Robert's Travel Blog

  25 Aug:  Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006),  Muriel's Wedding (P.J. Hogan, 1994) 26 Aug:   Hal Hartley shorts: Kid (1984), The Cartographer's Girlfriend (1987); I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007), Wild at Heart (David Lynch, 1990) 27 Aug:  Hal Hartley Shorts: Dogs (1988), Ambition (1991), Theory of Achievement (1991), Opera No. 1 (1994) 28 Aug: Hal Hartley shorts: NYC 3/94 (1994), Iris* (1994), The Other Also (1997), The New Math (s) (2000); A Wedding (Robert Altman, 1978) 30 Aug: Hal Hartley shorts: Regarding Soon (2004), The Sisters of Mercy* (2004); The Searchers (John Ford, 1956) 2 Sept: Wanda (Barbara Loden, 1970) 3 Sept: Ordet (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1955) 4 Sept: Shorts: Priorities (Gints Zilbalodis, 2020); Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (Kenji Misumi, 1972), Los Sures (Diego Echeverria, 1984), Desperate Teenage Lovedolls (David Markey, 1984), Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars (Howard Brookner, 1978) 5 Sept: Lisztomania (Ken Russell, 1975), Jou...

 This is "relleno negro" (black filling), a Yucatecan specialty.  It's poultry, a meatball, and a hard-boiled egg in a sauce made from charred chiles, thus the black sauce.  This is what the website promised: And this is what I got (delivery).  Now, don't jump to conclusions like I did.  At least, the meatball was a proper relleno negro meatball, pork and bits of cooked egg white surrounding egg yolk, like a Scotch egg that got too close to an egg magnet: Could I make this any uglier? Doubtful. But, you ask, how did it taste?  Well, the egg tasted like a hard-boiled egg and the meatball like a (n unusual) meatball.  The chicken tasted of the sauce, which is unusual and which is hard to describe.  You can definitely taste the factors that turn it black, maybe char? But not smoky. So, I can't use the D-word (delicious) to describe this, but it was very good.  Would I order it again? Maybe!

Just a block away from where I'm staying is this charming apparently nameless (the sign just says "Comida Cubana" = Cuban Food) restaurant. It's open-air, so maybe be prepared to sweat a lttle: Once again I explained my situation, and put myself at their mercy. What they brought me was this: fricasé de puerco (pork), which was . . . I want to say "falling-off-the-bone tender"  . . . but it had no bones, just tenderness.  In a tomato-based sauce (that tasted of the hours of cooking), this is the bext food I've had in Mexico, ironically Cuban. With soup, salad, rice, fried plantains and juice, 120 ($6.86) Not as cheap as the "menú del día" in Colombia, but still a bargain.  

 Here I'm going to document general Mexican food experiences, leaving Cancún specialties to t'other post. #1: Consomé: I explained my situation to the guy (always the same guy) and he was happy to accomodate. This is delicious, finely chopped res  (beef) in an incredibly savory beef and chili broth.  Not spicy, but I'm at the point where I like my food (just) a little spicy, so I checked out the squeeze bottles and squeezed (judiciously!). Lots of scallion too!  I forget how much it was (although I've been there three or four times).  I'll remember next time.  Yep, 110 pesos ($6.29).  

 Cancún is in the Yucatan peninsula, which has its own distinctive regional cuisine, influenced by the ancient Mayan civilization. My mission is to try as many regional dishes as possible! #1. Taquería Coapeñito, just two blocks from my hotel. I ordered a "gabachita," two flour tortillas with the meat of your choice.  I got "suadero," which is the name of the cut of beef. Salsa tray.  I quickly learned that in México all the salsas (except the occasional smooth guacamole) are all muy picante (very spicy/hot)! Bohemia Oscura (dark), delicious! Here 'tis in all its glory.  Meat, onions, cilantro and cheese, plus additional onions and a squirt of lime, yum!  $5.42 plus $3.14 for the beer. #2: Gringa.  That's two flour tortillas enclosing the filling of your choice.  How is that different from #1, a gabachita?  AI says a gabachita implies pastor filling, but that wasn't the case in the restaurant where I got it . . . Supposed to be TWO tortillas but I...

I've been a really bad tourist lately, so decided to get up at a decent hour and visit the four closest monuments.  Preferably before 10 a.m. when the *real* heat starts. #1 is Monumento a la Historia de México.  It's a bit of a grab bag, commemorating major eras of Mexican history with figures like Benito Juárez, Miguel Hidalgo, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and Emiliano Zapata. It's known locally as "La Licuadora" ("The Blender"). "Natural resouces of the country should serve for its own prosperity. Handing them over to foreign interests is betraying the country." To get to the other three, you go down Avenida Tulum, which is Cancún's major north-south artery. It wouldn't be a Latin American city if it didn't have a city sign! #2. Okay, this one is a little bit goofy.  It's officially the "Fantasía Caribeña," but is nicknamed El Ceviche, for obvious reasons. #3. The Monumento a José Martí honors the Cuban poet.  Does it...

It's haute hotel cuisine!  You don't need that many ingredients: eggs (d'oh!), mayo, salt maybe, bread of your choice, a large cup, a fork, and your handy immersion heater. Boil two or three eggs.  Note: only after posting did I realize what this looks like!  I give them a good ten minutes. Carefully shell them, with a minimum going down the sink.  After all, you don't want an a.m. visit from the plumber.  Then again, let's face it: this is México, and it's more likely to be p.m. 😃 Mash the eggs finely and add mayo (+ salt) as desired: Serve on bread of your choice.  Yum! P.S. Mexico fun fact.  Here eggs aren't refrigerated.  It's because they use a much less invasive washing regimen that preserves the natural chicken interior anti-spoiling coating, which I don't really want to think about.