Mérida

History

A union of Mexican and European flavors and ingredients, the culinary mixture in the kitchens and restaurants of Mérida, based on corn, pork, chicken and venison, make the stews a veritable fiesta for the palate, and with a little of the famous piquant habanero sauce, the fiesta never ends.

The first foreign seasonings used in the gastronomy of Mérida came from the globe-trotting ships which docked in the city’s port; a commercial, cultural and culinary window between the Yucatán capital and the old continent (above all France), neighboring Cuba and New Orleans in the United States, to name but a few.

While navigating your way through the waves of regional flavors, some dishes are highly recommended and shouldn’t be missed: the sopa de lima, lime soup, is made from chicken stock with tortilla chips and bathed in lime juice; pollo pibil has chicken pieces marinated in achiote and sour orange juice, which are wrapped in banana leaves before baking in the oven; poc-chuc is a local creation of slices of pork, grilled and flavored with sour orange juice.

If you are looking for the locally-called antojitos, or appetizers, try the papdzules, another local creation of hard-boiled egg tacos covered with pumpkin seed sauce. When its time for dessert, nothing beats a refreshing ice cream made of tropical fruit like the mamey. A delight sure to sweeten your stay.

The trip wouldn’t be complete without a toast with Xtabentún, a refined liqueur of sweet anis and honey which will give a definite lift to party spirits. If you are just looking for something to quench the thirst, a long glass of horchata water, made with rice, nutmeg and almonds, will do the trick.

Along with regional dishes, the capital of the state of Yucatán has an interesting variety of restaurants offering international, French, Spanish, Italian, oriental and Brazilian menus.