Category: Travel

Best Restaurant in Valladolid, Plus Warning

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Every trip we make, we depend on other people’s food reviews.  I always pledge I will come back and leave extensive feedback on Chowhound.  But those good intentions get buried quickly under work waiting on my desk.

As a start, the best meal on our trip to the Yucatan was not in Merida but in little Valladolid.  While the patio courtyard of El Meson del Marques offers an extremely pleasurable dining experience, a new restaurant opened in November – Taberna de los Frailes – next to the Monastery and Church of San Bernardino de Siena.  The contemporary restaurant steps beyond the traditional recipes of the Yucatan.

Dining under a shady palapa in the back, our group sampled filete de pescado fresco en salsa verde mexicana (in this case an oregano-based salsa);  salmon zarandeado; and mero maya.  The mero, fresh grouper, had been marinated in the region’s sour orange juice and was presented in four coiled spirals, perfectly cooked.  What kept everyone’s forks hovering above my plate, though, was a mound of black risotto with complex layers of flavor popping out in every bite.   The dish sent us scouring the market the next day to purchase some of the rich relleno negro seemingly at its base.

At 160 pesos (about $13), the fish dishes were not the least expensive in Mexico, but they were more than worth the tab.  The service was professional, except our server neglected to inform us when we ordered that the restaurant has a chocolate souffle that needs 25 minutes to prepare.  We would have eaten at La Taberna de los Frailes daily, had Merida not been our base.

On the other hand, we did not feel satisfied with a 350 peso tab at the Hacienda Temozon on our way to Uxmal.  Fortunately, it was early in the day; so margaritas and mero (There it would have been fresh grouper with mango sauce and black sesame and couscous.) were not yet on our minds.  We simply ordered four mineral waters and an order of guacamole.  350 pesos, tip not included.  Although beautiful, the hacienda is definitely not a place to drop in for dinner, unless money is no object.

While it has not been open long enough to make it into the guidebooks, La Taberna de los Frailes in Valladolid is not to be missed.
Don’t even drink the agua mineral at Hacienda Temozon, unless money is no object.
Vic Hinterlang preserved the moment we were served the expensive canned mineral water at the Hacienda.

Note on March 20:  For anyone traveling to Merida and the Yucatan, I expanded this post on Chowhound to include numerous other restaurants .

Update on December 4, 2012: The New York Times travels to Valladolid.

San Miguel Writers Conference

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As I spend much of my spare time “living” in the 19-teens while working on a novel about Hedda Burgemeister and Otto Koehler, the opportunity to hear Barbara Kingsolver (The Lacuna most recently) and C.M. Mayo (The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire) numerous times throughout a five-day period was irresistible, as though the setting of San Miguel alone would not be tempting enough.  My daughter Kate discovered it – the San Miguel Writers Conference – while exploring C.M. Mayo’s website or blog, and my amazingly-generous husband Lamar decided to give the experience to the women in his family as a Christmas present.   

Barbara Kingsolver and Kate
Barbara Kingsolver signs a copy of Lacuna for Kate.

 

Although I make my living “translating your thoughts into words,” I had not thought that much about the mechanics of writing since my last class with Mrs. Masterson my senior year in high school.  The conference was well worth the journey, and, hopefully, my clients will benefit. 

Note added on March 4:  Literary agent Nathan Bransford blogs about his conference experience in San Miguel de Allende. 

Note added on March 15:  An attendee at an evening event we unfortunately missed describes the “street food” served and throws in a photo of Barbara Kingsolver taking a swing at a Stalin pinata. 

Also:  Sandra Gulland’s notes from one of Barbara Kingsolver’s talks during the conference in San Miguel de Allende.