The London Foodie is an Italian-Japanese Brazilian chef who made London home over 20 years ago. He is passionate about good food, wine and travel and has been writing as “The London Foodie” since 2009.
In this article, “The London Foodie” unveals the gastronomic secrets of the city of Valladolid.
The Yucatan Peninsula’s relative isolation from the rest of the country, coupled with a strong Mayan influence, have resulted in a distinctive Mexican regional cuisine, having ingredients and techniques found nowhere else in the country. Achiote (the seeds from the Annatto flower), Chaya (a shrub also known as tree spinach) and Habanero chiles are some of the regional ingredients, and together with Recados (local rubs or marinades that contain dried chiles, spices, herbs and vinegar and are applied to meats and poultry) are the main pillars of this cuisine.
Pork is the main source of protein for Yucatecans, with cochinita pibil (pork cooked underground in a recado of sour oranges and achiote) being the region’s most famous dish. In Maya, pib means a hole in the ground, and cooking al pibil is a technique that has been in use for centuries in the region, to cook all kinds of meat underground, wrapped in banana leaves. Despite its plentiful coastline, fish and seafood sadly do not feature highly in the Mayan diet nor in regional restaurants.
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| Cochinita Pibil |
Taberna de los Frailes
Undoubtedly the culinary highlight of our stay in Valladolid was dinner at Taberna de los Frailes, overlooking the beautiful ex-convent of San Bernardino de Siena on Calle de los Frailes. The restaurant building blends Mayan and colonial styles, and provides an atmospheric open-air garden setting for diners. It is also home to one of the town’s cenotes (limestone sinkholes), and a limited but well thought out wine list including some Mexican options.
We started with a couple of Margaritas, and Nachos Yucatan (£5), crisp corn chips with pureed black beans, topped with crumbled grilled longanisa sausages and Cheddar cheese, and served with jalapenos and chile sauce. It was a huge plate of deliciously crunchy tacos and creamy flavoursome beans, chorizo-like sausages and melted cheese – utterly divine comfort food.
This was followed by Pipian de Pollo (£8) – roasted chicken breast in a pipian sauce made from pumpkin seeds, tomato and coriander, served with rice and black beans. The pipian sauce was nutty and delicious, but we felt that the chicken was a tad dry.
The Costilla ‘Kéek’em (£8) – pork ribs marinated in a Mayan red-spice recado baked in leaves of maculam and aguacatillo (two regional plants), was served with black beans and corn chips. The meat was tender and well flavoured, a really delicious dish.
We ordered a bottle of Mexican Chenin Blanc – L. A. Cetto, 2011 from Valle de Guadalupe at £16, which was straightforward, crisp and refreshing. The service at the restaurant was impeccable.
Hosteria del Marques
Lauded as the best restaurant in town, the Hosteria del Marques has fallen off its perch in the eyes of many lately. On our visit, however, we had a perfectly adequate Yucatecan lunch. The setting is lovely, by the main square, in the inner garden courtyard of the eponymous hotel.
We shared two main dishes of Zac Kol de Pollo (puree of corn with spices, tomato sauce, raisins, olives, capers, almonds and chiles) (£6), and Plato tipico (grilled pork, quesadilla, taco, guacamole and tortilla chips)(£7). Both were simple but well made and flavoursome. To accompany, we had a dark beer called Leon, priced at £1.80 each.
Xtabentun: The Mayan Spirit
Xtabentun is the local Mayan beverage known as the liqueur of the gods, and two doors away from Dutzi Design on Calle 42, is the shop Sosa, where you can have a tasting of this aniseed and honey-flavoured drink, and purchase a bottle if you wish.
