Tag Archives: yucatecan food

The Casual Restaurant Critic at Izamal – A Club Sibarita Event

April 1, 2021Casual Restaurant Critic, Inspiredclub sibarita, cochinita, comida yucateca, foodies, gastronomicos, izamal, kinich, mastache, pibil, queso, relleno negro, tours, yucatecan foodWilliamLawson

Just this past Sunday, Merida’s Club Sibarita organized another outing to a town nearby (the previous one was Espita, which the Critic was unable to attend); in this case the Yellow City of Izamal. Also known as Yzamal if you carefully read those engraved stone reminders embedded in the walls of the monastery and other buildings. The Spanish were notoriously relaxed in their spelling.

Back to the trip.

First stop was the market, where, it being the first Sunday of the Easter holidays, it seemed like the crowd that had banned from the malecon in Progreso had decided to converge on Izamal. Extremely congested with minimal social distancing possible, the Critic and his Better Half wolfed down a cochinita pibil and dzic de venado taco or two and fled as quickly as possible to enjoy a coconut ice cream outside, in the fresh air, far away from the hordes.

Nothing like a greasy cochinita taco or torta in the morning! Sublime!

Dzic de Venado on a fat corn tortilla. Yum.

After that, a visit to the Kinich Kakmo pyramid, a short tutorial on the how to make a recado rojo – with achiote (annatto seed) and a visit to the very top of the Izamal convent!

Then the main event: a delectable multi-course gourmet local-ingredients Yucatan meal featuring the best of the Critics favorite Yucatecan restaurant of all time – Kinich – accompanied by a selection of white, rosé and red wines, and cervezas from the newest local brewery, Mastache, all the way from the nearby suburb of Caucel.

The photos (below) speak for themselves. If you love Yucatecan food, you must visit Kinich and if you want to join in these kinds of fun activities, contact Club Sibarita and become a member. Or follow them on social media – many events are open to the general public as well.

Buen provecho!

Our culinary host
The recado demonstration
Welcome drinks!
Beautiful
Lec
Doña Gina
Chiles for the relleno negro
Grinding the ingredients
Some of the ingredients
Our fabulous hostess
Amazing sky
Coqui Coqui
Coqui Coqui
Coqui Coqui
Convent
Sponsor
Papadzul Kinich
Papadzul Kinich
Tacos de cochinita
Sponsor
Taco de cochinita
Dzic de venado almendrado
Queso Relleno!
Desserts – the coffee flan is on the bottom right

Pueblo Pibil on a Monday – Frijol con Puerco!

April 3, 2019Casual Restaurant CriticCasual Restaurant Critic, comida en merida, comida yucateca, feijoada, frijol con puerco, lawsonsyucatan.com, pork and beans, restaurantes en merida, William Lawson, Yucatan, yucatan travel, yucatecan food, yucatecan restaurantsWilliamLawson

Traditionally, in the Yucatan you eat frijol con puerco (pork and beans in English speaking countries and feijoada en Brasil) on Mondays and if you are in the town of Tixcocob, a half hour from Merida, you can enjoy this classic dish prepared in the pib, or underground pit oven.

Pueblo Pibil is a beautiful restaurant, with attentive and courteous service and the food is really outstanding.

Highly recommended!

Start with an appetizer of chicharrones while waiting for your pork 🙂

Also, more pork in the form of this achiote-soaked grilled rib appetizer

The happy moment the lata (tin) comes out of the pit or pib

Close up of the bubbling deliciousness or frijol con puerco

Garnishes for your frijol con puerco

Handmade corn tortillas

The puerco

The frijol

Highlights from the Club Sibarita Festival Gastronomico 2019

February 24, 2019Casual Restaurant Critic, Life in the Yucatanahumadero, altozano, andres zapata, Casual Restaurant Critic, club sibarita, comida en merida, comida yucateca, Dolce magazine, eureka, events, gin, katun, la zebra, Lawsons Yucatan, lawsonsyucatan.com, life in Merida, Life in the Yucatan, Merida, merida restaurants, restaurantes en merida, vincent, William Lawson, Yucatan, yucatecan food, zuWilliamLawson

The Critic and his Better Half bought tickets for several culinary events for this year’s version of Club Sibarita’s Festival Gastronomico 2019, the third such festival in Merida and now recognized nationally as an event worth attending. Chefs from all over Mexico (including Merida of course) and places further afield are in attendance, showcasing their talents with exquisite creations for attendees to swoon over.

Events at Pueblo Pibil in Tixcocob, Museo de la Gastronomia Yucateca in Merida and the Hacienda Xcanatun were packed and the food was truly amazing. It made for some very late nights, and often the Critic and BH were home around 1 in the morning, full of great food and excellent wine courtesy of Casa Madero.

Enjoy some photos of the highlights of the events! First up: Pueblo Pibil, in Tixcocob for a leisurely and delectable lunch. Click on the photos to make them grow magically.

: Chef and Friends, at Tixcocobs fabulous Pueblo Pibil restaurant

: The room at Pueblo Pibil

: Waiting to uncover some deliciousness from the pib

: A beautifully presented ceviche

: Our hosts and the creators of Club Sibarita and editors of Dolce magazine

: Pueblo Pibil’s house margarita cocktail

: You may recognize a chef or two

: This is foie gras and mole. Talk about rich

: The caldo for the fish

: The fish

: Imagine two classics in one. Relleno Negro and Queso Relleno. Out of the park!

: Dessert by Shuteln

: Champagne popsicle with chocolate. I call it splat. Or art.

: Last words. Carlos takes the mic to thank everyone for visiting Pueblo Pibil

Next stop: Hacienda Xcanatun for the Fine Dining signature Sibarito event.

: Hacienda Xcanatun, The Art of Fine Dining

: A forest of glassware

: The room, with furniture brought in by sponsor Marbol

: The room

: Our hosts

: An oyster

: A sea urchin

: Fish

: Raviolo

: Raviolo II

: Paté

: Venison

: Dessert

: Dessert II

Lastly, Taste the Best at Altozano:

El Museo de la Gastronomia Yucateca

February 11, 2019Casual Restaurant Criticbrazo de reina, Casual Restaurant Critic, centro, comida, comida yucateca, food, Lawsons Yucatan, lawsonsyucatan.com, Life in the Yucatan, Merida, mexico, Museo de la Gastronomia Yucateca, pib, queso relleno, relleno negro, restaurantes, restaurantes en merida, restaurants, sikil pak, traditional, William Lawson, Yucatan, yucateca, yucatecan food, yucatecan restaurantsWilliamLawson

The Critic and BH along with MiniCritic, enjoyed a solid, good, Yucatecan lunch on Sunday at the new-ish and already very popular Museo de la Gastronomia Yucateca. (Note and hola to Jan Morgan: the information on where it is etc. is in the link which is the name)

First of all, this is a gigantic restaurant especially compared with the cramped quarters of the also popular Chaya Maya or others, probably because it is an old colonial-era home of one of the henequen barons from back in the day. So you have a huge interior open-air patio surrounded by terraces and rooms which make up the area for tables. Each of the rooms features a henequen (sisal) based theme that is still being completed and will be finished very soon.

In the back, there is a re-creation of a small Mayan “village” complete with the requisite kitchen structure where two or three mestiza women make hand-made tortillas. Other chozas feature information and displays on ingredients used in Yucatecan cooking. Explanations are in Spanish and English, and the Critic is happy to report that the translations are pretty good. Also in the back yard is the pib area, or cooking pit(s) where the food is cooked, in the traditional way of the Yucatecan pueblos. On this visit, the Critic arrived in time to see, along with a dozen or so other interested diners, the moment when the ‘relleno negro’ was pulled out of the pib, and samples were given out – delicious!

In addition to all this, there is a gift shop and a small museum-like display of artifacts and ingredients typically used in the preparation of Yucatecan food and it is evident that someone took their time to arrange and present all this in an attractive and professional manner.

The food was excellent. Well prepared and tasted as it should. BH enjoyed one of her favorite dishes, a Sunday Merida classic called puchero de tres carnes, MC and the Critic both had queso relleno, which is the standard (for the Critic) by which all Yucatecan restaurants are measured. This queso relleno, complete with capers, raisins and almonds is the real deal and is up there with the best of them. Brazo de reina and a small mucbilpollo or tamal were had as appetizers. The first was good, while the tamal was just OK and lacked the crispiness of the fresh-baked version.

Keep in mind that this is heavy food; very filling and you will need a siesta afterward. Don’t feel the need to try everything the first time you visit. You can come back. And don’t eat this at night, for crying out loud: Yucatecan food is a mid-day thing.

What really blew the Critics mind, however, especially after recent forays into various “fancy” restaurants and their indifferent or just plain inadequate service, was the service at the Museo. Santos arrived at the table to introduce himself and when offering drinks made a smooth, professional, sales pitch that convinced all three members of the Critics lunch group to try the house cocktail. Throughout the meal, Santos was not more than a hand-wave away, in spite of having several tables under his charge. There was no intrusiveness, no slinking up to the table, no mumbling and no arriving with the dishes and not knowing to whom they belonged. So, a big shout-out to Santos – keep it up!

The location will make this place very successful and if they keep up the quality of the food and service, this place should be around for a while. Enjoy the photos!

The least photogenic of any appetizer in the world, these are black beans (l) and sikil pak (r) along with tostadas. The sikil pak is excellent.

Shot of the museum part of the restaurant

Gift shop

Museum from the other side

A little pueblo in the back yard – your clue that you’re not somewhere else is the building poking out between the trees

One of the chozas and the display

Inside the choza: here we have an explanation of recado verde

There’s cooking going on right now, under there.

Pueblo in the foreground with a giant hotel in the background for context

A fizzy but not too sweet opener

Brazo de Reina I

Tamalito known as mucbilpolloI

Mucbilpollo II

Brazo de Reina II

Preparing to uncover the pib

The chef explains what is happening here

After carefully removing the earth, the laminated tin sheet is taken off the pit

With the tin sheet removed, this is what you see. Jabin leaves and branches aromatize the food

A treasure chest, waiting to be opened

Forget gold coins and trinkets. This treasure chest contains something much more memorable

Preparing a sample for those watching

Aguas frescas de chaya y ramon. Yes, ramon.

Puchero!

Queso Relleno!

The Casual Restaurant Critic at Kinich yet again

January 20, 2019Casual Restaurant CriticCasual Restaurant Critic, comida en merida, comida yucateca, flan, food, izamal, izamaleño, kinich, Lawsons Yucatan, lawsonsyucatan.com, longaniza, Merida, merida restaurants, mexico, papadzul, queso relleno, relleno negro, restaurantes, sikil pak, the best, Yucatecan, yucatecan food, yucatecan restaurantsWilliamLawson

Kinich, in Izamal, is the bomb. Go have lunch there if you haven’t, for some of the best Yucatecan food on the peninsula, served by smiling young ladies in a beautiful thatched roof restaurant.

Smoky longaniza

Salbutes

Sikil pak

Queso Relleno

Relleno negro

Nance and coconut sherbet/ice cream. Flan in the background

The Casual Restaurant Critic at Pueblo Pibil, A Club Sibarita Event

August 10, 2018Casual Restaurant CriticCasual Restaurant Critic, club sibarita, cochinita, cochinita pibil, comida en merida, comida yucateca, hechas a mano, kibi, kippeh, lawsonsyucatan.com, local, luxury, Merida, papadzul, pib, relleno negro, restaurantes, restaurantes en merida, sibarita, sopa de lima, Tixcocob, Tixcocob 180, tortillas de mais, traditional food, yucatecan food, yucatecan restaurantsWilliamLawson

The Merida-based Club Sibarita (https://www.facebook.com/clubsibaritamx/) organizes events both in Merida and the outskirts, featuring themes or restaurants worthy of note and this time it was the famous comida enterrada (food cooked underground in pits called pibes) that the Yucatan is known for and that the restaurant Pueblo Pibil in Tixcocob does masterfully.

The last event the Critic attended was in Merida and before that, an event at the spectacular Chablé resort/hacienda and this one proved to be as well-organized and the food as delicious as promised.

If you haven’t yet been to Pueblo Pibil, put this on your to-do list ASAP. It is an amazing lunch destination, well worth the 30-40 minute trip from Merida.

Here are a few photos from the event.

In the backyard patio of Pueblo Pibil, the pits are unearthed and the food is taken out, cooked for hours and hours on hot coals. Chef Silvio supervises the process and proceeds to hand out samples. iPhones record the moment and guests wait for their samples, in this case, the exquisite relleno negro (the best the Critic has ever had in the Yucatan) and owner Karina, out hostess for the day watches.

Then it’s off to the restaurant, where two large tables have been prepared for the group. There are two representatives from Casa Madero – the oldest wine company in the Americas by the way – who will be serving wines with each course and talking a little bit about each wine and how it complements the Yucatecan food served.

And of course, the food. Each dish is beautiful and as delicious as it looks, truly. The relleno negro has to be tasted to be believed and the hand-made corn tortillas, thick and luscious, are divine. The house signature dessert, el merengue de la abuela, was presented by the abuela herself, where she confessed that she won’t share her recipe with just anyone.

Last but not least, a shot of a few of the waiters and hostess. An amazing experience! If you like good food, good wine, and good company, join the Club Sibarita and come along on the next culinary adventure!

The Casual Restaurant Critic at La Galeria Cantina Artesanal

June 13, 2018Casual Restaurant Criticblue corn, cantinas, castacan, Casual Restaurant Critic, centro, chamorro, comida en merida, comida yucateca, culinary, expats, food, gastropub, gourmet, la galeria cantina artesanal, Lawsons Yucatan, lawsonsyucatan.com, Life in the Yucatan, Merida, merida restaurants, octopus, places to go, pulpo, restaurantes en merida, restaurants, tacos, tuetano, Yucatan, yucatecan food, yucatecan restaurantsWilliamLawson

The Casual Restaurant Critic and his Better-than-Ever Half, had the opportunity (by invitation) to visit this cantina/restaurant and sample some of their amazing food very recently. With expectations not really high nor low but somewhere in between, both the Critic and BH were blown away by the food, which is on the level of some of the best they have tried in Merida, and if you are fan of Mexican food prepared with imagination, creativity, and attention to detail, you are in for a treat.

The room itself is a mixup of an art gallery – there is all kinds of art on the walls – cantina and restaurant. Real tables and chairs, cool and dark, and music videos on the television monitors.

Service is a little distracted until Salvador, one of the owners, shows up and then things improve dramatically. When asked what beers they had, the answer was “Sol y Lager” and when asked for more detail and what other beers there were, as in artisanal beers, the information became a little more detailed. La Cantina offers a chocolate stout and an IPA by Tatich, a local craft beer. The Critic ordered the dark which was a delicious accompaniment to the food that followed.

Salvador told the Critic that the idea of the restaurant/cantina is to provide guests with a relaxing space where the beer is cold and not expensive (at $25 pesos it’s much cheaper than other places that serve free botanas) but with excellent food also at a reasonable price. A place you can visit 2 or more times a week and not break your pocketbook. And the food, dear readers, is truly amazing! Ingredients and recipe ideas from all over Mexico -guacamole w mezcal anyone? – are combined with Yucatecan influences to create original, delicious dishes that are generously portioned and extremely satisfying. You will not feel you are in a normal cantina; this is a much more gourmet experience and will please the most ardent foodie.

Enjoy the photos and come to eat here soon! La Galeria Cantina Artesanal is located on the corner of 54 and 35, very close to the CMA hospital just down the street, and open from 1-11 PM. Credit cards and cash are accepted.

A dark cool place to escape the midday heat

Blue corn chips for scooping up these delicious lentil and bean dips

The room. Plenty of art everywhere

Castacan con pulpo salad. This dish is gigantic and can be shared among many. Not to be missed!

Real mushrooms, real gouda cheese, looks as good as it tastes!

Poc chuc

Octopus tacos and grilled tuétano!

Blue corn tortillas

The men’s bathroom is worth visiting, truly

Entry to the bathrooms; if you’ve had too much to drink, you might find all the glass and mirrors somewhat disorienting. But this is the nicest baño you will ever find in a cantina, guaranteed.

More art on the walls!

The bar

Piece de resistance: pork chamorro bathed with home-made mole sauce

Roasting those bones

Chef Miguel Uicab at work

The Man behind the Magic, Miguel Uicab

Casual Restaurant Critic at Ixi’im, Chablé Resort and Spa

August 28, 2017Casual Restaurant Criticaccommodation, Casual Restaurant Critic, chable, chochola, comida en merida, hacienda, hotels, ixi'im, Lawsons Yucatan, lawsonsyucatan.com, Life in the Yucatan, luxury, Merida, merida restaurants, mexico, resort, restaurantes, restaurants, spa, Yucatan, yucatecan food, yucatecan restaurantsWilliamLawson

Recently the Critic had the opportunity, thanks to the well-connected Better Half, to attend a sort of ‘fam’ trip to the fabulous Chablé Resort and Spa, recipient of several international awards in the tiny village of Chocholá, Yucatan.

The outing was organized by the Merida-based Club Sibarita, an informal group made up of like-minded people who enjoy great food and wine, spearheaded by Caro Molina and Jean Philippe of Dolce Magazine, who have also organized spectacular dinner events with renowned chefs from the region and Mexico in general, the last one at Merida’s Hyatt. The purpose of this trip was to sample some of chef Luis Ronzon’s culinary creations and take a tour of the former – and extensively, lavishly reconstructed – henequen plantation.

The room at Ixi’im is welcomingly chilled (it’s a thousand humid degrees outside) and gorgeous and you will be impressed with the collection of over 3,000 different types of tequila, and the resort is well on its way to holding the Guinness World Record for largest collection of tequilas in the world. Yes, in the world. It’s not just the bottles though: look up and notice the lamps made with jicaras, the ropes used as a decorative element and take note of the architecture which is glass and steel surrounding and integrated into the original stone structures of the hacienda, which have been left standing and make up part of the innovative and award-winning design.

The food and wine were, in a nutshell, amazing. A light foam to start off and whet the appetite, followed by a very green and very fibre-rich salad of quelites (translated as pig-weed, or amaranth depending on who you consult), parsley and cilantro with an emulsion dressing and some Tabasco queso fresco and roasted green tomato. Very chewy and a good combination with a French 2014 Bordeaux white wine.

Next up, the main course of cordero from nearby Tahmek, where grower Jennifer and her husband are providing the area with some excellent local lamb cuts. This was served in an huasteco adobe sauce that to the Critic, rivaled any cochinita he has ever tried. This was paired with the robust 2012 Chateau des Tourelles “La Cour des Glycines”. Perfect. A second glass of wine was had and things started to get very pleasant indeed.

Finally, a third plate was the cilantro foam with guanabana (soursop) sorbet and pineapple. Accompanying this dish was a sweet dessert wine: Haut Marin “Venus” 2015. Delicious.

Service was gracious and professional. This was a private event but the Critic is sure that your experience will be equally impressive!

For more information: click here to go to the restaurant’s own website. Wine info at Les Vines de Moliere website. And you can read more about Caro and Jean Philippe’s Dolce magazine here!

Enjoy the photos!

Casual Restaurant Critic visits Las Yuyas

July 20, 2017Casual Restaurant CriticCasual Restaurant Critic, chayitas, comida en merida, comida yucateca, food, Lawsons Yucatan, lawsonsyucatan.com, life in Merida, Life in the Yucatan, life in yucatan, Merida, merida restaurants, mexico, papadzules, pipian, queso relleno, restaurantes, restaurantes en merida, restaurants, sikil pak, sopa de lima, William Lawson, Yucatan, Yucatecan, yucatecan food, yucatecan restaurantsWilliamLawson

Every once in a while, my work, such as it is, requires me to visit restaurants that could be potentially incorporated into a tour offering. Such was the case today, with Las Yuyas, located in the Merida’s Jesus Carranza colonia.

Open since March of this year, they are cooking up traditional Yucatecan food with some original twists and presenting it in an attractive manner. My dear readers will agree that one of the most delicious and absolutely worst Yucatecan platillos to photograph is sikil pak, but the way chef Edwin prepares it here is a work of art. Very tasty too! Look:

Sikil Pak at Las Yuyas

All the dishes tried were excellent, from the queso relleno (my go-to dish when comparing Yucatecan restaurants) to lomitos de Valladolid to pipian de puerco. Also sampled were chayitas, taco de cochinita, relleno negro and escabeche, along with crema de brocoli and sopa de lima. Each was very well presented and perfectly seasoned. Tortillas were handmade and hot, and the tostadas for the sikil pak were fried just before being brought out to the table which made them extra hot and crispy. Nice touch.

Dessert was caballeros pobres, better than the usual goop served at so many restaurants, and papadzul ice cream. This is made by a local ice cream artist and this restaurant is the only place in town where you can have this flavor. Reason enough to come and sample the wares.

The room is comfortable, chairs are a bit on the hard side, walls are all glass and the A/C is cold. Service was very friendly with a bit of a delay on the removal of dirty dishes but overall very attentive. Owner Mario stopped by for a chat and explained a little about what he is trying to do.

Recommended; a restaurant that deserves a visit. Enjoy the (iPhone) photos!

Little masa ball appetizers

Crema de brocoli

Sopa de lima

Nido de Yuyas – a large sampler plate of several items

Pipian

Lomitos de Valladolid

Queso relleno

Caballero pobre (dessert)

Caballero pobre II

Papadzul ice cream. Yes, papadzul – amazing!

Casual Restaurant Critic, sans new pants, reviews Petit Delice

September 13, 2016Life in the Yucatanbistro, Casual Restaurant Critic, coffee, comida en merida, frances, french, Lawsons Yucatan, life in Merida, Life in the Yucatan, Merida, merida restaurants, pavlova, restaurantes en merida, restaurants, William Lawson, Yucatan, yucatan restaurants, yucatecan food, yucatecan restaurantsWilliamLawson

The German part of the Casual Restaurant Critic feels it is important to have an afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen. If you have traveled to the land of the kraut (sauerkraut that is) you know what this custom is all about.

After a heavy meal the other day, the Critic wanted a good cup of coffee and Petit Delice has one of the best coffees in town, bar none. Along with their excellent coffee and tea selections, they feature some real French-style pastries that are out of this world.

The local bible, el Diario de Yucatan, did an article on them a while back, for those of you capable of reading en español:

Abren un rincón de estilo francés

The café, a little piece of France in Merida, is located on that awful and congested avenida that runs from El Pocito to City Center (Walmart) near the periferico, with it’s hundreds of small L-shaped plazas full of businesses that will probably fail sooner than later, due to the sheer volume of commercial offerings.

Enjoy the photos – this place is highly recommended!