Thursday, August 30, 2018

New Blog

My new blog is bestofyucatan.com  and you can also follow me at bestofyucatan on instagram or urbano rentals on facebook.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Loose yourself in the suburbs and beyond


These expat owned restaurants are not in centro.  Google maps is your friend.

Soma is the gathering place for foodie expats who miss home cooking.

Merci is the place to go for a simple clean brunch/lunch when you are shopping at City Center.

Casa Thai is on the way to my vet's (Pets & Co.) or a good place to go near Alta Brisa Mall.

The best Thai restaurant around is in the little town of Baca near Motul in a hospice.

Hacienda San Jose Pachul is a great place to stop and eat on the way to or from Celestun.

Don't go off your Med's


Eventually if you are here for a while you are going to find out what we have know for the past decade.  Yucatecan food just isn't that good.  You could try one of the many Italian restaurants in town owned by Italians.   The Lebanese community has been in Merida since the 19th century and own a lot of the businesses here.  Hence the good Lebanese food all over the city.  

Oliva Enoteca (the newer bigger one) & Oliva Kitchen and Bar are owned by Stefano Marceletti a Roman American expat who also owns the best boutique hotel in Merida, Leconda.

Dadaumpa is owned by an Italian from Parma, Marcello de Crescenzo.  Dadaumpa is across the street from Lo Que Hay a vegan restaurant owned by the Lebanese/Uraguan owners of Hotel Mediomundo.

Rafaello's Pizza is owned by a crude lewd rude Italian from the south.  Everyone has a story about Rafaello but no one disputes the fact that the pizza is excellent.  

Rescaldos Mediterranean Restaurant also has good Pizza.  The owners are Greek Canadians so you'll find other good dishes from the region on the menu.   Cafe Alemeda is my favorite place in centro to eat Lebanese.  Cafe Club near Santa Lucia is owned by an Iranian but the Menu is mostly American.  It's a good place for breakfast or a simple lunch.

Try the botanas and tapas at Botella Verde is in the Santa Lucia park next to Ki Xocolatl the Belgian Chocolate shop owned by...Belgians Stephanie Verbrugge and Matheu Bries.  

The answer is NO!

No there is no Chinese food in Merida worth trying.  There might be some Asian owned places selling 'tipo China' slop in town but it's all dumbed down and is catering to the very lowest tastebud on the food chain.  But there are a few options for other types of Asian Cuisine that are owned by Asians or at least people who have lived in Asia.

Younghee's Kitchen is owned by a Korean woman and it's only open on Saturdays.  It's in the same location as the slow food market Reforma (calle 72) & Colon.

Miyabi is owned by a Japanese woman and her Mexican husband.  It is the best sushi in town but another larger more comfortable place has opened in Colonia Mexico called Hamachi. Hamachi's owner was the partner of Miyabi in restaurants in Cancun.

Bistro Ave del Paraiso is a Thai Restaurant on Calle 66 x 49 & 53 (behind a tree) owned by a couple who lived in Thailand.  Casa Thai is owned by a Thai woman and her American husband.  They have a little take out location near Santa Lucia park on calle 62.  Their restaurant is pretty far out of centro.

There is a PF Chang's in Alta Brisa Mall if you are really desperate for "Chinese food"!

Flavors they don't have at Baskin Robins

There are so many choices of exotic tropical fruits in the Yucatan for making great sorbets and ice creams that you've most likely never heard of.  The locals praise Sorbetaria Colon with a location on the zocalo and Paseo Montejo.  In fact the competing Principals on the corner of calle 66 & 65 are much better than Colon.   There are two new places in the Santa Lucia neighborhood Porque No on calle 62 x 55 & 57 and Pola around the corner on calle 55 x 62 & 64.  But I still prefer the Argentinian owned Domo Blaco which is out of centro in the Plaza Mayor on the Prologacion Montejo.

The owners of these ice cream shops are from Italy, Guatemala, Poland, Argentina, Mexico & USA.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Foreign Owned Bars and Beer Halls

La Negrita is the place to get an early start if you need a cold beer at noon with a little snack to get you through until lunch which normally starts around 2.  It's also really fun in the afternoon when you wake up from your nap or just before going out to dinner. We'll now that I think about it La Negrita is a nice place from 12 noon when it opens until 10pm when it closes and then you can move on to La Fundacion Mezcaleria which opens at 8 and goes on until 2am.  The owners have kept the prices low to attract the local hipsters so have a beer or mescal or order something top shelf otherwise you'll think you're drinking kool aid and moonshine. You might also stumble into the Mayan Pub if you like live music and a beer garden.  If you don't like Mexican beer you should go home or go to the Bierhaus which specializes in German beer and some very mediocre German food. 

There is a new place in town that's a little more adult and the cocktails are vastly more sophisticated and consequently expensive.  It's a speakeasy in the parking lot behind Apoala called Malahut. The owners are from Monterrey and Oaxaca so I'm calling them foreigners too, as the Yucatecans do.

The most popular pub for expats must be Hennesey's Irish Pub on the Paseo Montejo which is very Irish and very popular.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

French Expats in Merida


 
Not only do we have a number of French chefs like Yohann Chauvineau at Bistrot Cultural Eric and Veronique at Cafe Creme there is a French Chiropractor and one our regular petanque players Pierre Alexis de Saint-Prix has an office in Merida Espacio Quiropractico Frances.  For more information about the activities of the french community in Merida get in touch with Quoi de Neuf Merida

After the overwhelming success of the Franco-Yucateca couple Eric and Patty's La Fundacion Mezcaleria there was nothing left for them to do but open a cantina in the street that Patty grew up in.  La Negrita Cantina opened in 1917 and is still going strong.  Now if they will only open an after hours cafe we can spend 24 hours a day admiring their handiwork.

enjoy this photo of a reed ball sculpture picked up on the road between Tulum and Merida at the El Portico de la Candelaria until I get a photo of Pierre uploaded.