CITY GUIDE
Mérida
A very colourful city with pit-roasted pork and a beautiful boutique hotel to stay.
@HotelCigno
Mérida, Yucatán has the aroma of cochinita pibil hanging thick in the air, a siren call to any self-respecting food lover. Cochinita pibil is not just a dish; it’s a rite of passage. Steeped in Mayan history, the dish sees pork marinated in achiote (the red spice berry from an indigenous shrub-like tree) and local sour citrus (something with the flavour between an orange and lime), which then gets wrapped in banana leaves and slow roasted over hot stones in a pit. It emerges from the oven smokey and tender and of pull-apart deliciousness.
You could call cochinita pibil the national dish of the Yucatán and nearly every menu has its version - sometimes served as a shared dish with beans or as individual tacos on soft, handmade corn tortillas, but always with Yucatán's ubiquitous hot pink-hued-pickled onions. It is one very good - and delicious - reason to come to come to the Yucatán.
Another of the local dishes not to be overlooked is sopa de lima. A humble, zesty soup where local citrus, spices, and tender chicken in its broth are topped with fried tortilla strips, makeing it the most satisfying bowl, one that plays homage to both the Mayan and Spanish influences that shape, not only Mérida, but the whole of Mexico's culinary landscape.
Main image; Interior detail of Hotel Cigno. Typical colourful buildings in Mérida (above); Pancho Maiz' sopa di hongas and epazote (below).
Mérida is the capital city of the Yucatán. The city itself was built in 1542 over the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of T'hó. It's a small city of genuine local character, colourful architecture, buzzing markets, and a warm community of people, unflinchingly proud of their heritage.
Some of the places worth a visit while in Mérida are fine-diner Huniik run by celebrated Mexican chef Roberto Solís. It’s worthwhile noting that the tacos at Taqueria La Lupita in the Mercado de Santiago has a following of where chefs like to eat.
We love to stay at Hotel Cigno, which is an oasis with beautiful food, too. Located in the popular La Ermita neighbourhood just a few steps from La Ermita de Santa Isabel church.
The moment you walk through the doors, a signature sandalwood and orange scent made by a local perfumerie intoxicates you and floats through the very quaint 10-room hotel from a converted 19th-century mansion. The hotel's food and restaurant, Cocina is run by Chef Ángel Peláez. Peláez works closely with his wife and pastry chef Marisol Quintal in the house’s artisan bakery, creating emblematic pastry such as brioche, conchas and slow-fermented multigrain bread.
The food sits in the modern classics realm; namesake black swan eggs has us loving breakfast here - a take on chilaquiles; fried eggs on corn tortillas that are smothered in a morcilla chilli and sour cream sauce is topped with grated parmesan and a garnish of pickled onion. Fresh juices and agua frescas are essential also when eating in Mérida - tamarind juice or pineapple and chaya is a bright and refreshing compliment to any food. Peláez menu changes according to the seasons and are made with produce from the region that favours fair trade, such as local fish served with green mole, sautéed corn kernels, watercress, purslane and cambray onion are modern-Mexican interpretations.
A platillos of pichana quesadillas at Hotel Cigno. Inside Hotel Cigno.
While they have a small kitchen and produce most of the food in-house at Hotel Cigno, one of their such producers they outsource is to a fair trade local tortilleria, Pancho Maiz. The local tortilleria and cafe which also happens to have some delicious food as a stop for lunch or brunch itself with dishes like sopa de hongas, a soup made of mushrooms and epazote, a local herb which is used to flavour many dishes - it's light and cleansing and comes with a quesadilla on the side filled with queso fresco, a stretched curd cheese. The tortillas are really what makes Pancho Maiz so good. They are super fresh and the team work with local maiz (corn) farmers and nixtamalise and mill the masa (cornmeal) themselves. All of their dishes also use only local ingredients like nopal, or cactus paddles which are turned into a salad.
The beauty of Mérida is that it is less tourist-driven than the other towns of Yucatán, and it feels quite safe because of this. Side trips to the beautifu Isla Holbox and biosphere to sight see all the flamingoes, not to mention the cenotes and ancient ruins make it a destination for the travel list.
Images Eatable, AdobeStock, and courtesy of Hotel Cigno.
