but you must wrap your mind around the double un-kosherness of bacon and shrimp. They come with grilled onions and avocados on home made tortillas. They seldom have the empanadas or the whole fish. It is a great mystery why they run out of food because they are owned by La Pigua.
AQUAMAR IS CLOSED. I ran into one of the waiters who told me they are looking for a new place to rent in Centro.
Calle 62 at the corner of 63.
Open for lunch til 5
Aquamar is something I never thought I'd see. A good restaurant on the Plaza Grande. It's a little room with 3 tables that seat 11 people. There is another table for 4 by the kitchen. I've never had to wait for a table but I'm sure that will change. The fresh and flaky filets are thicker than most of the other restaurants down town. The problem is that they run out of filets most days around 2 or 3 or whenever I walk in the door. I like equally well the octopus ceviche or in ink. The mixed seafood ceviche would be perfect were it not drenched in a local green oil called gary. So one must remember to say hold the oil. The shrimp tacos are great but you must wrap your mind around the double un-kosherness of bacon and shrimp. They come with grilled onions and avocados on home made tortillas. They seldom have the empanadas or the whole fish. It is a great mystery why they run out of food because they are owned by La Pigua.
AQUAMAR IS CLOSED. I ran into one of the waiters who told me they are looking for a new place to rent in Centro.
Try'n Mayan
Should I move away at some point there is not one dish from the Yucatan that I shall crave. & I don't agree with the recommendations I've read on other websites & guide books or even Trip Advisor. I think that if you have a change to go to Mani and eat Poc Chuc at El Principe de Tutul Xui you should.
The guacamole and the sopa de lima are also good here and try a pitcher of ague de lima the fresh yucatecan citrus that is more like a bergamot than a persian lime. It's a good place to try Relleno Negro too.
If your staying in town the all the guide books recommend Los Alemendros and if your must (I wouldn't) then try the one in the Fiesta Americana as the one at Mejorada is just depressing. I'd try La Tradicion near the hotel zone or Chaya Maya before setting foot in Los Alemendros but I'd be just as happy with a couple of tortas from Le Smoking Club I as anywhere else.
I think that ordering the Mayan food on the menu at the Haciendas is almost always a good idea. The Starwood Hacienda hotels have very inconsistent food as the chefs come and go and the cooks who assist are from the villages...at least they know how to make the local fare. Even at the usually very good restaurant at Hacienda Xcanatun the Mayan food is often the best option.
But really you should go to the Mercado or one of the satellite markets at Santiago or Santa Ana or even San Sebastian for fast food and try the simple soups and tamales and the tacos. Cocina Economicas cannot be beat for lunch and you can find them all over town in every single neighborhood. Local women cooking traditional meals (not usually Mayan) in their homes or little shop fronts with a couple of tables and plastic chairs. You'll find them delicious and hospitable and you'd be hard pressed to spend more than $50 pesos for a hearty meal.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Cha Cha Cha Changes.... & Closings
Pane y Vino moved from the location in front of Teatro Merida on calle 62 to the corner of 64 and 59. They now open for lunch but the buffet they offer looks somewhat "cat sucked". Buffet is just a bad idea in this climate FYI. Buffet pasta, NO! I rather liked the filthy walls and posters in the old location. I walked out of a concert at intermission this week and went to look for a place to eat. I passed by Pane y Vino and thought I should give it a try but I didn't see the owners inside and that's a bad sign. I walked over to Santa Lucia and read the menu of the new Poblano-Yucatecan restaurant but It leaned to heavily on the Yucatecan side and the menu was to shinny. I guess I'll try it but not soon. I walked up 62 where all the restaurants were empty and I had about 15 menus shoved in my face by the desperate staff's of the tourist traps between Santa Lucia and the Zocalo. The table on the Zocalo were full of locals and tourists but I suspect the locals were employees and the tourists could not have been happy campers. When my friends came out of the theatre I was there on the steps and we went home, opened a bottle of wine, and in 20 minutes we were eating Pasta Puttanesca on my terrace.
Lifted from the front page of Yucatan Today this morning is their restaurant review of La Vie en Noir.
"Can you imagine dining in the dark? I don't mean dim mood lighting, I mean pitch black. Think about it...your other four senses will be compensating for your temporary lack of sight. La Vie en Noir is a new restaurant in Mérida (since November 2008), with this unique concept beautifully executed. There are over 20 cities all over the world with the theme of gourmet food in the dark. La Vie en Noir is the first one in Mexico.
Dark dining is the brainchild of Jorge Spielmann, a blind clergyman from Zurich. During dinners at his home, Spielmann began blindfolding guests so they could better understand his world - and stumbled upon a new dining concept. In September 1999, Spielmann opened Blindekuh (Blind Cow) in Zurich, and the trend has spread."
NEWSFLASH !!! They closed 3 months ago. I've eaten a lot of food in Merida that I wish I'd never seen but I've never eaten anything that I couldn't see before I put it my mouth.
On a Positive note. I hear the gordita's on the corner of 71 and 64 are great. I'm going to try them now.
Update: I Spoke too soon they were not so good after all. But they were closing and we got the dregs. I'll go back earlier in the day when they might be better. The Masa showed promise if fresh. They don't seem to have a name or need one. Hours 7am-1pm. Chicharron, Papas con Charizo, Papas con Rajas. Waynes and Anna Sabrina do all of these fillings better....
Lifted from the front page of Yucatan Today this morning is their restaurant review of La Vie en Noir.
"Can you imagine dining in the dark? I don't mean dim mood lighting, I mean pitch black. Think about it...your other four senses will be compensating for your temporary lack of sight. La Vie en Noir is a new restaurant in Mérida (since November 2008), with this unique concept beautifully executed. There are over 20 cities all over the world with the theme of gourmet food in the dark. La Vie en Noir is the first one in Mexico.
Dark dining is the brainchild of Jorge Spielmann, a blind clergyman from Zurich. During dinners at his home, Spielmann began blindfolding guests so they could better understand his world - and stumbled upon a new dining concept. In September 1999, Spielmann opened Blindekuh (Blind Cow) in Zurich, and the trend has spread."
NEWSFLASH !!! They closed 3 months ago. I've eaten a lot of food in Merida that I wish I'd never seen but I've never eaten anything that I couldn't see before I put it my mouth.
On a Positive note. I hear the gordita's on the corner of 71 and 64 are great. I'm going to try them now.
Update: I Spoke too soon they were not so good after all. But they were closing and we got the dregs. I'll go back earlier in the day when they might be better. The Masa showed promise if fresh. They don't seem to have a name or need one. Hours 7am-1pm. Chicharron, Papas con Charizo, Papas con Rajas. Waynes and Anna Sabrina do all of these fillings better....
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