Monthly Archives: May 2010

Airline Lasagna & Cookies

Casual Restaurant Critic

Ok, so the Critic is bored, sitting on a plane for 4 hours and since his thing is food, food it is.

On the Merida-DF Mexicana Click flight, you get drinks and the peanuts; salted and roasted and in a package somewhat more generous than the comparable offerings on, say, Continental to Houston.

DF-Vegas – there’s a choice of the ubiquitous chicken or lasagna. The Critic actually thought the lasagna was not bad: cheesy with chunks of mushroom, corn and sala verde. Afterwards, the dessert cookie(s).

Just prior to actually posting this, and after having some pretty darn good food in Vegas, the Critic notes that this is a stupid review and as mentioned at the outset, a complete result of boredom! But what the hell…

Miyabi Sushi

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The Casual Restaurant Critic thinks he may have found a new favourite sushi restaurant in Merida. Opened (and operated) by a 14 year veteran of Cancuns Yamamoto restaurant, tiny sushi-lovers delight Miyabi is tucked unceremoniously in the little strip mall on Montejo where you can also find Carls Junior (formerly Checkers), Segafredo and the underwhelming Ca’ d’Oro Italian restaurant.

Unceremoniously doesn’t mean that this is an unattractive restaurant; far from it! It is all white inside, with a granite sushi bar and many real Japanese decorations brought over from Japan by the chefs Better Half, who is charming and hails from the land of the rising sun.

The Critic and HIS Better Half sat at the slightly uncomfortable sushi bar – uncomfortable because the stools don’t have that cross brace on the bottom which leaves your feet dangling and strains the back. Does this sound like an old fart or what – and ordered directly from the chef/owner. The highlight was a special roll called Nozumi, which featured chopped scallops and heated smoked eel, but all the dishes ordered (sushi – rolls and nigiri only) were excellent. The Critic enjoyed immensely the fact that the raw fish was ice cold and fresh tasting; the chef commented that he only orders what he plans on selling so as to keep things fresh and if it runs out, well better luck next time. This was the case with the salmon (sake, or shake as they call it here) which was no more, much to the Critics chagrin, who ordered a fat slab of fresh cold tuna on a nigiri piece. Fantastic.

After the late lunch, the chef and his lovely wife comped a dessert – red bean ice cream. This is not made on the premises, but brought from Mexico City where a Japanese family makes this and other (Lychee, Green Tea) ice creams.

Miyabi has been open for about two months and apparently, business is booming. Go for lunch soon, but late, as it tends to fill up and you will have to wait in the 40 degree heat outside. And that’s not a pretty picture.

What’s Up With the Convent Route?

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Perhaps someone out there can enlighten me?

I have been on the so-called convent route on several occasions now and have found, to my great disappointment, that the so called convent route, promoted in literature and online by everyone, is comprised of small, albeit mostly charming, towns – each one with an impressive and apparently restored church of some kind, and almost always … CLOSED.

Does anyone have a clue as to the operating hours of these places? I have looked at the first 5 sites that come up in a Google search and while most recommend leaving Merida in the morning, none mention that you probably won’t see anything beyond an outside wall at most of these places.

Thanks for your help!

Wayan’e Itzimna

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Today, as Mr Lawsons Twitter followers may have read, the Casual Restaurant Critic had his first-ever experience with the world-famous Wayan’e Tortas & Tacos in Meridas Itzimná neighborhood. The sandwich was good, the chaya and pineapple drink refreshing – but the best part was the cheery, witty man behind the counter! The owner, perhaps?

“Que va a llevar, chel!?!” he literally shouts, all smiles.

The Critic asks this very friendly man what to order since it is the Critics first time ever. Immediately he issues a command to the cook who starts preparing the sandwich/torta; something meaty with melted cheese.

“What will you have to drink” he asks (in Spanish of course)

“What do you have?”

“Something local?”

“How local?”

“Chaya con Piña?”

“Viene!”

The Critic and the owner chit-chat for a moment longer, waiting for the torta to be heated on the plancha until it is crispy and the cheese melts out the sides. There is another lady waiting for something, who is commenting on the fact that her centro neighborhood is overrun with ‘gringos’ – norteamericanos y canadienses – she points out, looking furtively at the Critic. She expresses amazement at one norteamericano in particular in her neighborhood who is wheelchair-bound and races around in sentido contrario on the streets in his motorized wheelchair ‘like a little truck’ she says shaking her head and smiling. The owner asks if the Critic is a norteamericano.

“Canadiense. Por favor”

Everyone laughs.

A nudge at the Critics elbow. The Critic pretends to jump, as if scared at this sudden intrusion into the conversation by a tall-glass-with-chaya-piña-water-in-it wielding lady. The owner, obviously a master of wit, immediately remarks “and that is why we don’t open at night!”

Hilarious.

A return visit is imminent…

The Honda Civic Hybrid and the Tenencia Tax

Life in the Yucatan, ,

In a previous article, some time ago, I had mentioned that one of the advantages of spending some extra pesos to buy the Honda Civic Hybrid, was the fact that the tenencia (a special ‘temporary’ tax invented to raise funds for the 1967 Olympics in Mexico City that was never eliminated) was just a fraction of what owners of regular, gas-powered cars pay. This was a stimulus to encourage people to buy these vehicles.

Alas, this is no more. Ever since Felipe Calderon ‘eliminated’ the hated federal tenencia tax – eliminated in quotation marks because all he did was eliminate the federal part and pass it on to the states to administrate as they see fit – each state government has dealt with it in their own way.

In the state of Yucatan, according to a Honda salesman I talked to just yesterday, the tenencia tax has actually been expanded to include all those luxury pickups (Lincoln, Hummer, Harley Davidson Ford) which is probably justifiable if you want to justify this stupid tax; however, it has also included the Hybrid vehicles so we, in the state of Yucatan, no longer have that stimulus. You CAN, however, buy the car in next-door Quintana Roo and NOT pay the tenencia tax as their state government did not modify the tenencia.

Seems like we could do a whole lot better in promoting healthier, greener options for transportation instead of lagging light years behind the rest of the civilized world and acting as if there was no pollution problem here in sunny Mexico.

I refer you to my previous article on ‘green’ policies that I would like to see implemented here.

Remixto Sunday Brunch

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The Casual Restaurant Critic had the luck to be advised of this once a month brunch event to be held at Casa Mexilio, in downtown Merida put on by remixto.com and hosted by the intrepid MexiChica and her hubbie.

Let it be said that to start a Sunday morning in a jungle patio with an exquisite Bloody Mary or a Guayaba mimosa is a hell of a great way to wake up in Merida, even with the 40-plus degree heat that is currently plaguing the formerly white city.

Highlights, after the Bloody Mary, were the Eggs Benedict, cooked to perfection and prepared not with ham but with a sabroso hunk of roast pork aka lechon, accompanied by a grilled tomato and some greenery. The french toast, made with rompope and served with a caramelized bacon and soft, mushy-sweet cooked bananas was delicious. So good were these two dishes that the Critic actually ordered both (and ate both, thank you very much). Federico Navarro’s coffee was strong, hot and fresh, silverware was sparkling new and the whole affair was like having brunch at someone’s home; someone who transforms fresh, local ingredients into marvelous mouthfuls in their kitchen and invites you over to sample them.

La BierHaus

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The Casual Restaurant Critic and his beloved Better Half were on their way to lunch at Local 3 when suddenly Better Half announced “I think that that new German restaurant is just down that street” which immediately prompted the Critic to pull over, pull a fast u-turn and head in the direction of a good German sausage.


Located in the Colonia Mexico, the restaurant stands out immediately by way of a checkered Bavarian flag and its dark, almost medieval look. A Wilkommen sign over the entrance greets you, as does the fellow out front sweeping, who is service-challenged however and can’t bring himself to do more than indicate the door (as opposed to actually opening it, which would have been a little more welcoming).


Inside, you are greeted with a bar scene: high wooden tables and stools, a bar and off to the side, a door that leads to a more conventional seating area, again with wooden tables, chairs and wood siding up half the wall. Colors are dark and the effect is one of being in a German “kneipe” or neighborhood pub.

Lo and behold, a large selection of German beer is on the menu, not all of which are available all the time. Prices for these are reasonable, in the Critics humble opinion, around 70 – 80 pesos each. Of course you are getting a premium beer and it’s a big bottle too. Also on the menu are all sorts of sausages (Weisswurst, Bratwurst, Nuremberger) as well as their most popular item, according to our waitress, Gaby: a chunk of pork called chamorro in Spanish and whose name in English revolves around the leg of pork idea.

The Critic and BH ordered, as usual, too much food, opting for the only soup on the menu: goulash, which, in the Critics humble opinion was too heavy on the vegetables, especially the corn, and too light on chunks of hearty beef; the afore-mentioned chamorro and a platter of cold cuts, cheeses and a selection of all the sausages on the menu. Of course it was too much!

The sausages were fantastic; even the mustard tasted authentic. The chunk of pork leg was crispy on the outside and perfectly cooked inside. And the beer! Yum. Highly recommended!

Service was serious and not too friendly on the part of Gaby at the beginning, however as the meal progressed she became much friendlier and smily. She even packed an extra set of chamorro bones for Better Halfs spoiled little dog. Don Jurgen also came by the table to say hello and explain what it was he was trying to do with this venture, which is only about a month old.

In the parking lot, Ausfahrt and Einfahrt signs have been posted and the parking attendants hut has a sign which is a faithful copy of one found at Checkpoint Charlie, at the Berlin Wall. Details that show the owner has a sense of humor!

The Critic will be back with reinforcements to this new German restaurant! Prosst!