A shared dish of fish roe cooked Veracruz style with tomatoes, onions, herbs, & capers. Veracruz, 2007
Hueva ala Veracruzana
Best Place to Eat in El Panchan: Doña Felipa
The best place to eat in El Panchan is a little fonda tucked behind Don Mucho’s- follow the signs for the reception for Jungle Palace and follow the laughter to Doña Felipa’s kitchen. Ask what’s available, “Que hay para comer?”
I highly recommend her enormous handmade quesadillas, possibly with grilled bistec and a generous helping of her special salsa de ajonjoli. If she has (cactus paddles), go for it because she slices them extra thin & they are delicious! Her menu is typical of regional eateries: eggs, chicken, chorizo, pork & grilled beef offered as tacos, quesadillas, or al gusto (entree prepared as you like, ie ala mexicana, frito, served with rice & beans, tortillas & salsa…
Breakfasts are $55 pesos and include local coffee, made in the cafe de olla style, but without sugar. We had huevos con nopales and huevos ala mexicana several times. I have to say that coffee has improved leaps & bounds over the last decade in Chiapas. So happy to see the gorgeous coffee grown in the area consumed locally! It used to be so much Nescafe!
Ooh! This is also a great place to drink beer! Caguamas are $45 pesos. Ask for glasses & share with friends.
Doña Felipa is from Oaxaca. She married a Palenque local and lives on a ranch outside of town. All of the food waste is transported to her ranch to feed the chickens, turkeys & pigs. She’s super knowledgeable about agriculture & food traditions of the area. I love how she touches every table, even while her grandchildren were visiting. This is the kind of warm hospitality that makes eating memorable, and is not so often found in the wilds of the jungle.
Exotic dish of Chiapas: Zats, a very nutritious caterpillar 🐛 🐛🐛 Zats, un platillo exótico de Chiapas y con alto grado nutricional | nvinoticias.com
Zats- considered an exotic food, are only available during the months of June, July, and August. Zats are caterpillars living in the cork tree on the hottest days and that presents its larval stage between the aforementioned months.
The municipalities where this rich delicacy is mainly eaten are Chilón, Ocosingo, Huitiupan, Simojovel, and Yajalón. Prepared with the clean, boiling with salt and ending with frying in oil. Seasoned with ground chile and lime to taste.
In the municipality of Simojovel, many families are dedicated to collect, cook and market a worm that the locals consider a delicacy: zats that in the Tzotzil language means worm.
Its collection can be dangerous because the person must climb more than four meters on very thin branches, work that falls on children or very thin people because they must climb the tree and detach the caterpillar.
In an interview with the seller of the Ocosingo market, Mrs. Mari Trejo, who is originally from Tzotzil-Maya and has dedicated herself for years to the preparation of this worm, offers her recipe.
“First I wash it, then I put it in the pot with water, prepare the fire and for an hour’s cooking I add salt, wait an hour to remove it from the heat, drain it in a colander and cook it again with lemon and chili until that broth is consumed,” she said.
Zats preparation is thorough. First, the bowels are removed, then cooked in water with salt and lemon for about two hours. Later they drain to brown them in oil or lard and finally eat it in a very Mexican way, with a tortilla in a taco.
The zats are not alive when eaten, as with other insects, such as jumiles and maguey worms, which are very popular in all the indigenous peoples of Chiapas.
The tradition of eating insects is part of the diet of the indigenous communities of Mexico since prehispanic times since, according to specialists, insects contain a high nutritional level, with between 15% and 75% of proteins.
Throughout Mexico, indigenous groups such as the Zapotec, Tzetzales, Huicholes, Nahuas, Tzotzils, Tarascans, Mayas, consume more than 200 edible species of insects.
Source: Zats, un platillo exótico de Chiapas y con alto grado nutricional | nvinoticias.com
quick translation by me with the aide of el señor google
Pueblito living: best eatery in the plaza
Lonchería de 3 Compadres in Chicxulub Puerto
Adjusting to living in a pueblito, things aren’t what they seem! In the Yucatan, villages can appear abandoned during the heat of the day. Businesses may appear rundown. Stores look empty. It might take you some time to get into the local groove. Asking locals for their recommendations is your best bet. Don’t bother with google maps.
For example, Chicxulub Puerto, a fishing village on the coast of about 13,000 residents spread along a barrier island between the Gulf Coast & a brackish swamp, is full of vacation homes and business that only open during the high seasons.
I found the local market on my first day and ate a a couple of the loncherías in the plaza. In this part of the world, these eateries stick to masa based antojitos: panuchos, salbutes, and empanadas. They may also we offer soup & tortas. I tried maybe 3 of the morning places and they were all kind eh. Greasy masa, canned tomato sauce, canned beans, sloppy salsas, dirty tables…no gracias! Better to enjoy the local bounty of my own kitchen.
One Sunday, I asked the plant vendor where was good to eat. He gestured to Los Tres Comadres, “Alli se come rico.”
Dios Mío! The ladies running this kitchen take pride in their antojitos. One was grating cabbage for the ensalada de repollo, occasionally stirring the tomato sauce on the stovetop. The other managed the masa & the frying pan. Another handled orders & payment, also running hot panuchos, salbutes & empanadas to the outdoor tables. I
The masa, or tortilla dough, for my antojitos was tender & light, not greasy-even through it had just been removed from bubbling oil. Both the relleno negro atop my salbute & the ground pork filling of the empanada were complex & flavorful. The traditional accompaniments were bright & fresh, totally complementing the fried masa with ensalada de repollo, made from grated cabbage, grated tomato, and tiny slivers of red onion dressed in lime juice; a mild roasted tomato sauce; and a gorgeously picante roasted habanero salsa.
Custom explorations of the Yucatan coast!
The coastal villages lining the Gulf of Mexico in Yucatan state possess a sleepy, timeless vibe. Arriving at the wrong time, it may seem everyone has deserted this dusty paradise. Other times will reveal a vibrant community of fisherman and families, bustling with activity between the pier & the plaza. Looks can be deceiving for any traveler, but especially here in the hot Yucatan.
Constant sea breezes take their toll on buildings, signs, and furniture. Locals are accepting of the slow deterioration. They know where & when to eat & shop. Where to find the most delicious ceviche when the octopus is abundant. Village residents know what time the wood-fired ovens cool & the bakers put out crusty pan frances. Home cooks know that the butcher rises before dawn to harvest only 2 pigs each day, and shoppers must make their purchase well before 9 am.
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Here’s what our tour looks like:
michelada beer cocktail 
how salt is harvested 
laguna rosada 
beachside eating 
handmade sorbets 
botanas at a cantina 
fishing village 
salbute y empanada 
BEACH TOWN FOOD TOUR (3 hours)
Our first stop will be Chicxulub Puerto, a small fishing village east of Progreso. We will visit the tiny Municipal Market, to learn about coastal Yucatan’s cuisine & ingredients. Then we will walk across the street to a tiny loncheria selling incredible empanadas, panuchos & salbutes. We will hit up a roadside coconut stand to fuel ourselves for the next leg of our journey.
Then we will travel 30 minutes by car to visit an active Mayan salt-making operation at the picturesque Laguna Rosada. We can see how salt is extracted manually, in a method virtually unchanged in 1300 years, & talk with a few of the 50 people who have the skills to extract it. A salty mudbath & the opportunity to take incredible photos are offered at no extra charge.
This stop will be followed by a quick tour of a nearby archeological zone, that a served as a local business center for traders who traveled to the region to purchase salt starting in the Late Preclassic period (100 BC-250 AD). The combination of the salt-making center side-by-side with the ruins really give you a perspective on Mayan life over the past millennium.
We will return to Chicxulub to take a short walk around town to enjoy some swimming, cold beers, a ceviche tasting & tropical fruit sorbet, before heading back to Progreso (15 min by car.)
BEACH TOWN FOOD TOUR (full day)
Our first stop will be the historic shipping port of Progreso. We will visit the 90-year-old Municipal Market, to learn about coastal Yucatan’s cuisine & ingredients. We will share a typical local breakfast, Lechon (roasted pork on french bread) from a restaurant opened in 1937. Lechon is traditionally paired with Coca-Cola, but we will try several tropical fruit juices and agua frescas instead.
Then we will travel 40 minutes by car to visit an active Mayan salt-making operation at the picturesque Laguna Rosada. We can see how salt is extracted manually, in a method virtually unchanged in 1300 years, & talk with a few of the 50 people who have the skills to extract it. A salty mudbath & the opportunity to take incredible photos are offered at no extra charge.
This stop will be followed by a quick tour of a nearby archeological zone, that a served as a local business center for traders who traveled to the region to purchase salt starting in the Late Preclassic period (100 BC-250 AD). The combination of the salt-making center side-by-side with the ruins really give you a perspective on Mayan life over the past millennium.
Then we will have lunch across the street from the beach at a family-owned seafood restaurant in Telchac Puerto. Cooling off, hydrating with ice-cold beers, and swimming in the sea will be on our agenda for the next couple of hours. We will sample ceviche & choose from a plethora of fresh seafood. Before we drive back west, we will visit a typical sweet shop that sells the most amazing cheesecake I have ever tasted!
Our last stop will be in Chicxulub Puerto, a fishing village located 30 minutes away. We will drink fresh coconuts & take a short walk around town to enjoy tropical fruit sorbet & sunset on the pier before heading back to Progreso (15 min by car.)
