Need authentic local food in cozumel

[mediumone]

I think a similar restaurant guide to Cozumel is overdue.

I'm buying.

 

[Snoweman]

I wrote a guide to Spain that is still in print. I wrote it because so many Americans told me how bad they thought the food was in Spain.

We spent two weeks in Spain, and could never get on "Spanish time". I guess we shouldn't have slept on the plane. I will return to Spain as soon as I find another reasonable airfare. It is my favorite food destination.

 

[bethie]

There is an amazing place that we nicknamed "Grandma's Kitchen"-the real name is Cocina economica los chilangos. It's a few blocks inland from the Mega supermarket. (you can google it) You eat in what was the living room, they will bring you into the kitchen and show you all the food (everything is in Spanish on the menu). It is a very local place, lunch only, and family run. It is very inexpensive and you can't get much more authentic and local than this place.

 

[ggunn]

I
Personally, as a youngster I ate often at Pancho’s Mexican Buffet, sixty years ago when they served quality food. Those tiny boiled potatoes marinated in escabeche, the hot, fresh-made sopapillas and honey, the green chili stew, all were like comfort food to me back then.

At the corner of South Congress and Oltorf, wasn't it? I remember the little Mexican flags at the tables the you put up when you wanted sopapillas.

 

[horn34]

At the corner of South Congress and Oltorf, wasn't it? I remember the little Mexican flags at the tables the you put up when you wanted sopapillas.

Pancho's was in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arizona at one point. There were at least 2 in Austin and several in Dallas.

 

[ggunn]

Pancho's was in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arizona at one point. There were at least 2 in Austin and several in Dallas.

It was a chain, I know, but El G used to live in Austin.

 

[horn34]

It was a chain, I know, but El G used to live in Austin.

Right. But there were at least 2 in Austin and one in RR at some point.

 

[ggunn]

Right. But there were at least 2 in Austin and one in RR at some point.

And?

 

[El Graduado]

We spent two weeks in Spain, and could never get on "Spanish time". I guess we shouldn't have slept on the plane.

Yeah, I hear that a lot. That is one of the reasons I wrote my book, The Hidden Secrets, Special Knowledge, & Dirty TricksYou Need to Know to Visit Spain in tyle, but at a Budget Price. It is a guide to Spain, but it is different than most guides in that it does not discuss places in Spain, just the secrets to getting around in Spain. Here is an excerpt:

The night prior to leaving for Spain, I always try to eat light. The day of departure, and also during the flight, I stay away from heavy, greasy foods, foods high in nitrogen (beans, peanuts, etc.), foods that are hard to digest, and any kind of bread. A flight to Spain involves sitting on an airplane from seven to fourteen hours, depending on where you depart, and digestive problems at 35,000 feet are no fun, either for you, or your seatmates!

Once aboard, I refrain from alcohol, but drink LOTS of water. Drinking plenty of water has two beneficial effects: It keeps you hydrated in the extremely dry air at altitude and it gives you more reason to get up and walk around (to the restroom!), something we all tend to do too little of on long flights. Deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in your legs that can travel to your heart, lungs, or brain and cause a stroke or heart attack) can occur from prolonged immobility, so getting out of your seat and walking around is very important on long flights, especially for us older folks. Two aspirin taken prior to boarding has the benefit of slightly thinning your blood, also helping to reduce the risk of a thrombosis.

One of the first things I do upon boarding is to set my watch to local time in Spain and start to think of that as my “real” time. Some people try to sleep on the flight over, but my regime is to read or watch the movies and stay up the whole flight. I try not to dwell on what time my body thinks it is. Mind over body is my goal!

When I arrive in Madrid, I pick up a rental car and drive to the hotel, normally a one to two hour drive away. Once I check in, I shower and have a light meal at the hotel, then try to stay up as long as I can, usually only managing to make it until around 5:00PM, Spain time. Once I’ve hit my limit, I take a Tylenol PM (some people use melatonin), go to bed, and try to sleep straight through until 5:00 or 6:00AM. From that morning on, I always think of “real time” as being local Spain time and I try to adjust my body’s schedule to the local customs. I have a pastry and coffee for breakfast around 8:00AM and a light snack around 11:00AM; that way I can last until 1:30 or 2:00PM when the Spanish lunch-time starts. I eat a heavy lunch, like the Spanish do, and then rest a little after lunch. I may have another light snack around 4:00PM, then maybe some tapas around 8:00 or 9:00PM, and perhaps a light dinner with friends around 10:00 or 11:00PM. Remember: You are in Spain to sample and enjoy their culture. If you can get on their schedule, you’ll have a much better time and get to enjoy the REAL Spain!

I don’t understand the reasoning of many Americans who complain that when they got to Spain they were put off by the fact it was so hard for them find a place open for lunch at noon, or a dinner restaurant that opened before 7:30PM. Why do they insist on sticking to a meal schedule that is dictated by a watch-face? According to their internal clock, Spanish noon is at least six hours later than their US time-zone-based metabolism thinks it is anyway: Since you need to readjust to the new Spanish time-zone, why not adjust to a new eating schedule at the same time? It really works a lot better if you do and there isn’t any good reason to stick to an arbitrary, watch-face-dictated meal schedule that won’t work in Spain, anyway!

To bring this post back on subject (traditional Cozumel food) let me suggest Pavo en Escabeche. Back in the day, many people on the island raised their own turkeys. In fact, most fowl dishes were made from turkey instead of chicken; pavo en mole, pavo en relleno negro, pavo en relleno blanco, pavo en k’ool, panuchos & salbutes, pavo encebollado, and more. You can still find relleno negro on Thursdays at Casa Mission for lunch (it is made from chicken, however). El Gran Hit at Rojo Gomez stadium sometimes serve pavo en k’ool (check their chalkboard in front). A couple of places serve pavo en escabeche on the transversal on Sundays. Look for the sign:

 

[horn34]

And?

And there were at least two of them in Austin......

You said

At the corner of South Congress and Oltorf, wasn't it?

There was another one around Burnet and Koenig. "It" refers to a single establishment. That's all I was pointing out.