Let's Eat The Local Food!

Food Tour TL;DR

Wear comfortable shoes, you will be walking a lot. Pick the 10am slot. It's cooler and one of the shops will not be open in the afternoon slot.

Izzy was not for this heat

It was still spring weather, which means it was ungodly hot in Merida. Even in the morning, it was pretty hot. It had to be in the high 80s. We managed a Didi (an alternative to Uber) down to Grand Plaza with no problems. Izzy immediately melted in the heat, even though we waited under the trees in the shade.

There were a lot of hawkers in such an obvious tourist area, but they were polite for the most part. Shout out to the one guy who saw this opportunity and sold my daughter a fan.

The tour instructions said to meet up at the city sign. Well, it wouldn't get more obvious about where to meet them.

Even without the massive sign, we identified our guide easily. She had a shirt with the company name on it. The guide (whose name escapes me, alas) was super friendly. She validated our tickets, noted any allergies or food restrictions, and then away we went.

Restaurant 1: Gorditas

It's shoulder season. By happenstance, we were the only people on the tour that day. Our guide explained that we would be eating at local holes in the wall. These are not tourist spots, so expect whispers. Interestingly, no one seemed to care, but I appreciated the heads up.

We sit down at the first restaurant and our guide tells out about the local drinks. We all ordered this hibiscus thing (I'm very descriptive, I know) on recommendation. Izzy seethes from the heat while we wait

The hibiscus drink is amazing. It tastes like a sweet red wine without the bitterness of tannins.

Our guide then tells us about the gorditas (which are nothing like what you'll get at Taco Bell). Apparently, real gorditas are more like a stuffed pita pocket. She gives us a few options. I, of course, go with her recommendation of cactus. Maya does the same. I get a tamer bean and cheese version for Izzy.

This is one of the many times that I'll be confused about whether I liked it or not. I can't say I disliked it. It was just unlike anything I'd ever eaten before. The cactus has the texture of cooked bell peppers, but it had an acidic tang and something else that was probably just how cactus tastes.

I and Maya ate ours with no issue. Izzy eats slow as molasses in winter, so eventually I called it. We took her half to go after I assured the guide that she did enjoy it. She just eats very slowly.

Drinks Break

It would not be a short walk to the next shop like the first. We walk by the old Cathedral. Our guide gives us a brief history of the cathedral. She mentions some upcoming events in the square we're walking through. We cut through a side street, and now we're at the biggest market in town. Our guide informs us that it used to be two markets, but they merged together.

We were hot outside, but going inside the market made everything so much worse. I was glad for the break to get some drinks.

This stand has so many flavors. Our guide lets us know that really the samples in the front are mostly a suggestion. They'll mix up any flavor on the fly. Izzy gets a strawberry lemonade. Maya gets a Mango juice. I get this recommended herb juice thing (Once more, I am very descriptive). I was very happy I opted for the "small". It turns out that the samples in quart deli containers were the actual size of the cups.

The leaf concoction grew on me as we walked. At first, I wasn't a fan. As we walked the market, I gained an appreciation for what was basically cucumber water, but slightly sweet. Very refreshing in the heat.

Restaurant 2: Empanadas

We go deeper and deeper into the bowels of the market. There is so much stuff. It's like a maze. I don't know how anyone goes in with the intention of going to a specific shop.

Eventually, we end up at this little stand. We're informed by the guide that they close at 1pm, so this is a morning slot only special. They only sell empanadas. Our guide gives us some information on regional differences. She suggests we get the cheese one since there will only be meat options from here onward. Sure.

Honestly it was good. It was like a better mozzarella stick, but the marinara sauce was baked in.

Restaurant 3: Local Dish

Unfortunately, we did not take any more pictures from here. We were having a great time talking with the guide about Mexico and suggesting things for her to do on her trip to the US in a week.

This stand was a bar stand like the previous one. Our guide let us know that even for Mexicans this was an unusual set of dishes. The first dish was a fried puffed dough with some meat and vegetables, plus this honestly indescribable sauce on top. The second dish was similar, but the base was a handmade tostada and a different, indescribable sauce.

Our guide said that the sauces had a basic mole sauce as the base, but it was customized from there. The tostada sauce had charred tortillas in it. You'd think that would be disgusting, but it wasn't at all really.

Restaurant 4: Tacos

I have to say that I got a great laugh out of the fact that ordering flour tortillas is considered American style. So you'd have to say in Spanish, "I'd like an American-style chicken taco, please". Our guide also expressed to us that she had to try Taco Bell in the US. She knew it was going to be awful, but she had a morbid curiosity about it. Apparently, it's infamous in Mexico.

Izzy and I ended up ordering basic al pastor chicken tacos. Maya is on a quest to find the best torta, so that's what she ordered.

Restaurant 5: Ice cream

It was midday at this point, and all of us were feeling Izzy's heat misery. The last stop at the ice cream shop was a welcome idea.

I'm calling it an ice cream shop, but when we got there, it was more of a scoopable frozen fruit deal. I'm sure there's a word for it. I was also not put off by it. Maya got 2 scoops of passion fruit. I got a scoop of passion fruit and lime. Izzy decided he wanted ice pops and got a strawberry and a watermelon one.

They were as good as you'd expect handmade ice smoothies out of fruit to be. It was a welcome end to the tour, with all the heat.

We bid our guide farewell and wish her safe travels in the US next week.

Side Quest: Va Y Ven Cards

We have been taking a lot of ubers. The cost is not high, but spending $5-$10 round-trip adds up. We wanted some bus passes. Va y ven ("Go and come") is the name of the bus system in Merida, and it is 100% cashless. We couldn't use the app with our American phone numbers, but there was a card dispenser nearby. And... it was out of cards. So that was a failure. We took an uber back instead of a bus like we planned.