For those of you who are fanatics of a decent hamburger (and who isn’t) the sight of Carl’s Jr. closing their one and only Montejo location across from Sam’s Club was terribly upsetting. Even more so when Wendy’s also closed their location next to the Gran Plaza mall. While Wendy’s was having some problems, they did have a decent burger… but who suspected that Carl’s Jr. was having any difficulties?

Turns out though, that everyone can rest easy; Carl’s Jr. has reopened in the Mexico Norte colonia, in a new L-shaped shopping center (Mérida has so few, that it is imperative that more of these be opened almost on a weekly basis) located beside Planet Bol (bowl) which has won awards for it’s clever use of local vegetation in it’s landscaping and it’s spacious parking lot. Not.

You will be glad to know that the Critic checked and the good news is that the burgers at the relocated Carls Jr. are as big, sloppy and tasty as at the original location; the service is somewhat lackluster and unenthusiastic and the Cartoon Network blares away for the benefit of the employees who watch glassy-eyed as Bob Sponge indulges in his latest adventures.

For those of you interested in the back story (chisme!), Carls Jr. is owned by the same folks that own Burger King and it seems that BK wanted the Montejo location and so Carl’s was sacrificed to give the King more visibility on Mérida’s most important traffic artery, offsetting the imposing McDonald’s just a few hundred feet away.

As for the Wendy’s location, there will be a Starbucks there very soon. Yes, Starbucks is finally arriving in Mérida and it is rumored that they will be opening in the upcoming malls at Liverpool and Altabrisa as well as that other one being built by Hines on the periferico.

This month, yet another Yucatecan restaurant reviewed by the insatiable and ever-critical Casual Restaurant Critic! This is, after all, what you are after, isn’t it? Yucatecan food?

La Tradicion is located between San Fernando and the MegaComercial, on 60 street. It is completely air-conditioned except for some tables on the terrace where you could theoretically smoke those stinky Phillipine-made Marlboro cigarettes you bough in Molas on the way back from Sotuta de Peon.

Being as it is July, and the heat is unbearable, the original choice for lunch, Colonos, was discarded and the Critic’s group decided on La Tradicion, which the Critic had heard or read about somewhere.

Chef David Cetina was at the door to welcome the party and soon all were seated at two tables – real tables with real chairs, not the cheap plastic ones – and had menus in their hands. After ordering drinks (micheladas, horchatas and jamaicas) a waiter arrived with a small plate of refried black beans with tortilla chips and another with codzitos for snacking while the appetizers arrived. The beans were not only good, they were hot, a real first since at most restaurants they are served luke-warm. The codzitos were crunchy and smothered in what seemed like a home-made tomato sauce. Very good.

The appetizers arrived soon after; crispy longaniza de Valladolid and delicious papadzules. In fact, the papadzules were so good that more were ordered almost right away. The temperature was excellent (hot) and the tortillas fresh, the sauce tasty. And the tortillas were thick and hand-made. Nothing like a fresh tortilla, filled with crunchy/chewy longaniza (a kind of thin flavorful chorizo) with some nose-watering, tear inducing chile habanero salsa.

Then the main course – panuchos and salbutes were ordered along with the now-obligatory Critic signature dish, queso relleno. At first sight, the Critic was alarmed by the apparent small size of the bowl of queso relleno set before him, but that fear was soon allayed with an abundance of fresh tortillas which seemed to make the dish last for hours. It was delicious. While the Critic’s better half commented that the cheese wasn’t the requisite Gouda (or Edam) the Critic didn’t notice and happily devoured his queso.

Afterwards, for the sake of investigation (and to further complicate an impending attack of sever heartburn later) flan and crema española were ordered for dessert. They were creamy and delicious as well.

The rest of the menu looked very good as well. At the table next to the Critic’s party, a family was enjoying what looked like a very authentic-looking and generous portion of puchero de tres carnes, a typical Yucatecan platillo which you can’t find that often these days.

The bill? $800 pesos without tip.

All in all, La Tradicion was a pleasant surprise. The Critic would highly recommend it to both locals and visitors alike.

On a score of 1-5, La Tradicion rates a solid 4.5!

Hi. This is your friendly Casual Restaurant Critic reporting on the recent visit to the Hacienda Sotuta de Peon, where the Critic stayed on, along with his out-of-town guests, to sample the on-site restaurant, after the dip in the cenote and end of tour. The horse-drawn ‘truck’ conveniently stops directly in front of the restaurant, so it’s hard not to get the hint!

Under the shade of a giant palapa roof, with the breeze from an approaching storm to break the June heat, the Critic and Co sat down for a cool beer and something to eat.

As appetizers, empanadas de queso, which arrived promptly, the golden corn masa crispy on the outside with melted cheese inside and a little tomato sauce on top. Papadzules were very good as well. Before that, the cold beer arrived with two botanas: sikil pak, which is a traditional pumpkin seed and tomato paste that the Critic is extremely fond of, and a spicy mayonnaise-y cream.

For a main course, the queso relleno, another absolute Critic favorite. The cheese was abundant, the k’ol was not too thick and overwhelming, and the amount of raisins, capers and ground meat (pork and beef is called for in this recipe) was just perfect. Tortillas were hot, corn and reasonably fresh, although not as fabulous as the thick, handmade works of art served in Mani.

After polishing off at least 8 mouthwatering tacos from this one serving of queso, the Critic had had enough food to last him the remainder of the day, thereby precluding a previously planned nocturnal excursion to Kanasin to show off those panuchos and salbutes to his visiting guests.

Service was fine and overall, it was a perfect end to the Sotuta Hacienda tour. Rating? The Critic gives it a 5 on this occasion.

The Critic had heard that the famous and too-often mentioned (at least by this Critic) Susana Internacional panucheria in Kanasin had opened a branch in Mérida. Last night, in a fit of Yucatecan food poch*-ness, the Critic and his much better half zipped over to one of Mérida’s older colonias (neighborhoods), the colonia Alemán to see if this Susana was as good as the original.

There is no comparing the quirky atmosphere, the decorations; the ambience, that permeates the original Susana. At this sucursal (branch), admittedly easier to get to than the original and located in the afore-mentioned colonia, directly across from where the Cine Maya once stood, there are much fewer decorations, the waiters aren’t as funny, the furniture is plastic Coca Cola red, and the street is right beside your table. Last night, there was also the added bonus of live entertainment in the shape of a wach (tenia aspecto fuereño) scratching a battered guitar and attempting something resembling music. The Critic and Co hate live music while eating and tried not make eye contact.

The food is very good, as in the original. The obligatory menu was had consisting of salbutes and panuchos, caldo especial and a taco each of chicharra. Portions are huge, again as in the original. Drinks were aguas de pitaya and chaya, two local flavors that you, dear visitor, must try at some point while in the Yucatan.

Service was good and the Critic was impressed with the speed in which the ordered food appeared at the table. Too speedy, since everything arrived at once. But that way, you can work your way through the panucho and the salbut, dropping bits and pieces into your caldo, which is cooling off while you eat.

Prices are ridiculously cheap; perhaps a little over those of Kanasin. The total bill for two fruit waters, 2 salbutes, 1 panucho, 2 small caldos and 2 tacos de chicharra, came to $145.00 (pesos!) At today’s exchange rate, this works out to around $13 USD for a very filling, belt-popping, cholesterol-level-boosting dinner.

On a scale of 1 (worst) to 5 (best) the Critic subjectively awards the Susana Internacional’s second location a hearty 3.

*poch – A Mayan word meaning to be in the mood for something. Also when you are feeling in need of a hug, your mood can be described as ‘poch’.

The Casual Restaurant has joined the overcrowded realm of the blog. You can read his latest entry, on the new Sirloin Stockade restaurant here in sunny Merida, at:

http://casualrestaurantcritic.blogspot.com/

Enjoy.