Foods of Merida, Part 1



Starbucks! We really try to avoid this place, it is as
expensive as in the states...but with less choices.
They have nice air conditioning and many foreigners
frequent it so we still go there.

MMMM Mcdonalds. We did this one time when we needed to remember home.
Tastes the same, even in Mexico! Can you tell we enjoyed it?

Burger King delivers! So do every other food establishment..
...always by motorcycle. Don't worry, we have only ordered pizza at the
house, but a Whopper Jr delivered to my door is quite tempting!

This is half of a very large Chipotle Bacon Crispy Chicken sandwich from
BBT Wings. A very American themed restaurant, a favorite to the locals.
We shared the sandwich and still brought some home for a second meal.

Our young friend Eva and I were preparing stuffed
cabbage, not so Mexican and a first for her! See, we
do cook at home.

One night we lost power for a very long time and had to make dinner by
candle light...not as romantic as it sounds. We were really hot because the
fans were not on..but we have a gas stove so I made nachos! And here is the
beginnings of guacamole. 

Mexican sushi! Yes this one is entirely breaded or "empinizado". 
At first sight this roll may look like sushi, but many of the ingredients
are very wrong. But we enjoyed it very much!

OK, OK....enough with the sushi!

Yummy Enchiladas with Mole.
 Prepared with love by a dear sister in the congregation.

Not sure what to call this. It was quite delicious! A German woman in
Celestun prepared these assorted dishes for us when we visited her recently.
She has been in Mexico over 25 years and is quite fascinating. Her cats
run the kitchen...but we still ate and enjoyed!



Cats in the kitchen...wild things really!



More kitties taking a nap. Guess where? ....the kitchen!

How could I forget...PASTOR! Yes, it is a very traditional style of

taco, the meat is marinated, then stacked on this upright spit...very

much like lamb for a gyro. In fact this method was first

introduced to Mexico by a Greek..but using pork of course.

Well, this little pastor taco stand is literally 2 blocks from our house and

one of the cheapest places around. Two tacos cost 14 pesos ($1) and

they will bring you extra tortillas for free, so you can make 1 or 2 more!

They pile the meat so high, you have to make more. What a deal!

And guess what? We have never gotten sick here. Just want to add

that point. And below you will see that we have gotten the other

friends from the hall to join us from time to time. They all love it!

Notice the red plastic chairs and Coca Cola tables??

We made a deal early on here in Merida that unless it was a special occasion

or the friends invited us...we would stick to dining out only at places with

these very chairs and tables. Silly? Not really, see this style of seating is an

 indicator that we can afford the menu! And we have never gone wrong since.

Fried fish anyone?

Yes, this is fried fish...I was almost horrified, but got over it.

It was quite delicious once we got past the carcass.

We spent the afternoon at a beach home of one of the friends, and the guys

went out to buy fish...this is what they returned with. Below is our

hungry group feasting!

The  Mexican friends laughed at us...this style of fish is normal to them.

We made fish tacos with the tortillas, salsa and lime!
"It's the best!" (say with an accent)

Not sure what all of these are called, but the round ones are Panuchos. Made with

turkey meat. These were a sampling of Yucatecan foods prepared for us after

touring a cenote.

Ok, that's all the food photos we have for now. As you can see, we are not going hungry.