Cancun
Night Out
Where
To Go ~ by Dorothy Aksamit
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away from your all-inclusive and sample Cancun cuisine
O.K. So you've
had eight meals at your All-Inclusive-Resort, have tried their "reservations
only" restaurants and while it was all savory it's time for a change -
it's time to sample Cancun's culinary offerings. Not as simple as it sounds
as
Cancun has
several hundred restaurants. The first decision will be "What kind of food".
Check your hotel lobby for brochures such as the Restaurant Menu Map and
be sure to check with the tour desks and the public relations manager.
To get you
started consider one of the following, a meager offering from the many
available, hop in a taxi (they're cheap) and you'll discover another Cancun.
The Palm. Homesick?
For a taste of New York or Chicago and the only 21 day-aged Prime Beef
in Cancun head for the classic American steak house, the Palm, newly
opened in Cancun by the grandchildren of the original owners in New York,
Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi. Décor is woody barroom with framed reproductions
by the artists (Bill Stein) and writers who paid for their steaks with
art work during the roaring twenties. Prices are the same as the
U. S. $37.50 for two courses: Crabmeat salad and 10 oz Filet Mignon.
Lobster is available. Palm: Blvd. Kukulcan kl. 7.5 Phone 848-8747 |
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La Casa de
las Margaritas Restaurant. For a Mexican evening in the mall, go several
hours early to El Embarcadero. Stroll along canals lined with upscale boutiques,
walk over arched bridges, swim with dolphins, feed sharks and change your
idea of what makes a mall.
Grab a drink
at the restaurant with dolphin leaping from pools on one side and sharks
slicing through a giant aquarium on the other. Save an hour or more
for the Mexican Folk Art Museum, three rooms of musical instruments, clay
figurines, masks, tree of life crosses and every type of folk art found
in Mexico today. Pick up souvenirs and Christmas presents in the
Museum Store. Then go to La Casa de las Margaritas Restaurant where
you will enter a Mexican Village as costumed waiters and waitresses serve
authentic Mexican food and strolling musicians serenade the diners.
Extensive menu. Shrimp salad, $8.20, Wild Mushroom Soup. $6.10, Sea Bass,
$17.30. La Casa de las Margaritas: El Embarcadero Mall Phone: 883-3222
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Three
restaurants for an "Old Town" dining experience. Even though old in Cancun
means the late 70s, nevertheless coming from the Hotel Zone, downtown Cancun
definitely feels "yesterday". For the best salsa and Margaritas start
at the hidden La Adelita Mexican Cantina. Entered through a
covered passageway into an expanded bar setting where you might expect
Pancho Villa to come roaring in. On the other side of the same block near
the park are two very different choices. In La Habichuela, originally the
home of owner Armando Pezzotti, the small but elegant dining room
features dark wood, original paintings and Mayan artifacts. The lush patio
is filled with intimate niches nestle among tropical plants crowded around
replicas of Mayan sculpture. Their most famous dish is Cocobichuela: curried
lobster and shrimp served in a coconut shell with tropical fruits. ($31)
Save room for Xtabentun Coffee Brandy. Xtabentun is the anise-flavored
liqueur manufactured by Yucatan bees who favor nectar from white morning
glories. Margaritas 25 Downtown. Phone for reservations: 884-3158 |
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Labna Restaurant
is a must destination for those who want to sample authentic Yucatan cuisine.
Labna takes its name from the Mayan ruins near Merida. The décor
is simple and uncluttered with the major design element a tall window in
the shape of a Mayan arch. The menu, printed on a map of Cancun , shows
the origin of each dish. Seafood, beef, chicken and turkey are prepared
with a Yucatan twist. Caribbean shrimp cooked in a lime sauce ($19.00)
takes on a spicy tang from the piquant Yucatan lime. Pavo en Pipian
($8.00) is turkey cooked in pumpkin seed sauce seasoned with achiote.
Filet Mignon Mestizo ($16) is filet with a spicy goat cheese sauce. For
dessert try the light Tres Leches Cake ($3.00) The chef has
studied abroad as well as with cooks from all over Quintana Roo and can
give you background and information on the dishes. Check to see if there
is a Mayan Dinner Show. Labna: Margaritas 29, Downtown Cancun Phone: 892-3056
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Club Grill: Jazz & Super Club at the Ritz Carlton. For a swish night
out save your best black dress for a sophisticated evening in The Club
Grill. Have a drink in the intimate bar surrounded by dark wood and polished
brass and then repair to an old world dining room gleaming with silver,
crystal and enormous floral arrangements. Call first to see if there
is a special event such as the most unusual Vinegar Gala celebrating Camcun's
International Gastronomic Festival held in November. A different vinegar
was an ingredient in each of the four courses beginning with a sip of Dandelion
vinegar in an impossibly tall thin glass. Melon Soup incorporated Orange
Blossom Honey Vinegar; Rabbit Filet contained Medici Vinegar in its marinade,
Beef Tenderloin had a hint of Balsam of Roses: Passion Fruit Crème
and Jelly on Grilled Pineapple was finished with Elderberry Vinegar.
And of course there were Vinegar Truffles. The dinner, including a cocktail
and California wines served with all courses, tax and service was $120.
Tasting and A la carte menus available.
Ritz Carlton:
Retoma del Rey 36 Phone: 881-0808
You owe it
to yourself to try one dinner out but be warned: one night out might lead
to another.
The following
is the first article that Dorothy wrote for the magazine:
 Armenian
Odyssey - Discovering
The Soul Of Armenia
To contact Dorothy Click
Here
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