Tulum, Tulum, what a wonderful place. A dreamy week was spent lounging on the beach, cooking up a tomatillo-packed storm at our casita, and feeling wholly in love with this easy going stretch of Mexican coast. Below, a few favorites for eating, drinking, produce purchasing and textile shopping... EATTULUM BEACH Coqui Coqui (above + below): Picturesque and romantic, with great ceviche and juices Casa Jaguar: Beautiful, tasty, fun, with beautiful fresh juices and a fantastic tamarind-mezcal cocktail Cenzotle: Also lovely, lively and fun, with a great Mezcal selection Juice: The best smoothie and juice spot that I found was right across from a hotel called Aura, fairly south on the strip, on the west side of the street. It has a takeout window open to the street, with a chalkboard menu on the wall below... their green smoothie (chaya, banana, chia, etc) and green juice (chaya + citrus) were super. It's next to an artist space called Residencia Gorila. TULUM PUEBLO Taqueria Honorio: Open until 2pm each day, and not to be missed. Home to the best tortillas I've ever had the pleasure of devouring (see photos below), and crazy good cochinita pibil, lechon, pavo en relleno negro. It's on Satelite Sur (just down from the Scotia Bank). Cetli: A beautiful and charming formal restaurant, with upscale versions of classic Yucatanean and Mexicao dishes (red, green and black moles, chiles en nogada, etc) and a list of Mexican wines El Asadero: Mexican steak house with delicious arrachera (marinated flank steak). Don't bother with anything else...just get a half-kilo of arrachera, some roasted onions, and corn tortillas. If you're craving steak, this is the spot. El Camello, JR: totally tasty and low-key. Fish (rather than shellfish) is really what this area is known for, so stick to ceviche de pescado, whole fried fish, and octopus en mojo de ajo. head next door to Los Aguachiles for pescado aguachile. Pan Comido: Nice green-citrus juice, rustic bread, oatmeal muesli and tartines, too, plus Oaxacan chocolate If you go one street south from the main thoroughfare, onto Centauro Sur, there's a cafe called Ki'Bok Gourmet Cafe that makes super delicious "breakfast bars" (fruit compote on a whole wheat flour crust). Around the corner on the main avenue is another spot called El Gourmet Tulum that makes tasty amaranth/seed/nut/fruit bars. SHOPLa Llorona: The best shop for beautiful textiles, pillows, woven tops and more from across the country (with an emphasis on Chiapas), plus a covetable/museum-quality assortment of antique furniture.
Mixik: More Mexican folk art and crafts: textiles, wood carvings, etc. At the north end of the beach strip, just south of Mateo's. Lolita Lolita: A local beauty/bath products line housed in a petite cottage Coqui Coqui: The hotel's shop is packed with problematically desirable things (like the owner's perfume line, gauzy linen dresses, and stunning woven tunics from Hacienda Montaecristo) Pool: Pick up vegetables, spices and other cooking supplies at this spot just across and up the street from Taqueria Honorio Seafood: Drive down the main drag in Tulum Pueblo until you see the bright colors below. Pull over and pick up whatever pescado fresco is on hand (they'll happily filet it for you, if you'd like). The shop next door sells gorgeous pollo asado (chicken roasted over charcoal). |
HEATHER
|