Skip Dessert

Where ever you're having lunch skip dessert and head over to cafe at the new Hotel San Angel. The owner is a former Olympic athlete who fell in love with Mexico back when they hosted the Olymics in 1968. Thank the gods she fell out of love with Mexico City and came to Merida a couple of years ago. She is the most gifted pastry chef in town and you can really loose yourself gazing into the vitirine of cakes and pies. Loose all sense of self control and order a plate of assorted cookies too. Go for breakfast and faint on the sofa in the corner from sugar shock. There is a book shop in the cafe and the best craft store in town. A Fonart. Not open on Sunday is about the worst thing I can say about this dreamy spot. She threatens to serve meals soon. So far there is only a sandwich menu. Home made breads to go and a few gourmet items for take out. San Angel is on calle 47 at Blvd. Montejo



Near Santa Lucia park where you can have a nice lunch at the Casa Santa Lucia and the lovely looking desserts suck you can hop over to the new chocolate shop ki-xocolatl. In the Mayan and the Nahuatl languages, the word Ki-xocolatl means: delectable chocolate. Indeed. This is the newest venture by the Belgian owners of L'Almandine chocolates. They don't have the assorted chocolates that they sell in their other two locations, fools, but they have several exotic bars of chocolate and chocolate milk. We went there with a couple of strollers full of 2 and 4 year olds and no one left unhappy. Calle 55 no 513 between 60 x 62


L'Almandine is owned by a young Belgian couple Mathieu and Stephanie Brees. We quickly befriended them and have them over for dinner all the time in hopes they will bring a big box of chocolate. Sometimes we order a special dessert from them and sometimes they make ice cream and that is when I regret that I ever left the Rue de Seine apartment in Paris. More about my Berthilon withdrawals later. They use the best organic chocolate from Tabasco and they have 5 generations of master chocolatiers to back them up. The play a mean game of petanque and I'm thinking of putting a petanque court in my new house just to lure them in. They are not easy to find as they are located in a neighborhood you'll never go to called Pensiones. They are behind the La Ceiba Clinic off Circuito Colonias. Calle 5-D #313 between 38 and 38-A Tel: 920-58-69.
They have another locataion which is in the North. Calle 49 no 215 colonias San Antonio Cucul. Alas there is no L'Almandine in Centro.