Elegant Dining from Yucatán

Mexico's Yucatán peninsula boasts a cuisine which is quite distinct from the food that you see in central Mexico.  There are a couple of good Yucatecan restaurants within walking distance of the apartment that I written about on this blog.  Some distance down Insurgentes Avenue is another Yucatecan restaurant, "Los Almendros".  It is part of a chain which began in 1962 in the small Yucatecan town of Ticul.  Eventually another restaurant was opened in Mérida, the state capital, and for years it was the place to have traditional Yucatecan dishes.  I ate a number of times at the Mérida restaurant and liked it very much.  However, over the years the quality of food seemed uneven, and on later trips I frequented new restaurants which sprang up as Mérida became an increasingly popular tourist destination.

A branch of "Los Almendros" was opened in Mexico City.  I would see it when traveling south on the Metrobus going down Insurgentes, and I would wonder how good it was.  Last Thursday, when the cleaning lady came, and I needed to get out of the apartment, I decided to give the place a try.

The restaurant is an attractive building that is reminiscent of the 19th century mansions of Mérida.  The interior is also very elegant, more elegant than the old restaurant I knew in Mérida.

The waiter came around with a cart and asked me if I wanted a tequila.  I asked him if they happened to have X'tabentún, a honey liqueur from Yucatán.  He said "yes", so I ordered one on the rocks.

 As a starter, I ordered tamales... appropriate given the time of year.  These tamales were stuffed with chaya.  Chaya is a tree native to the Yucatán, and its leaves are sometimes referred to as Mayan spinach.  The tamales were very tasty.

For my main course, I ordered one of my favorite Yucatecan dishes... "queso relleno" (stuffed cheese).

There are various theories about how this dish originated.  One story is that a ship with a cargo of Dutch Edam cheese was shipwrecked on the coast of the peninsula, and, as a result, the locals developed a taste for that imported cheese.  However it originated, in this very traditional dish an Edam cheese is stuffed with a hash made of pork, capers, olives, almonds and other ingredients.  It is covered with a mild white sauce similar to bechamel called "kol".  It was delicious.

The only disappointment of the meal was the dessert.  I ordered "caballero pobre", a traditional Yucatecan dessert that I had heard of but never tasted.

It consists of pieces of bread soaked in syrup and cinnamon.  I thought it was rather bland.

In spite of the disappointing dessert, the meal was very good.  It is another place to add to the list of good Yucatecan restaurants in the city.