Tag Archives: 2012

La BierHaus

Casual Restaurant Critic, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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!

El Gran San Carlos – Monterrey

Casual Restaurant Critic, , , , , , , ,

Excellent cabrito, as far as cabrito goes.

The Critic, having been spoiled by the cochinita of Yucatan and Spain (if you have eaten at El Segoviano in Meridas Mejorada Park you know what the Critic is talking about) can not get his tastebuds around the famous cabrito everyone talks about when Monterrey and restaurants come up in a conversation.  Cabrito, or baby goat, can be a dry, chewy, flavorless affair, especially if cooked too long or is from the box – frozen and then reheated – that you can buy in Mexico City airport. This was the only cabrito the Critic had tried and he was under the impression that he was chewing on some dry, dug-up remains of the Santa Elena mummies

The cabrito that the Critic had at El Gran San Carlos was a whole lot better; probably because it was cooked in-house and fairly recently and probably because the Critic was advised to order ‘paleta‘ instead of just ‘pierna‘. The pierna being the leg, supposedly more flavorful but drier and chewier (no kidding) while the paleta is the equivalent to our shoulder with a big hunk of meat that is a lot juicier and fattier than the meager offerings of the legs…

The meat was decent enough, but it just does not have any flavor; and so you smother it with the delicious salsas offered and that makes it a whole lot more interesting.

The other highlight of the visit to this restaurant was the introduction to the Critic’s Yucatecan palate of the ‘frijoles con veneno‘ (beans with poison) which are refried beans swimming in fat scooped up from another Monterrey dish called puerco asado (roast pork), topped with chunks of the aforementioned pork. Be warned: take your stomach acid blocking medicine before eating here!

Photos:

1) the entrance to El Gran San Carlos;
2) Tostadas and hot salsa;
3) Frijoles con Veneno;
4) the local beer, Indio which you ask for like this: “Una Indio por favor” which just sounds so wrong;
5) Mollejitas, which are deep fried chunks of something beefy… the Critic will have to get back to you on this one;
6) The famous cabrito;
7) and 8: Desserts: Guayaba cake and Merengue with Ice Cream

The World Warms Up to Global Climate Change. Meanwhile, in Campeche…

Inspired, Life in the Yucatan, , , , , , , , , , , ,

While the world – and even some enlightened parts of the united states of America – gets it’s collective head around the idea that the climate seems to be affected by human activity – duh – things in Campeche are moving in another direction.

The Diario de Yucatan reports that students are upset about the recent ‘trimming’ of the trees at the Universidad Autonoma de Campeche.

No kidding! Look at the photos in the Diario article online, one of which is used in this post. In the far away, dreamy land of Campeche, climate change is not on the agenda, it would seem, and of course it is so cool there that no shade is required. And those nasty x’kaues that poop all over the place; well, the hell with them and their noisy racket!

These are not Halliburton employees on a mission to drill oil; these are supposedly well-read university people. Unbelievable.

And dare I ask what the students or teachers were doing while the cutting was going on? Could no one lift a finger or did they magically do all this ‘trimming’ in one night and no one heard a thing?

Felicidades Campeche! Every once in a while someone in Campeche insists on doing or saying something that is so… well, Campechano.

More on the Cell Phone Debacle

Inspired, Life in the Yucatan, Politics, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Many Mexicans were surprised that there was no ‘prorroga‘ (extension) on the deadline for registering your cell phone; in fact, anyone who has lived in this country for any length of time knows that any new law requiring anything to be done on the part of the populace, ends up getting postponed and those who rushed to comply on time feel foolish, cheated and are laughed at by the more seasoned pros who knew that the deadline was not really that firm.

You might remember when former president Fox announced his ‘borron y cuenta nueva‘ tax program, essentially forgiving fines and back taxes on those who had not paid their federal taxes. Those of us who did pay their taxes felt like a bunch of idiots as the tax cheats laughed their way to the bank.

Water bills? Same thing. The JAPAY regularly forgave debt in order to invite customers to get back on track. While some of these folks might have had real economic troubles, a great number of them did not and simply abused – and continue to abuse – the system.

Well, everyone expected the deadline for the cell phones to be extended and were indeed surprised when it was not. Lineups at TelCel offices were long and the whole RENAUT system collapsed under the pressure of so many people doing last minute registering via text message.

Meanwhile, the question of whether this idea was really that great in the first place has come up. Turns out that a good number of people registered their cell phones in the name of Felipe Calderon (president) and many more registered them in the name of someone else (read more on this here). You perhaps? You’ll never know, unless a crime is committed somewhere with that phone and you get the knock on the door – if they are polite; if not, they will kick it in, to use a phrase by our illustrious governor.

And now, the major player in the cell phone market in Mexico, TelCel, has announced that it has in place an ‘amparo‘ which is essentially a legalistic delay tactic that permits them to NOT cancel any unregistered cell phone accounts, as the law dictates it should. Telefónica, another cell phone provider here is in the process of doing the same. It is difficult to imagine the “powers” that be telling Carlos Slim what he can or cannot do, so it will be interesting to see how the government handles this.

Aren’t you glad you took the time and trouble to register your phone? I know I feel good about it.

A Box on a Tree

Inspired, Life in the Yucatan, , , , , , , , ,

This is a photo of a box on a tree. Completely random and the uses for such an artifact unknown: is it a garbage box to keep the garbage away from street dogs while it awaits pickup by the garbageman? Is it a very large and insecure mail box awaiting a package from FedEx? And the carefully lettered sign is true and classic Mexican typography. Note the word ‘caja‘ didn’t quite fit so it was made a little smaller at the end, but perfectly lettered in its own way.

The text says:

“Don’t do unto others what you would not have them do to you. Don’t take this box”

Because you know you want to take that box, don’t you?

Local 3 – Fresh, New Restaurant in Merida

Casual Restaurant Critic, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Local 3 is an ambitious new restaurant, run by the people from COVI, who sell a great assortment of wines and liquors and who are a go-to source when looking for something beyond the scope of the wine selection at Sam’s Club and Costco; and Culinaria, the new cooking school here in sunny Merida.

The Critic and group of friends went the other night based on a recommendation by the Critics BetterHalf, who had had lunch there and raved about the delicious offerings, and the food, to be sure, was impressive. There was a salmon ceviche, served in little cubes piled in a cylinder and doused with what seemed to be a light cream or yogurt. Not sure if that is a ceviche purists dream, but it was good and innovative in its presentation. The tuna tartar was served the same way and the flavor of the tuna was excellent and hard to stop eating once the Critic had a taste. Last on the list of appetizers was an octopus carpaccio style, thinly sliced and lightly seasoned with lime. Refreshing but just a tad sparse for sharing among 6 persons, even with the other two appies on the table.

Bread, in the form of croissant-like rolls and bread sticks, brought earlier to the table was homemade and served with a creamed butter, also quite good.

For the main course, there was an arrachera steak, which was apparently very good as it disappeared before the Critic could finagle a bite to try. There was a goat cheese foccacia also, which, although advertised as warm, unfortunately arrived quite cold (¡está helado!) as the Yucatecan who ordered it, put it) and was sent back. It returned warm, perhaps heated in a microwave judging from the inconsistent temperature throughout. The Critic sampled the Sea Bass, one of the day’s specials which was excellent; as was a strange concoction of seafood served in a small casserole dish and baked with choclo, a kind of creamed corn mixture which rendered the dish a little sweet but served as an interesting counterpoint to the savory seafood – shrimp and scallops – within.

There was no room for desserts.

The big problem on this occasion was the fact that the main dishes took over 45 minutes to arrive at the table, from when the appetizers were finished. This is a huge time lapse and by the time the dishes did make it to the table, the stomach was sending messages to the brain that with the appetizers and bread already ingested, it was full, thank you very much. Apparently, this delay was due to the fact that there was some filming or photography going on and dishes were being prepared for the shoot. Not a good plan, unless the other diners were informed of this and offered a round of drinks or some other form of compensation in exchange for being ‘extras’ in their promotional piece.

Service by Danae was very good; she was calmly professional and completely unflappable by some of the slight whining going on at the Critics table regarding the tardiness of the food.

The Critic recommends you try this restaurant, as it has some imaginative ideas on the menu, the room is comfortable (and cold, especially by the window facing Montejo) and if you are lucky enough to have Danae as your server, you will be very pleased indeed. Just look out for a professional photo session first.

More on One of My Pet Peeves: El Tope

Inspired, Life in the Yucatan, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So (I have been listening to interviews on NPR and am surprised by the number of times people answering Terry Gross’ questions start with the word ‘so’) I live in this neighborhood – let’s call it La Ceiba, just for fun – that one could consider ‘upscale’  for Mérida; it’s on a golf course, the lots are large and there are a fair number of BMW’s and Audis driving around which seems to indicate a certain level of socioeconomic prosperity. What I am doing there sometimes baffles me, but we got in at a good time and I anxiously look forward to the day when golf will become appealing to me.

The roads within this fraccionamiento were all repaved with actual asphalt a few years back and the smooth surface seems to be irresistible to the frustrated Fitipaldis and Schumachers that inhabit the luxurious homes, and so, topes were introduced. First at occasionally conflicting intersections, then curves, then any straight stretch lasting for more than 500 meters.

Originally, yellow ‘boyas‘ also known as turtles in some quarters were used. These required a full stop and then gentle acceleration as you eased your vehicle over the obstacle; not doing so would result in severe damage to your cars’ suspension system. Interestingly, I observed that the drivers who would come to full stop were mostly men, while the women and offspring thumped over them with little concern. I attribute this to the fact that the men are paying the costs of their vehicle repairs, while the other drivers are oblivious to the damage they were causing.

After the stop and accelerate process became unbearable – do this eleven times on your way to and eleven times on your way from your home and you will slowly go insane – these nasty bumps were replaced by large concrete ramps that had an incline, a top and a decline, if that is the right word. Imagine a kind of wedge. These new topes are much easier to roll over; a high speed traverse will throw the whole car into an Evel Knievel fit, so they were also more effective at slowing down all drivers.

The tope project however, has meant an ongoing maintenance program in which thousands and thousands of pesos are spent sanding, smoothing and then painting these obstacles a bright yellow. I cannot think that there must be a more effective use of time and money than to spend it on these aberrations!

And yet, we can’t live without them, it seems. It’s a sad reflection of reality: Mexicans want the smooth streets they see on TV or have experienced on trips abroad, and yet, they can’t be bothered to drive responsibly on those same smooth roads, thereby requiring the almost medieval solution of physically placing barriers on those smooth roads to make them horribly bumpy again, thereby defeating the purpose of having a paved road in the first place. Because the undisciplined lot that we are cannot be trusted to obey a speed limit, even with the threat of injuring or killing a neighbors’ pet or child.

A Worthwhile Cause – Emergency Medical Spanish

Inspired, Life in the Yucatan, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you are reading this you have likely read it on another post as well. But for that small portion of readers who don’t read all the other blogs out there, here’s an interesting item that I read on my friend Debi’s blog regarding an Emergency Spanish dictionary where you can apparently find the words to express how you feel. This may sound romantic, but believe me, when you are doubled over in pain in a hospital with a 360 degree circle of Mexican nurses and doctors people asking you things the term ‘expressing how you feel’ takes on an entirely new meaning.

The book is here.

Debi’s post on the subject is on her blog.

Have a terrific Friday, everyone and enjoy the hot weather. Find a cenote, or a beach with few people. Actually, at this time of the year, stay home. It will be more peaceful.

Pasta with Baked Salmon Cream Sauce

Casual Restaurant Critic, Inspired, Life in the Yucatan, Nada que Ver, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Since the Diario de Yucatan reports that Jorge Esma from Cultur is not saying a word about how the financial situation is after the Elton John concert, I thought I would post something completely unrelated and different. Even unexpected. It’s my recipe for the lunch I made at home today – spaghetti topped with salmon and cream.

Cook as much pasta as you want (this recipe is idea for 2-3 people) al dente or however soft or hard you like. There was this lady who used to keep leftover pasta in a Tupperware container in her fridge, soaking in water. Really. Whenever she felt like pasta, there it was! Just reheat and serve. If you do this also, take it out of the fridge and throw it away, for gods sake and make some up fresh!!

As the pasta is cooking, finely chop half an onion and two garlic cloves. If you are lazy like me you can now buy chopped garlic at an upscale supermarket like Superama where only the salchichoneria staff are as unfriendly and overly familiar as they are in any other supermarket. The rest of the staff is more or less friendly and helpful.

Throw the chopped onions and garlic into some olive oil in a pan and simmer over low heat. In the Yucatan, you are using a gas stove instead of one of those horrendous electric jobs they sell you in Canada or the USA; gas is the way to go if you want better control over your heat. Unless of course the brand is Mabe, which in my house is synonymous with absolute crap; if you turn the flame down to simmer those onions and garlic, you will be driven mad by the ‘tick tick tick’ sound it will continually make until the heat is back up to full power. That’s the spark/igniter doing it’s thing and, well these aren’t Viking stoves, people.

While the pasta and the onions are doing their thing, get some of those great Kalamata olives you can now find at Costco, already pitted and full of real flavor. Use about a handful, and chop ’em up and throw those in with the garlic and onions. Check the pasta while you’re at it.

Two tomatoes, also chopped, can then be added to the sauteing goodness in that pan. Stir it up a little to mix everything and ensure nothing is burning.

Remember that salmon you made yesterday? The one from Costco, a whole half fresh salmon. You roasted it in the oven at 180 degrees (C) with Montreal Steak Seasoning on it and didn’t finish it, remember? Well take a chunk of that from your fridge; about the size of a large hand, and with a fork or whatever’s handy, break off bite size pieces and throw them and all those little pieces that break off, in the onion/garlic/olive/tomato mixture and continue over low heat, stirring occasionally.

Don’t over cook that pasta. Strain ‘n’ Drain when ready and cover while you finish the sauce.

To the simmering salmon, add a half container of fresh cream. By fresh I mean not the canned variety. Alpura makes the best dairy products, from yogurt (also spelled here as yoghurt, yoghur, yoghurth, yogurth, among others) to milk to butter to cream. Speaking of dairy products, one of my favorite awful names for cheese is a brand called Gonela. What does THAT name conjure up in your mind? Anyway, stir it up until it mixes nicely and acquires some consistency. Add salt if you wish.

Serve pasta in bowls and spoon over the salmon cream mixture. Enjoy!