Coffee in Mérida: One City’s Ascent to Café Paradise
Twenty years ago, getting a decent cup of coffee in Mérida was a challenge. Today? You can’t walk two blocks without bumping into a café.
The Great Queso de Bola Crisis: Yucatán’s Culinary Emergency
Alarm bells are ringing across Yucatán, but there’s no fire, and it’s too early for a hurricane. It’s the queso de bola crisis of 2025.
Mexico Has Amazing Tacos for Every State and Taste
Mexico is a country where food is not just sustenance; it’s also a culture. Nowhere is this more evident than in the humble yet infinitely versatile taco, a dish so beloved that it has become a global phenomenon. Having had the opportunity to live in several countries, when I mention I am from Mexico, people…
Scientists in Yucatán Develop 2 New Habanero Pepper Varieties
Two new varieties of habanero peppers — Mayan K’iin and Mayan Chac— are intended to help farmers improve their crop yields. Developed through years of selective breeding at the Scientific Research Center of Yucatán (CICY), both exhibit superior resistance to pests and diseases while maintaining the flavor and heat that make habanero peppers a staple…
Mérida Restaurant Week 2025 will be a great excuse to dine locally
After some concern that it would not take place this year, Mérida Restaurant Week is officially back.
All aboard for ramen and rice at Parque La Plancha
When asked what makes him different from other chefs, Chef Yusuke Kogure does not miss a beat. “I am obsessed with rice; it needs to be perfect — there is no middle ground.” Kogure explains that, despite popular belief, rice preparation requires exceptional attention to detail at every step and can be extremely tricky. …
Jeremiah Tower’s never-ending search for something better
The legendary American chef champions technique over Instagram hype in Yucatán’s evolving food scene
Inmates bake 1,300-foot Rosca de Reyes to celebrate holiday with families
The Mérida Social Rehabilitation Center (CERESO) hosted a gathering where inmates, their families, and authorities shared a massive Rosca de Reyes (Three Kings’ Bread) spanning 1,300 feet. The traditional ring-shaped bread, eaten throughout Latin America on Jan. 6 to celebrate Día de Los Reyes, commemorates the arrival of the Three Wise Men bearing gifts for…
The birth of the sandwichón: A Yucatan party tradition
It’s not really a sandwich, not really a cake. Few stories capture the spirit of culinary innovation quite like that of the sandwichón, a beloved party staple that emerged from the creative mind of a baker-turned-troubadour in the Yucatán Peninsula. The tale begins with Petronilo Vázquez Madera (1900-1970), a visionary baker born in the small…
Fire & spirit: A night of Mexican whisky
At an open-fire restaurant in Mérida, five native spirits prove corn’s newest calling The late fishing writer John Gierach said coffee and whisky taste better in a tin cup. Around a campfire alongside a cold trout stream, sure. But in Mérida, when sipping artisanal Mexican whisky while held in the purgatory between a fire and…
Recipes from Jeremiah Tower: Mezcal makes it better
Enjoying a sunset by the pool at our oceanside apartment in Puerto Vallarta, we were struck by thirst. “Let’s make Old Fashioned cocktails,” I suggested. Then I realized we’d run out of bourbon but had mezcal on hand. The result was a smokier, more delicious version of the classic Old Fashioned. It’s been one of…
Yucatán’s Best Places to Eat and Drink: What Our Readers Say
We asked our readers to vote on their favorite places to eat and drink in Yucatán. We learned a lot as over 4,000 readers chose the Top 2 or 3 in each of over 20 categories. Some votes were soooooo close, and some were a total surprise. But here we go. Special thanks to Tracey…
Mexico City’s vibrant bar scene has some of the world’s best cocktails
Mexico City’s talented bartenders are redefining the art of mixology, infusing classic cocktails with local flavors and innovative techniques. The city is also home to what is known as “the best bar in the world.” The Handshake Speakeasy was recently awarded the top spot at the prestigious World’s 50 Best Bars award ceremony in Madrid,…
From the soil to the table: A journey through Mestiza de Indias
Gonzalo Samaranch has always had a deep passion for food. His passion for culinary experiences led him to create Mestiza de Indias, a groundbreaking agricultural project in the Yucatán Peninsula. Inspired by the region’s rich biodiversity and the challenges local Maya communities face, the native of Catalonia sought to develop a sustainable food system that…
Video: Enjoy preparing your own Chiles en Nogada with your friends
Chiles en Nogada are not difficult to make, but they are time-consuming. Only poblano peppers have the right flavor. The first step is to char them over an open flame, turning them constantly so they don’t burn through. Place them between layers of newspaper for half an hour so they will sweat. This loosens the skin, seeds, and…
Mary Brown’s takes aim in Mérida’s chicken sandwich war
Wendy’s in Xcanatún has a new neighbor from Canada. Just 900 meters up the street, Mary Brown’s Chicken is serving up hot and fresh competition. That not only turns up the heat for Wendy’s, but also US-based Church’s and KFC, as well as local brands like Flamante and Mitica — all combatants in the chicken sandwich…
Where to Find the Best Meatless Burgers in Mérida
Merida’s got the meats, but a growing demand for vegetarian and vegan options has restaurants getting creative and serving plant-based deliciousness.
JJ’s Go-To Vegan Restaurants and Markets in Mérida
Jennifer “JJ” Johnson left LA for Yucatán, but since fitness is her career, committing to a vegan diet and keeping healthy in the land of panuchos meant looking beyond the low-hanging fruit, so to speak. Here are vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants in Mérida and some other resources she’s found. Brunch Muchas Vidas, Calle 49 546,…
Say Wepa! Now There’s Puerto Rican Food in Mérida
Spanglish Mid brings the flavors of Puerto Rican food to the capital of Yucatán. Guaranteed easy on the palette.
A New Pizzeria Oliva Opens Just in Time for Gastronomic Corridor
Just days before the Calle 47 Gastronomic Corridor’s inauguration, Oliva has opened a new pizzeria within view of the restaurant that started it all. Pizzeria Oliva‘s wide facade faces Calle 54 with huge windows that reveal, from the street, a pristine creamy-white dining room and bar. The look is clean and pared down compared with…
Recipe: Yucatán’s Kaaxil Sikil just happens to be vegan
The Yucatecan dish Kaaxil Sikil isn’t found in any cookbooks or cooking blogs. Not yet, anyway. It made it to the 2021 finals of a national cooking competition which translates to “What does the homeland taste like?” It was hosted at the Los Pinos Cultural Center in Mexico City, which was also the official residence…
In Yucatán, Mondays were made for frijol con puerco
Mondays in Yucatán are all about frijol con puerco. This traditional pork, rice, and beans dish is much beloved by people across the state, but you are unlikely to find it on the menu of any restaurant..
Stuffed eggplant, the Yucatecan way
When I first came to Yucatan, I was very young and had never tasted eggplant. My mother-in-law had a special recipe and when I tried it, I liked it so well that it became the dish she would always make for me on my birthday.
Salbut festival in Seye celebrates food of Yucatan
Seye, Yucatan — Delicious salbutes with breaded shrimp, queso relleno, pulpo and carne asada can be found at today’s Salbut Festival, starting 5 p.m., in this smallish city southeast of the capital. This unique culinary event is reached from Merida via the Merida-Cancun highway at kilometer 29, about a half-hour drive. More than 30 exhibitors…
End of content
End of content