Tag Archives: luxury

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

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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!

 

Chilaquiles for the Casual Restaurant Critic at Chill-Akil

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Not having had any sustenance beyond the usual New York model breakfast of coffee and a cigarette, the by-now cantankerous Critic was driving to his pay-by-the-hour office at Alexandra’s when another luxurious plaza (not particularly luxurious, tbh) called Plaza Luxury – really, you can’t begin to fathom the local fascination with all things purportedly luxury – beckoned with its multiple culinary options ranging from the brand new Okana poke bar with its high-tech and line-up inducing iPad ordering system to the old-school Merida classic Siqueff to the restaurant the Critic finally ended up in: Chill Akil.

There’s the Lexus dealership, the Prada flagship store, and the Bugatti watch shop. And the Ya Abrimos store of course

Once the loud family discussing family relationships at the next table had departed, the famished  Critic was able to enjoy his classic chilaquiles rojos in relative peace and quiet while perusing CNN’s latest fake news on his iPhone.

These chilaquiles are really good, with lots of ‘stuff’ on top of those tortilla chips and they aren’t all soggy either, which is a nice touch. The red sauce is good, the chicken is good, the queso fresco is good, the onions and radishes are fresh and there are hot sauces and mild sauces (2 and 2) to add if you feel the dish lacks vim and vigor.

The restaurant is probably crowded in the morning with Moms and gym types who like to get up early, but the Critic had his breakfast at 2 PM thank you very much and had the place to himself. The A/C leaves something to be desired and it is uncomfortably warm in spite of the unit blowing all it can. Note: there are two air conditioners upstairs, but these were off.

Good service and plenty of parking available. You will also find a really nice high-end stereo shop in this plaza for your home theater installations in that new old colonial you are restoring.

Worth a second visit, ITCO.

Location: Plaza LUXURY (look for the Teslas, Ferraris and Jaguars parked outside) or just look at the map on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chillakil/

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

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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!