Spotted on the streets of Merida, Yucatan, a customized VW bus and pull-along trailer. This combi combo could take me far!
Espiritu Libre: My dream vehicle, a VW combi y trailer
Botanas: Cantina Eats
Around Merida & the Yucatán coast, cantinas are mandatory stops in the afternoon when the heat get to be too much! Cold beers, served as cheladas or in cubetas, accompany small plates (don’t drink on an empty stomach!) If you are lucky, you can choose your soundtrack with a rockola or video jukebox, or if you are luckier, classic cumbias will play from the kitchen where cooks will dance as they prepare your botanas.
Botanas aka mexican apertivos:
Cantinas in Merida & the Yucatan coast offer healthier fare than found in Mexico City. Typical botanas are cooked potato or beets dressed with salt, cilantro & fresh lime juice, Sikil P’aak- a tomato & pumpkin seed purée, scrambled egg & chaya leaf, squash fried in lard, potatoes fried in a suggestion of chorizo, a paste of refried black beans, a stuffed cabbage leaf…And always hot dog salad: sliced hotdogs served cold in a dressing of ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise with onion or jalapeno.
Craft Beer in Merida: Hermana República
Yucateca craft beer
On the road to Progreso, just past Merida’s mallandia, you’ll find the most successful of Cerveza Patito’s brewpubs.
I’m constantly looking for a comfy bar for solo drinking and a cool modern brew pub vibe with a/c
I like their beer ok & I love that it’s yucateco & independiente. I think Patito tastes best when consumed quickly because it doesn’t have a lot of carbonation.
The full menu includes local specialties like castacan, carne Ahumada de Temozan, Chile Xcatic & Sikil Pak are along with trendier dishes tuna carnitas, fried octopus, croquetas de cochinita pibil. A 3 beer sampler is $70 a growler to go would set you back $140. apps are $75-155. Mains are $165-265
Merida Market Tours
Come with me on a personalized market tour of Merida. I love the buzzing energy of the market, witnessing the tapestry of relationships built over generations of merchant-vendor exchanges, and unearthing the best local & seasonal ingredients. My trips are comfortable, tailored to what you most want to experience. If you don’t care for the sights & smells of fresh meat or live animals, we can avoid those sections. If you want to eat the absolute best of the market food, we can chow down. If you are interested in seeing a bit of living history, that is guaranteed!
Here are a couple of ideas:
- stock up on colorful shopping bags
- visit indigenous fruit & flower vendors. Purchase homemade drinking chocolate, spice blends, melipona honey, hot sauces, specialty jams, recados, and natural candies
- get a basic overview of local handcrafts- embroidered clothing, woven hammocks & guayaberas
- explore the bustling fruit & vegetable market
- sample castacan- sliced, deep fried pork belly with the skin left attached
- taste small batch coconut sorbet
- eat indigenous foods that are relatively unchanged in hundreds of years
- assemble a picnic lunch or ingredients for a special meal
