El Meson del Marques, Valladolid 07-2019

The highest regarded restaurant in Valladolid is set in an opulent hotel with a dining square that surrounds a central garden. It really is a nice setting to dine in and one of the more pleasant meals we had. It's obviously a more expensive menu, however I think it isn't just that they cater toward tourists, but moreso their dishes are finer and more modern versions of the standard Yucatan dishes.

Naturally the staff all speak English, even in response to my broken Spanish.

- Chile poblano del Marques (breaded chile poblano pepper filled with meat & holland cheese, served with Mayan soup) - as described and nice;
- Queso relleno estilo Valladolid (stuffed cheese Valladolid style) 210pesos - thick cheese layer (similar to graviera) which was quite salty, on top of soft shredded meat (turkey, pork). Served with olives, capers, almonds, raisins and chickpeas and in a medicinal soup. Very nice. There was also an ultra hot habanero which i nibbled the end of before realising it was a mistake and my face, tongue and legs went numb.

There's plenty of dishes I would have wanted to try if I had the opportunity to go back. It is a little shame we left it until the last meal in town.

La Palapita de los Tamales, Valladolid 07-2019

Tamales - I'd heard the word before I think from songs (Hot Tamale?) but never known what it was. It's a traditional dish of the Yucatan region consisting of some kind of dough that is steamed in leaves. The Airbnb host had recommended us to try this, and so naturally we had to. It is remarkably cheap 45pesos each.

How were they? Ok. Hyped up too much. Not really worth having again in my mind.

Pan de espelon (pork fried with tomato, beans, egg) was quite nice. The outside was a bit crusty but edible at least. Maculan (wrapped with leaf maculan, pumpkin seeds, white beans) was essentially vegetables wrapped in a leaf. The flavour was very plain and the whole dish mushy.

Not for me.

El Camello Jr., Tulum 07-2019

After having a phone stolen at Dos Ojos cenote (sad but true), dinner was a more solemn undertaking. I still had a couple of places on the list and none higher than El Camello Jr. It's known for seafood and every single table in there seemed to have a giant plate of ceviche.

Naturally we ordered a small using shrimp, fish, octopus and snails (with tomato, onion, coriander, pepper, salt) 130 pesos. Small turned out to be not so small and easily shared between two (or potentially more) with the fried tortillas, hot sauces and limes to spice things up. it was fresh and delicious and nicely balanced.

Seafood soup (shrimp, octopus, squid, fish, crab) 140pesos was a beautiful mixed seafood stock similar to bouillabaise. It was truly delicious.

The tables next to us were loud and rowdy as a bunch of Mexicans sounded like they were being offered an investment opportunity. Who knows.

I'd go back happily for more of the same food.

Taqueria Honorio, Tulum 07-2019

After the reasonably poor choices at the taqueria in Cozumel, this one in Tulum sounded much more of a go-er. I had read that the suckling pig and black turkey was the ones to try.

It's a large space where you can sit at the counter where they dish up the tacos, or on more traditional tables. Food and service is naturally fast. You can choose a taco for 18pesos or a torta (bread roll essentially) for 38pesos.

I tried all of them. Relleno negro de pavo (marinated turkey in different smoked & roasted red chillis) was easily my favourite. Lechon al horno (suckling pig) was second, which I had in the torta as had been recommended online. Vegetarian was unusually expensive but a fresh combination. The pulled pork and poc chuc were fine too. Nothing was bad at all, including the horchata and tamarind juice in the bottles.

A cheap, fast and tasty meal.

Super Taqueria El Amigo Jose, Cozumel 07-2019

Naturally I wanted to eat some traditional tacos. On my Cozumel list I had Cuatro Tacos, but for some reason walked past many times but never in, and El Amigo Mario, which I walked to multiple but was never open.

Instead one evening we walked past Jose and made a mental note that it looked quite local. And indeed the next night we went back and discovered it is. Maybe because of quieter times, the full menu list wasn't available, and they only had 3 types - surtida (mixed), maciza (beef I think brisket maybe?) and pancita (stomach). 14pesos per taco - not bad at all.

A soup was a very beefy consumme. Maciza was quite a plain beef and not too bad. Pancita was stomach or omentum and all soft and fatty. I ordered pancita instead of surtida by mistake (or they misunderstood me) and so ordered a surtida in the end. Lo and behold, it was just a mix of the maciza and pancita. It was served with white onions, hot green sauce, salsa not much tomato left.

Dessert flan was very nice with caramel at bottom.

Definitely not the best taco fillings I had. But it's a local experience (I think).

Playa Azul, Cozumel 07-2019

The morning time was already so hot and sunny that it was worth heading to a beach club. As the 3rd and 4th guests for the day, we had our pick of front row deck chairs and umbrella to the water. There's a very nice seating area on the edge of the pier, but the access isn't direct from there and it has rocks directly in front. So I think our choice was the best.

Beautiful waters, excellent snorkelling straight off the beach, not very busy.

There's no entry fee or equipment hire charge. You just buy your food and drinks instead. Whole coconuts 100pesos had a large amount of fresh young juice. Then upon request they cut them open so we could scoop out the delicious flesh.

The seafood platter (1100 pesos) firstly came as a big plate of fried tortilla chips with salsa and hot sauce, before the platter arrived. Lobster flavour was ok but overcooked. The prawns buttery and grilled perfectly with edible skin. Fried fish had an outstanding soft texture. Calamari and octopus were both good. Fries nice, seasoned rice excellent. The only poor bit was the grilled fish was sadly dry.

Not cheap, but for the overall setting and use of the facilities, well worth the experience.

An excellent beach club that I would gladly return to.

Puesta de Sol, Cozumel 07-2019

On a steaming hot evening, it was disappointing to discover that there are actually very few (decent) icecream places. We came across this coincidentally while walking back to the Airbnb.

I have to admit it was pretty average. The coconut didn't have any pieces and the flavour was very weak. On the other hand the fruity strawberry was zesty and decent.

It was ok - there isn't anything better that I could find.

Restaurante Las Flamitas, Cozumel 07-2019

Economicos are cheap little eateries in Mexico - the local cafes essentially. As we walked past one, I stopped to look inside. A local older guy noticed and gave me a solid thumbs up and a nod. A few minutes later, I was in.

It's local food to the Yucatan region. The staff were (all older men and) very friendly in Spanish.

I couldn't remember what albondigas was - the waiter couldn't describe it, so he brought me one in a bowl. A delicious meatball in soup. Despite this I ordered other local delicacies. They also served a lighter version of the soup (vegetable) which was quite plain and of course some salsa and hot sauce.

I first discovered poc chuc (the name and the dish) in the USA many years ago (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/poc-chuc-san-francisco-10-2011) and haven't had it since. This was the opportune time.

- Filete de pescad empanizado - very soft flakes of fish which was excellently cooked. The batter was not that crisp but ok;
- Poc-Chuc 80pesos - very tender, thin beaten pork chops.

 Simple and cheap meal.

Lobster Shack, Cozumel 07-2019

I was quite excited to read about Lobster Shack. A cheap affordable lobster place in the middle of town near the port area. It sounds too good to be true almost - and sadly it is.

It was a very quiet evening in Cozumel and even though it was a little late after sunset I expected more people. The rather disinterested guy serving didn't have any warmth or smile.

I had the lobster bowl (235pesos). Flavours overall were good, but the lobster itself wasn't. It was precooked and cut, then unrolled from cling film onto the grill. As a result it was mushy and lacked that bitey lobster texture.

Also had a tamarind juice which was brought in from somewhere else. I guess that's alright...

I don't know how people can rate this place (I thought Americans knew something about lobster).

Asadero El Pollo, Cozumel 07-2019

Our Airbnb was about 10mins walk from the Cozumel ferry port and so probably in the backstreets of town. As a result there were no tourists in that part. It also meant the food places in the area were all much more local. I wanted to go Taqueria el amigo Mario but it was always closed and had no sign to say when it would be open. On this first occasion it meant looking for lunch elsewhere and the smell from this asadero was impossible to ignore.

It is Sinaloan-style chicken. I don't know what that actually means, but I recognise the name from Narcos Mexico.

The chicken is butterflied and stacked up at the counter. A continuous stream of locals come in, order their chicken, and the take it away home for family dinner (I assume). We were the only to stay in the tiny place and eat there.

For 120pesos, it's a full chicken with rice, purple slightly picked onions, nice salsa and tortillas. There's also an excellent hot sauce too. The grilled chicken is really excellent, mostly tender and full of flavour. The rice is also cooked with chicken stock or fat and is delicious. A load of tortillas were served. After needing to takeaway half remaining, they gave us extra tortillas and sauces to go with it.

Excellent and one of the best grilled chicken meals I've ever had.