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Mexico - Yucatan Peninsula & Playa del Carmen


Mrs. B

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Waitman and I will be heading south of the border for a work-related boondoggle in a couple weeks and I'm curious if any of you folk have any sage eating advice.
We will fly into Cancun, rent a car and leave immediately for the jungle to the west. We will be staying 2 nights outside of Valladolid at a small retreat in a Mayan village near Ek Balam. I think we'll eat one meal there and the others are up for grabs.
Once we hit Playa del Carmen, we are staying at the Fairmount Mayakoba megagringoplex but are willing to cab or bus to interesting vittles for breakfast or lunch (unfortunately all dinners are on the reservation).
Any must eat Yucatan or Mayan food/vendors/restaurants?

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The worst fucking trip foodwise ever. I was actually reduced to eating a bacon cheeseburger at one point, because the the restaurants at the resort apparently did not employ (or serve) Actual Mexicans.

I am developing something of a taste for tequila, however, actually enjoying the taste rather than (just) the effects. This is a dangerous development.

And a tip: when looking for real Yucatan food in the Yucatan, get it at lunch, because a lot of places (like four that were reccomended) were closed for dinner.

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The worst fucking trip foodwise ever. I was actually reduced to eating a bacon cheeseburger at one point, because the the restaurants at the resort apparently did not employ (or serve) Actual Mexicans.

I am developing something of a taste for tequila, however, actually enjoying the taste rather than (just) the effects. This is a dangerous development.

And a tip: when looking for real Yucatan food in the Yucatan, get it at lunch, because a lot of places (like four that were reccomended) were closed for dinner.

Charles Sweeney: Putting the "Yucky tan" in Yucatan. :mellow:

We spent as much time outside the resort as possible without pissing off the gracious folks who flew us down and employ Stephanie. On previous trips to Mexico -- all busineess-related -- I've always been at least able to get decent chiliquiles for breakfast or something vaguely Mexican for lunch, but not here, in any of the five restaurants.

Downtown Playa del Carmen was pretty awful, even by tacky resort standards. A firm dinner at Casa del Aqua (we think) featured forgettable tuna and a bisque which has not yet been forgotton but which will, I hope, be forgotten soon.

Yaxche, which claims to serve food based on traditional Mayan cuisine (and thus gives all its dishes challenging, non-Spanish names) may be worth checking out. The Massewel, aka Soupa de Lima was decent, a rich chicken broth with a little spice but less lime than I would have liked. The Chac Mool -- shrimp marinated in tangerine and (allegedly) chipotle -- was either gringoed down or just not what they claim: a "two chili" dish. Unfortunately I spent so much time on bad shrimp and trying to hunt down codeine-laced Robitussin and under-the-counter porn (I know there's the Internet, but I'm a traditionalist), El Oasis was closing by the time I arrived at 6PM. The crowd was a mix of locals and non-asshole looking tourists (please, can't we all just avoid those rude t-shirts?) and the food on the tables looked excellent. The guy at the hotel swore that all the cabbies know the place, which is on the non-beach side of the main drag, route 307, and a bit hard to find. Unless you take a cab, which I did.

Best treat was, of all things, the langoustina (Carribbean Lobster) on the boat we took snorkling, which tells you a lot about the low level of the competition. Langoustina served, btw, with macaroni salad. The company was Catamaya the reefs were cool ( I saw an endangered sea-turtle -- I'm getting new glasses made from the shell!) and the tequila flowed freely starting early. If only we weren't all 45 and travelling with our spouses, there might have been some Investment Bankers Gone Wild action by the time we made it back to port.

Before we got our little lesson in how lowbrow affluence and American marketing are fucking up yet another corner of the world, we did get a chance to spend two days at an eco-hotel in the Mayan village of Ek' Balam, near some woefully/wonderfully under-touristed Mayan ruins (we were two of the only six people there at one point) at the Genesis Ek Balam Eco-Retreat. The pictures on the website look a little cheesy but the place is quite lush and wonderful, if you don't mind small rooms and the village chickens waking you up early. We hung a lot with the owner, Lee, and despite the fact that she's a semi-vegetarian from Canada, the local cook she employs for the dinners (picture eight middle-aged leftists hanging out and drinking the beer from Lee's fridge) lays out a decent spread. We had a quite good cilantro soup followed by an empanada variation and a big plate of pasta with a chaya pesto. Ice cream made with local goat milk, and also guacamole was dessert. This is not a resort for those seeking luxury, but the karma is excellent. Spent a lot of time talking to Lee (and her dad, who was visiting) and she's very committed both to the environment and to service, and knows a lot about birds and the local Mayans.

We erred in trying to drop down to the next village south, towards Vallalodid, for dinner one night, turning down what smelled like an excellent garlic soup at the lodge to find out that what passed for a decent local spot in Temozon was closed for dinner. So we went back to the guy who'd set up a tacqueria beneath a dining fly next to the church and across from the town square. We had a decent luch of tacos poc chuk (pork) and torta lomita (pork from the back, served on "French" bread).

I also had a hell of a time in a bar in Tizumin, just north of Ek Balam, having one of those converseations where neither person speaks the others' language at all with a friendly dude with a couple of gold teeth and maybe a dozen empty Sols on the bar next to him. It was more fun than you think.

If you're headed from the coast to the more famous ruins of Chitzen Itza, you'll pass the local capital of Valladolid. Chichen Itza is extraordinary; Valladolid, interesting. I'm sure the tacos we bought beneath the dining fly in Tizimun were processed through the municipal market in Valladolid, but even by my low standards for sanitary conditions, it was a dicey spot. Interesting, though, and full of other vendors. The restaurant in the hotel El Meson del Marquis, on the north side of the square, served up non-exceptional staples of Sopa de Lima and Poc Chuc (sliced, grilled pork cutlet) in a beautiful setting: the courtyard of the hacienda that forms its core. Slightly better was breakfast -- the local version of huevos rancheros, whose name I forget -- at the Hotel Maria de Luz, on the square's west side.

Cheers.

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next time go to tulum, just drive down the road (307).

learn how to drive mexican style, pushing slower traffic onto the shoulder and playing chicken with oncoming vehicles. learn how to change a flat tire.

the town is far friendlier than it appears at first glance, but off the main road from cancun (maybe a two hour drive), turn down the road to the small beach resorts just before you get there. turn right when you come to the beach road.

ana y jose had excellent food, breakfast and dinner, when we were there maybe three years ago. the floor of the dining room is sand and entertainment is provided by the odd wandering crab or two squabbling parrots, although the servers will make a big production of setting your dessert on fire, if you order the wrong one.

ask around here, and they will tell you other good (and safe) places to eat, usually one of the "hotels" where a woman from merida comes to sell real jewelry while her husband stays back to make more of it.

the german/american-owned place about a mile before you reach ana y jose along the ultimate rutty road was also really good. gatos beg at the table, and prefer the lobster over other seafood. one was so excited it bit the hand that was feeding it and the owner of the hand was told (erroneously?) that he has seven years to see if he becomes rabid.

really good drinks are served in coconuts with faces on them.

go at night and hope that there is a full moon to provide added illumination. the tulum resorts generate their own electricity, and it is dark.

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Any new suggestions for the Yucatan?

In Playa del Carmen, go to Taqueria El Fagon II, and gorge yourself on authentic Mexican for less than $10. It's about two blocks off the touristy section on Constituente (going away from the water), but two blocks means everything. This is where the cab drivers eat, and they eat well, and drink cheaply.

Internet research will inevitably direct you to Yaxche, for "authentic Mayan cuisine." Yaxche is a decent, well-run restaurant, but it definitely caters to tourists looking to stay within their comfort zone. I'd recommend it to my parents, but not to intrepid travelers. You can do a lot worse in Playa del Carmen (trust me), but you can do better (see above).

Cheers,

Rocks.

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Jenna (jchao) and I will be visiting Playa del Carmen in the coming days for a wedding. I've got a small list of internet researched places from Chowhound, Rick Bayless, Jacques Pepin and here. Of course I will report and let everyone know my findings unless for some reason I get marooned in the resort all week.

Also I really want to pick up a molcajete while I'm there. If anybody has some MUST visits let me know!

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Jenna (jchao) and I will be visiting Playa del Carmen in the coming days for a wedding. I've got a small list of internet researched places from Chowhound, Rick Bayless, Jacques Pepin and here. Of course I will report and let everyone know my findings unless for some reason I get marooned in the resort all week.

Also I really want to pick up a molcajete while I'm there. If anybody has some MUST visits let me know!

Jenna - please post after your trip and let me know if you found a great place to eat! We are heading to Cancun next month and are VERY tired of all of the touristy food traps....Have fun!

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Jenna (jchao) and I are back from Mexico, and it was a great trip! We spent most of our time at the resort, but managed to make the most of our time in Playa del Carmen. We had a nice list of "to visit" from internet research, and we were lucky enough to travel with a local and some people who traveled there before. If you've never been to Playa del Carmen, 5th avenue is the main shop and restaurant strip where you walk.

The first night we had street tacos near the bus station at Benito Juarez Avenue and 5th ave. There were shrimp tacos, and pork tacos, both lightly fried at one stand, both very good. At another stand they had chorizo, beef and pork. The chorizo was great. The next night in Playa, we went to HC de Monterrey. They have amazing grilled meat tacos, specifically arrachera style tacos. Arrachera is basically thinly sliced flank steak. They grill it in a large grill area in front of you. It's given to you with crema, fresh avacado, and salsa. The meat is given to you fresh off the grill and you cut it up and make your own tacos. The pork ribs and the beef short ribs were great as well, but the arrachera were the best. There was also a chorizo with cheese appetizer that was really good. Try and get the spicy chorizo if you order it. We went next to one Rocks suggested, El Fagon, which happens to be next door. They specialize in tacos al pastor, which is pork cooked shwarma style on a vertical spit. It is fantastic. We also ordered chorizo tacos which were also very very good. Both El Fagon and HC de Monterrey are next to the Mega on Constituyentes between 30th and 25th.

On the last night we went to Carboncitos which is on 4th st between the main strip (5th ave) and 10th. They do fantastic tacos al pastor. They present the meat cut up to you, you make your own tacos. Very good salsas, they had a pumpkin seed one that I'd never had before. Also that night I managed to get a large Molcajete with a painted pig face for $25, which was 50% off the asking price.

Overall a great trip. The only things we missed was a good churro stand, which we found in cozumel the last time we were in Mexico, and seafood. There was wonderful ceviche in the resort, but I would have liked to try it in Playa, as well as other seafood (besides the shrimp tacos which were great). Next time we will stay in Playa del carmen as opposed to a resort, so we can do a little more exploring.

PS - to StorageLady, if you have to stay in Cancun and can't go to Playa, I would recommend searching chowhound to start. I think you will have to leave the hotel zone, either way. Rocks gave a good tip to me which was ask your taxi cab driver where the best places to eat might be. They would know.

PPS - Sometime I'll have to visit Merida (where my local buddy was from), which is supposed to be beautiful, and have excellent regional food choices.

-Theo (chaofun)

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[sounds like a pretty good trip food-wise! We may get to Playa for a day, but most likely we will be in Cancun (hotel and downtown). I did find some good suggestions on Chowhound and on a board called Cancuncare. There is a recent discussion about places the locals eat - so that was helpful.

So far - no suggestions on places in the hotel zone - which I expected.

I'll take along your list for our day trip to Playa!

Thanks..

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Tonight, Elke and I dined at a great little Israeli restaurant in Isla Mujeres, appropriately named "Como-No" (Why Not?). It was part of a side trip during my "annual" family vacation in Cancun (which I attend about once every five years) and came after a long day at a seedy beach with every immediate relative I have. We had "Comono hummous," which was hummous topped with very good falafel and slices of hard-boiled egg, and "Arabic salad" which was a salad of tomato, cucumber, and onion in a yoghurt-based dressing.

The place was very casual and very hip. It wasn't an Israeli restaurant, per se, so much as it was a place owned by a guy from Tel Aviv that served what appeared to be all of his favorite food. Before we talked with the owner, there was no real indication that it was an Israeli-owned restaurant except that the menu was rather odd for a tiny Mexican island and the people that worked there all spoke English. The menu had guacamole, but it was predominantly Middle-Eastern dishes like hummous and kebabs, with a few Spanish tapas thrown in for good measure. I determined that the owner must be Israeli because the menu also, curiously, has schnitzel, which I have come to learn is a "traditional Israeli dish" (at least for my friend Karen!). My suspicion was bolstered when the owner nodded knowingly to a customer that strolled in wearing what looked like a Mexican-themed, knit yarmulke and when Elke noticed a colorful, framed print of a menorah (which was directly behind me, so I initially didn't see it). It was confirmed when we met the owner shortly thereafter.

He was a nice guy, with a blonde, pregnant wife who was also from Israel (I don't recall the city, but Elke would). The place was a lot of fun, and tonight had a couple of Spanish-speaking guitar players as the entertainment. They too were great -- sort-of Jack Johnson types, only Mexican -- and we ended up staying for a full set. This was, of course, just long enough for us to miss the correct ferry back to the hotel zone, meaning we got on the wrong one and ended up in Cuidad Cancun. Fortunately for us, I have learned that nearly every stupid thing you do in Mexico is easily remedied with a few pesos. It this case, they went to a nice cab driver who entertained us with rather loud videos of deliciously bad American pop during the nearly 30-minute trip home from this remote port.

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22 hours ago, jca76 said:

anyone have a report from tulum more recently?  we're headed for a long weekend in early may.  

Nothing in Tulum really stands out (to me at least).  Ana y Jose (discussed above) is a long-time favorite in the area, but I haven't been in years.  Would suggest you take a road trip up to Akumal (it's about 15 minutes) and try either Turtle Bay Bakery or Cueva del Pescador.  You can rent snorkeling equipment and swim with the sea turtles in the bay to work up an appetite.  Don't pay a tour guide - just rent (or bring) the equipment from the dive shop and don't stand up on the coral.

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Hey, if anyone is down in Playa del Carmen this month, you can bop down to Tulum and drop $1,500 for two on Noma's pop-up, which runs from Apr 12 - May 28, 2017:

"None of the Locals Can Afford This Ridiculously Overpriced Menu" by Ruth Brown on nypost.com

"Gastronomical Colonialism" is a hilarious term.

This might not be "Mexican food," but it sounds like it's "Mexican ingredients," disrupted and rearranged by an artistic mind. That whole peninsula is a big tourist destination anyway - what's the difference of adding one more Venus Fly Trap? I don't see any difference between this, and a luxury resort in Bali.

Not to mention that each $600 meal is subject to a $96 tax, which goes into Mexico's coffers - so why all the complaints about the country's "economic and social crisis?" 

There's a Maserati dealership down the street from me. So what?

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I don't understand why all of the critics have written pieces critiquing the meal, including Tom Sietsema

It's my understanding that generally when a restaurant is reviewed, it's for the reader to then determine if they would like to go visit the place themselves. But if you're a DC-based reader of the Post, it's virtually impossible to try out this pop up for yourself. Even when Tom reviews out of town/foreign restaurants, the assumption generally is you can plan a trip around a meal at a place he writes about. But this Noma pop up will be gone pretty soon, and even if you did happen to be going to the Yucatan while it's there, the chance of snagging a table has to be nigh impossible, no?

It just kinda reeks of "hey, check out this place I got to go on someone else's dime."

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I was in Playa del Carmen for almost a week.  At the end of May, it feels like 90+ from sunrise to sunset.  You get sweaty just by being outside.  If you go take a yoga class, they just turn off the fans and it's like Bikram.  

Unfortunately for me, I have no interest in sandy beaches (especially since the water near the sand is chocked full of seaweed).  So I scoured the internet and walked all over looking for something good to eat.  I would never eat at Mickey D's but I've always popped my head into one when I'm traveling abroad, just to see how they adjust for local palates.  Guacamole burger doesn't sound bad at all.

I walked by at least 3 El Fogon - their menu is just too limited.  My research led me to El Nero, on Ave Benito Suarez & 45th Ave.  El Nero is one of very few places that I found that served lengua, and they have everything else.  I would say the tacos, at 15 pesos each (75 cents), are small by American standards.  The tortillas are smaller, and therefore do not have as much filling.  I can easily eat 5 tacos in Mexico in one setting, whereas I'd get stuffed by 3 at Taco Bamba.  One thing I don't understand though is why Taco Bamba's tortillas are always stuck together.  I never have that problem in Mexico.

As you can see in the bottom right hand corner, the tongue is just one slice, not diced up.  And I wouldn't say they do better tacos than Taco Bamba (at least not consistently better).  I'm pretty convinced at 75 cents a pop, quality control is sought after but not of the utmost importance.  Also note, the tacos are served on a paper plate covered by a plastic bag, so they can reuse the plate.  It’s not environmentally friendly but it saves money.

I also learned to speak tripe before my trip.  One of my favorite Mexican dishes is menudo.  However, the only shop in PDC that I found calls it pancita (Mi Abuelita at 30 Ave & 22 St).  And on Cozumel, it's called mondongo.  If you want menudo/pancita/mondongo, always go to the municipal market.  There is one in PDC (I went early, didn't see any shops open selling menudo).  I did get some mondongo at the muni market in Cozumel.  There are other shops selling it, but usually as a weekend special.

Thai is popular and you can find them in the touristy areas on or near 5th  Ave.  The only Chinese joints I found are off the beaten path, and they all served buffet.  

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I'm not sure if there's a Playa del Carmen topic, but I went in 2008, and a cab driver told me where to get tacos - we did, and were thrilled, relative to the main, touristy restaurants along the strip - the "cabby" restaurants are just about a block away.

I mean, do you want to have a Carta Blanca, and tacos that look like Eric's, or do you want Bubba Gump Shrimp Company - those are your choices.

Never mind - I see that I already wrote essentially this same thing nine-years ago.

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I did find one very interesting restaurant just off of 5th Ave, @ 34th St, called Axiote.  I ended up eating there for 3 days, exploring its menu.   Over that time, I had their grasshopper guac, tongue taco (single slice again), smoked pork leg with radish, stuffed chili pepper with octopus and shrimp, sweetbread al pastor, bone marrow with black beans, quail and pumpkin and corn stew, rabbit with green tabasco mole (and a special of scallop ceviche not picture).

The grasshoppers added a little funkiness to the guac.  Importantly, I didn't have to pick grasshopper legs from my teeth afterwards.  I actually prefer a more traditional tongue taco that didn't come with ancho chili sauce.  The smoked pork leg with veggies also came with tortillas and they recommend you make tacos with the dish - really good.  They best dish was the stuffed pepper with super tender diced octopus and shrimp (I probably wouldn't have ordered something like this anywhere else).  The bone marrow also came with tortillas, so again, you make your own tacos.

The downside is this place has no air conditioning.  Frankly, most places don't have air conditioning.  Luckily, after my last trip to Mexico, I learned that you should always have a Yeti Rambler with you.  While other people's drinks sweat in the sun, you keep your drinks cold by pouring them into the Rambler.   

A word about people selling tours.  There are many tour operators, but the people selling tours on the street may not work for a specific operator.  They will work with you to find the tour that meets your schedule.  When you buy, you put a deposit down which goes to that seller's pocket.  You pay the remainder to the tour operator itself when you actually go on the tour.  The amount of the deposit you give to the tour seller may depend on how much he thinks he can get out of you.  

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