La Reina Itzalana, the best Sopa de Lima in town

Mérida is known for its culture, gastronomy and beauty, (and also for its scorching heat); the temperature reaches up to 45 degrees C (113 degrees F), and the humidity is always high during the summer.

For this reason, some of the local restaurants only open during the late afternoon and evening hours, when the sun has gone down and it is cooler.

The state of Yucatan has one of the most distinctive cuisines in all of Mexico, with characteristic dishes such as cochinita pibil, salbutes and huevos motuleños. And lately, the city of Mérida hosts some of the most trendy and high-end restaurants in the country

But this time, we are not going to talk about a luxury restaurant, but about one of the most traditional Yucatecan small eateries in town.

La Reina Itzalana, is just a set of 10 tables inside a food market, a few blocks west of the Plaza Grande. If you are visiting Mérida this summer, this is a great place to eat and watch locals mingle.

One of the specialties here are the “tortas”; the “Super Itzalana Especial” is an “out of this world” jumbo sized torta, that can satisfy the hunger of any starving traveler.

But probably, one of the best dishes here is sopa de lima, a tangy chicken broth-based soup flavored with the juice of the lima, a hybrid variety of sweet lime that grows in abundance in the Yucatán.

The bumpy-skinned fruit has a tartness somewhat similar to the key lime, but with an incomparable flowery aroma and taste. This is the place where Yucatecan people go to have a Sopa de Lima, so if you’re looking for the real thing, look no further.

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