The walls of El Cumbanchero, the dance club, are covered by memorabilia of the late musician, including Grammy awards, platinum records, photos, magazine and newspaper clippings.

Tearing myself away from the memorabilia on the wall, I was able to find and introduce myself to Ruben Gonzales the III. Even though my Spanish is as weak as his English, we quickly recognized that we had a shared love of the music and though we couldn’t communicate much, we agreed that we will play music together in the future!

My wife and I sat down at one of the tables set up around a dance floor in front of a bandstand. The first band to play that night was a group of older statesman of Cuban music. These guys could really play! The music was traditional Cuban all the way and was played to perfection. It was obvious to me that they had been doing this their whole lives.

The second band was a seven piece “cookin” salsa band. Ruben Gonzalez II was the piano player who obviously picked up his skills from his father, and Ruben Gonzalez III was playing congas. They were fabulous!

We danced the night away and I had to be dragged out of there after hours of some of the best live music I’ve heard in a long time. I will never forget that night and I look forward to having many more nights there as we continue to visit Merida and plan for our eventual move. That night was yet another reason we feel such a strong connection to this wonderful city.

How fortunate we were to discover El Cumbanchero and how fortunate residents of Merida are to have such a special and talented family living and performing there regularly.

We will be back and can’t wait!

Editors Note: El Cumbanchero is located on Paseo de Montejo at the corner of Calle 39 (across from Triunfo). Not only do they serve up some very special music, but they also serve dinner. The food is authentic Cuban and Mexican cuisine. They have a full bar, of course, and are open from 7 pm til 2 am, Tuesday through Sundays. The live music plays every night starting at 10 pm until 2 am. There is no cover charge, and dinners (without drinks) cost about $80 pesos per person.

Since everyone we invited still works for a living, none of us wanted to host the party and be responsible for cooking or cleaning up, or anything else for that matter. We just wanted to have an enjoyable evening without any more work. But we also wanted to be somewhere where we could be comfortable, where we could relax, kick off our shoes and sit cross-legged if the spirit moved us. In short, we wanted to be pampered but still feel at home.

After much discussion and a mental review of the available venues, we decided on The Villa at Merida, a boutique hotel here in the centro. This hotel has seven guest rooms in a beautifully renovated colonial building on Calle 59. It is probably one of the more expensive hotels in the city, with hacienda-like ambiance and personalized service. What it also has is an exceptional kitchen, a full bar, a very competent staff and a lovely garden surrounding the pool.

We also remembered that The Villa is more than just an hotel. It is also an event venue for weddings, business meetings, and parties. Two years ago at Christmas, friends of ours invited us to enjoy a private dinner with them at The Villa. And last year, Working Gringa was enlisted by Yucatan Productions to play the mother of the bride for a photo shoot produced at The Villa by Hewlett-Packard. (Look closely and you may see her one day on an ink cartridge box!)

When we arrived at 8 pm, we were escorted through the hotel into the garden. As we passed the kitchen, we could see the white-uniformed chefs working away on our dinner. The garden was beautiful in the evening light. Candles around the pool and tiki torches around the patio lit the space as the stars came out beyond the 40-foot ceiba tree that reached into the sky above the garden. We sat around the pool on comfortable lounge chairs with our drinks, chatting and enjoying each other’s company.

We talked and laughed and relaxed as if it was our own home, with the obvious exception that there were lovely young men serving us drinks and botanas whenever we asked for them. Maybe some of our readers have a lovely young man waiting on them at home, but for us, that person is usually an overworked (and occasionally cranky) spouse.

When dinner was ready, we moved the party to the patio in the back of the garden where a table had been set up for us. We were in our own private open space, with the stars above, surrounded by old stone walls, sitting in comfortable chairs and enjoying each other’s company. The service was impeccable as several waiters served a lovely chardonnay and a delicious dinner.

First came the entrada: xcatic chiles filled with cochinita pibil, beautifully arranged on a banana leaf folded into a fan. The cochinita was delicious, and the added crunch and spice of the xcatic chile added to each bite. Nothing was left but the banana leaf when they took those plates away! The second serving was a fresh garden salad with our choice of dressings. The salad had jicama and other vegetables as well as the usual suspects of lettuce and tomato, and was both fresh and refreshing.

When we had finished our salads, the waiter showed us a large mero that had been grilled tikin xic (pronounced TEEK-en-sheek) style for the occasion. We offered our thanks to the grouper for giving his life for our nourishment, and then the fish was portioned and served.

Mmmm… melt in your mouth delicious! If you’ve never had tikin xic-style fish, do yourself a favor and order it at the next possible opportunity. The way they prepare the fish in onions, achiote and other spices makes it moist, firm and incredibly tasty. The chefs at The Villa served a great version of this Yucatecan recipe, and the fish was gone before we knew it!

Dessert came twice, because of the birthday. First, a traditional Yucatecan dessert of ciricote, a tropical fruit baked in almíbar, a sweet syrup made with water, sugar, sherry and honey. We all discovered that we really like ciricote, which together with pitaya, mamey and zapotes, are delicious fruits we’d never heard of until we moved here. The birthday cake was a tres leches cake, one of those heart-stopping, pound-gathering indulgences that should only be eaten once a year, if that. It disappeared rather quickly as well.

About halfway through the festivities, the skies clouded over and it started to rain. As the rain built up into a real downpour, all the waiters appeared with big patio umbrellas and set them up over our heads for ten minutes until the rain stopped. Before the umbrellas went up, we improvised by putting our napkins on our heads, a time-tested and sure-fire way to get a party started. The waiters were laughing and we were laughing and it seemed like the sky was laughing til it cried. We were reminded again of the beauty of a tropical downpour: it’s refreshing, it doesn’t last long and it’s more a delight than a problem.

The evening ended with cappuccinos and la cuenta, por favor. La cuenta was not as outrageous as you might expect, at least it was no more expensive than dinner and drinks at one of the upscale restaurants in Merida. We had requested the menu two days in advance and they quoted a price of $27 USD per plate, which included wine with the meal and the desserts. Cocktails and tip added to the bottom line, of course, but a dedicated wait staff, candles, tiki torches, traditional Mexican party decorations, and having the garden to ourselves during a brief tropical rain? Priceless!

If you’re planning a private event, we highly recommend the The Villa at Merida.

Now here’s a treat. The recipe for almíbar and what to do with it…

1. Mix 1 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar. Add a tablespoon or two of Sherry and honey and put the mixture on the stove over a medium heat.

2. Make sure the sugar is fully dissolved in the water or it will turn into caramel at the bottom of the pot.

3. Stir continuously while the mixture boils until it gets as thick as you like it. If you use refined sugar, the syrup will be clear and light, if you use brown sugar it will be darker, a little more tacky and have a “bolder” taste.

4. Slice some yellow apples, or use whole peaches or ciricotes, and put them into a jar. Then pour the syrup over the fruit until the jar is full and seal the jar.

5. Put the jar in the refrigerator, wait a day or two (if you can) and then treat yourself to a delicious Yucatan dessert! We had tasted almíbar before on the apple slices that come with the pork chops at Peregrino’s, but we didn’t know what it was. Now we do. It tastes like nothing else we’ve ever tasted. Try it!

Originally from Louisiana, you can be certain that I am well aware of what good food is, and exactly how much it costs to dine in some of the finer establishments there. For the sake of comparison, one of my favorite meals in Louisiana is a shrimp cocktail, soup of the day and salad, and stuffed eggplant, finished off with a nice sundae and a cup of coffee. Now, such a meal is going to take a while to eat, but no hurry. Louisiana was, after all, settled by the same folks who settled Yucatan, so the need to rush through anything, especially a meal, is not part of our culture at all. Ultimately, the damage for such an evening, including tip, is just under $50.

…and then I came to Merida! …and found myself in El Pórtico Del Peregrino.

Oh-looky-looky! Shrimp cocktail, a stuffed eggplant and coconut ice cream topped with Kahlúa! Are you sure I’m not in Louisiana? Every once in a while, I still look around, just to make sure.

…and then our food begins to arrive. Three of us were eating out together that night. My shrimp cocktail came to the table and we must have looked as if we had lost our minds completely. Not one of us could make a sound! We just sat there, looking at it. It was huge! We were speechless and then began to giggle. It was beginning to dawn on us that we had no idea how much food any of us had actually ordered!

Thankfully, the soup and salad were of a reasonable size. The three of us shared my shrimp cocktail and prepared for our entrées. My stuffed eggplant was excellent, even though the stuffing had chicken in it, rather than Louisiana shrimp. When I was ordering, I was a bit worried about that but, considering the size of my shrimp cocktail, I think I had already had quite enough shrimp for one night. My stuffed eggplant was large, but not overly so. I think I only had to stop and rest once during the entire main course, but I was enjoying the company, so that was not a real problem. We were, however, all glad for a little break between our entrées and our desserts. I don’t believe I ever remember actually praying for a slow waiter at any other time in my entire life!

My coconut ice cream, topped with Kahlúa, came with a slice of almond cake. I made it through the ice cream, with the help of my coffee, but had to give the cake to one of my friends. What a blessing it was that we were headed for the Yucatecan Serenade, in Parque Santa Lucía. If ever a meal called for a walk, this one did! The total of my bill, for all of the above, in dollars, was about $17, plus tip. I just feel terrible about all those poor people, back in the States, not having the advantages we have – but what can one do? We will just have to think of them often and hope they can come and visit every now and again.

Did You Know:

The name of El Pórtico Del Peregrino is taken from a popular folk song about Alma Reed, a New York Times reporter, who covered the early excavations at Chichén Itzá. She admired the social reforms of Governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto, which were quite progressive for the times. Carrillo’s greatest accomplishments were reclaiming ejidos (communal farms) from the haciendas, legalizing birth control, giving women the right to vote, and translating the Constitution into Mayan. Reed and Carrillo fell in love and he called her La Peregrina, which means pilgrim. Reed wrote articles that helped recover artifacts that an American had taken from Chichen Itza. Their wedding was to be in January, 1924. While Reed was in San Francisco, preparing for the nuptials, angry hacienda owners paid federal troops to march Carrillo to the cemetery in Merida and execute him by firing squad. Today, the bullet holes can still be seen in the wall near his grave.

El Portico del Peregrino, or Peregrino’s as the locals call it, is located on Calle 57 halfway between Calle 62 and Calle 60.

Futbol is the most popular professional sport in Mexico and the legions of fans show their support by wearing a wide variety of colorful team jerseys. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received appreciative nods of recognition from people in Merida when they see me wearing a jersey with their favorite team colors.

But you don’t necessarily have to be a fan to wear a jersey. The logos and colors are also fashionable and the jerseys look great with jeans. My love for the game and my cutting edge fashion sense has led me to track down the best places in Merida to pick up authentic jerseys or less expensive knock-offs. I also play fútbol and when I show up on the field in the spring with new jerseys most players are surprised by the good-looking and rare-in-the-US Mexican team jerseys. The great prices (usually about $12-16 USD) are an added plus. Interested? Here’s what I’ve found so far.

I have purchased authentic Mexican team jerseys in Mexico City and Morelia and they sell for up to $70 USD in those cities. By way of comparison, Eurosport, the main US catalog supplier for all things soccer, sells authentic Mexican team jerseys for $60-70 US. For authentic Mexican and European jerseys in Merida, I’ve noticed a good selection at the Deportivo Mundo, with two locations at the Gran Plaza. They carry a wide selection of quality sports gear and have real Nike and Adidas futbol shoes as well, both cleated and indoor. Prices, however, are no discount unless you catch a sale: look for the signs announcing una rebaja (lowered prices) or un remate (closing prices).

A reasonable selection of Adidas and Puma brand jerseys can also be found at Sports Time Merida #498D on Prolongacion Montejo. This bright, airy store is located just a little past the Monumento de la Bandera. Prices for jerseys are the usual $70 USD and up. Sports Time also carries futbol shoes and other sports gear.

The authentic jerseys are nice, but if you make the effort, you can get great deals on good-looking copies from a much wider selection of designs. I rate the copied jerseys “A” and “B” grade. “A” grade has embroidered patches, real piping and side vents. Not only are they neat to wear, but they are good to walk around or play in since they vent the heat. Prices for “A” jerseys are usually $140-160 pesos, or about $14-16 USD. Outside of Los Angeles you can’t find this selection in the States, and never at that price!

“B” grade jerseys may have one logo embroidered but all else is printed on, including a print of the mesh where the piping and vents should be. Prices for “B” are usually $120 pesos or $12 US. A number of souvenir stores in the Centro area carry a few jerseys, mostly cheap copies that I would rate “C” , even though they sell for the same amount as “A” grade jerseys. Avoid those at all costs. When you look closely at them the printing is even sometimes blurred.

One note: Generally, there are only two sizes, adult and large child/teen. If you wear a small or medium size don’t worry. Try them on, you’ll often find that a large jersey looks okay.

Ready to start shopping for bargains?

For “A” quality copies of the more expensive futbol jerseys, the best source is Campos Sports in the Centro. Campos is owned by the friendly Sr. Marcos Perez Campos. The shop is small but it’s packed full of Mexican and European A and B grade jerseys, shorts, socks, hats, back bags and other gear. Some of the backpacks are really popular with teens. They have special pockets for ipods and MP3 players and best of all, they’re only $100 pesos. You can’t beat that anywhere.

Campos also has jerseys for younger kids. Sr. Perez Campos only speaks Spanish but he is patient and helpful. His shop is located on Calle 59 #485, just a few stores east of Calle 58, just two blocks off the Plaza Grande.

With close to 100 different jerseys you might be wondering which is the best. You can ask Señor Campos, “Cual es el mejor?” He’ll probably point out the jerseys for the Chivas de Guadalajara team. They are known widely as just plain Chivas; Chivas is the top winner of all Mexican league teams with 11 wins. They are famous for being the only historically all-Mexican team and for that reason they are a special source of pride. Sr. Campos prides himself on his wide selection of Chivas attire and frankly, they are attractive shirts. Even if you don’t like the Chivas designs, with such a wide selection of colors and designs, I’m sure there is something for your taste at Campos.

For a good selection of “B” jerseys, along with a good selection of hats, packs, and tracksuits, try Owen Sport. This large shop is on the south side of the zocalo on Calle 62 between 63 and 65, again just two blocks away from the Plaza Grande.

Once you have your handsome new jersey, where can you watch fútbol in Merida? There are no shortage of games being played and televised, so there is always something to watch. In addition to the weekly Mexican league games, there are a bevy of international tournaments, the English Premier, Spanish La Liga and the US Major League Soccer (MLS), where, incidentally, there is a Chivas USA team.

For watching fútbol there are at least two good places I’m familiar with in Merida. The popular La Parranda on Calle 60 between 61 and 59 has a satellite TV system with at least five channels of fútbol. Most are Mexican and Latin American but there is one Fox Sports World channel that has international (European) games.

The best place, however, might be Food and Go, a fútbol-themed sports bar on Prolongacion Montejo at Calle 41 (Frac Emiliano Zapata Norte), north of Calle 21. They have several very large TV’s outside and inside, a wide selection of beer and other drinks, and a decent selection of Tex-Mex entrées. The food is good; the portions are generous and not too expensive. It’s a great place to watch a game like a local and a great place to show off your new jersey.

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Omar Bravo, one of the stars of the last World Cup, plays for the Chivas team. He is the subject of much adulation from teenage girls in Mexico. You can see why here.

Wikipedia weighs in on Chivas USA.

There is a monton of information on the web about soccer teams. If you’re interested, we’re sure you can take it from here).

It was a little after noon when our amazing, fantastic assistant, Beatriz, was leaving and we offered to drive her home. After working all morning, we were tired and hungry. As we dropped her off, we asked her if there was a good cocina economica in her neighborhood (which will soon be our new neighborhood). Claro que si! (Certainly!)

She pointed us in the direction of Cafe Lupita, located on Calle 81-A near 72, just south of Parque San Sebastian and a little to the west. There is an entrance on both Calle 81 and Calle 81-A.

Unlike many of the cocinas economicas in the Centro, Cafe Lupita has a large outdoor area with a lovely cross breeze under a shady tejeban (tile roof). We sat down at a little table with a tablecloth, napkins and flowers. We noted the immaculate garden planted along one wall, and the charming little hand-washing station along the other wall (every cocina economica has a place to wash your hands… we believe it’s required by law). A nice young white-coated waiter took our order and while we waited for our food, we watched a parade of neighbors coming in with their tuppers (Tupperware) of various sizes para llevar (for take out). A cocina economica is the original fast-food restaurant, only the food tastes better and it’s fresher. And cheaper. And actually faster! A meal of over-processed and preserved “food” at Burger King will set you back over $50 pesos in Merida and even the drive-thru is slow.

By contrast, our pollo asado (grilled chicken with rice and a vegetable soup on the side) cost $32 pesos and the bistec a la mexicana (grilled beef strips simmering in a tomato and jalapeño chile broth with blended black bean soup on the side) cost $28 pesos, both accompanied by the ubiquitious warm corn tortillas and spicy habanero sauce. A cold icy agua de lima (limeade) for $7 pesos and an icier Mexican Coca Cola for $5 pesos completed the feast. The lunch was delicious (muy rico!), almost more than we could eat, and in itself would have made for a wonderful culinary day in Yucatan. But we had only just begun!

Seven hours later, we found ourselves at the opposite end of the Yucatan dining spectrum. We and two new friends went to Nectar, reputedly one of the best restaurants in Merida. About two years ago, the owners of Nectar, Roberto Solis and Santiago Pineda, had opened their restaurant to much fanfare in the gringo and upscale Mexican community. Everyone was raving about the food. At first, the food really was exceptional and the wine list long. But last summer when we visited, it seemed like the menu had been scaled down, the service had lost its edge and the wine cava was empty. This often happens to restaurants in Merida and we had not returned since. But spurred on by a request from a loyal reader, we decided to give it another try and see if anything had improved.

Nectar is located on Avenida 1, number 412 between calle 6A and 8 in Colonia Diaz Ordaz, near the Plaza Fiesta shopping mall. It’s a bit difficult to find and while there are shorter routes, the easiest one to describe is this: from the Centro, drive north on Paseo Montejo until you reach Office Depot. Turn right and drive precisely 18 blocks (two blocks short of the Plaza Fiesta). Don’t be fooled by the street signs; this street changes its name when the colonia changes. Nectar is on your right. As we pulled up to the door this night, we noted that there were several young men waiting to park our car. Previously, guests had to park on their own and parking had always been a bit problematic. As we walked in, we noticed that the restaurant looked lovely, the air temperature was perfect and there were waiters everywhere. We also noticed there were more patrons than we had seen in the past. A good sign!

We sat at a table for four with a good view of the kitchen. The spotless and modern stainless-steel kitchen is completely open at Nectar, and the young chefs are dressed stylishly in white and black. The intense activity in the kitchen adds to the feeling that you are dining somewhere special. Unfortunately, the rather loud house music felt like we were dining in a discotheque, but they immediately turned it down when we explained that we preferred to talk over dinner, rather than shout. Always a party in Mexico.

A waiter came to take our drink order, which wanted to include a martini. He assured us that he made a great martini. We had our doubts, based on our experiences elsewhere, but he demonstrated in detail, using both words and enthusiastic pantomine, that he knew well what he was doing. We were pleasantly surprised when he returned with a very dry gin martini that would have made Winston Churchill proud.

Then came the menus, which feature an extensive list of h’ors d’oeuvres, followed by meat, fish and pasta dishes. We ordered and before long, were served our first course: a Caesar salad in dramatic white dishes that reminded us of the hat worn by the Flying Nun. The crispy fresh Romaine lettuce was somewhat overpowered by the dressing. So much dressing, in fact, that some of us didn’t finish it, which made us wonder if it might be an omen of disappointments to come.

But then came the entrees and we realized we had nothing to worry about. The rack of lamb (pictured below), was served with whole roasted mushrooms, accompanied by a layered meat-and-mashed potato torte and topped with a healthy sprig of rosemary. The Ahi tuna was seared lightly, stacked high on a bed of rice and julienned vegetables and lightly drizzled with competing sweet tempura and salty soy sauces. A spaghetti pomodoro was perfectly al dente and the fresh tomato sauce was tasty. Everyone at the table was thrilled with their meal and there was much oohing and aahing and general delight.

Soley in the interest of providing a complete review to our readers, we just HAD to order dessert. After eating every last bite of our meals, we didn’t have much room left, so we all shared a chocolate pastel with vanilla gelato. The cake was moist and dense and chocolately, and there was something fruity inside… raisins? The gelato was light and airy. The dessert and our espressos were a perfect end to a near-perfect meal.

In addition to the excellent food, the service at Nectar was over the top. There seemed to be at least two waiters assigned to our table at all times, hovering at a distance. Each time one of us brought out a cigarette (yes, you can smoke at the table in Nectar and most other places in Mexico), a waiter popped up with a lighter. A glance at a waiter summoned them to our table before we could blink. As usual in Mexico, the waiters have a compulsion to wisk away your dinner plate before you’re finished (a pet peeve of Working Gringa’s), but they never rush you away from your table. We could have sat and talked all night. We love that about Latin dining culture.

The worst part of the meal was paying the bill. They hide la cuenta in a decorated box, a little visual delight designed to take away the sting, no doubt. We divided the bill up four ways and each of us paid $450 pesos (tip included) for the pleasure of dining and being treated like the casta divina.

It was a pleasure to eat at Nectar and worth every penny, maybe more, but due to the price (which is rather high for us Working Gringos), it’s one pleasure we don’t indulge in on a regular basis. On the other hand, we’ll probably return to Cafe Lupita every week.

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Nectar
Avenida 21, #412 between 6A and 8,
Colonia Diaz Ordaz
Phone: 999-938-0838

Cafe Lupita
Calle 81A at Calle 72
Colonia San Sebastian