Category: Mexico

2017 Year in Review

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2017 has been a great year for us. We have been to many places, both near and far, and had so many delicious meals. Marnay and I asked each other questions about our favorites of 2017. We did not consult each other on the answers, we came up with them on our own. Any similarities are pure coincidence!

What was your favorite meal of 2017?

Paul – My favorite meal was our second visit to Tail Up Goat. The service was perfection, the wine was incredible and the food was superb.

Marnay – One of my favorite parts about dining out is the full experience – the decor of the restaurant, the friendliness of the staff, the level of detail the chef puts on the food they are preparing. All of these elements came together to perfection during our second trip to Tail Up Goat this past spring. The service was incredible, the food was delicious and we got some special treatment from the sommelier which is always a plus!

Tail Up Goat

What was your favorite bar of 2017?

Paul – I love everything about Clavel, the mezcal and taco restaurant in Baltimore. It is my happy place.

Marnay – Clavel. This bar made me fall in love with mezcal, especially when paired with some of their incredible cochinita pibil tacos.

Clavel mezcal in Baltimore

Which restaurant do you want to visit again in 2018?

Paul – Tail Up Goat. At this point, it’s my favorite all around restaurant.

Marnay – Woodberry Kitchen, in Baltimore. We haven’t been there in over a year, but I am excited to go back. We always have a great meal and I love that they only use local ingredients.

Woodberry Kitchen

What was your favorite food/restaurant-related experience?

Paul – My favorite food experience was eating tacos al pastor from the streetside counter at Antojitos la Chiapaneca in Tulum, Mexico. Can’t get any more authentic than that.

Marnay – We have been searching for the best tacos in the DC-area for years and have found some gems (Clavel, Taqueria Habanero). But we were fortunate enough to eat tacos in Mexico at a local spot in Tulum, and it was an out-of-this-world experience. Tacos will never be the same – until our next trip to Mexico!

Antojitos la Chiapaneca tacos

Which restaurant surprised you the most?

Paul – Q by Peter Chang. We really like Peter Chang Bistro in Rockville, but Q is noticeably more polished than Peter Chang, in all aspects.

Marnay – Q by Peter Chang. We’ve stopped by for their dim sum brunch at least 4 times over the past few months and I can’t get over how fresh and flavorful every dish is. I have never had a bite I didn’t like!

Q by Peter Chang dim sum

What was your favorite meal in Silver Spring?

Paul – My favorite meal in Silver Spring was at the casual noodle and dumpling shop NaiNai’s. Although we mainly use it for takeout, it was so much fun to actually sit down and drink a glass of wine with our bao and noodles.

Marnay – We are lucky to live in walking distance to some incredible and diverse restaurants. It’s hard to pick one favorite meal, but the meal I keep thinking about is the chicken buss-up-shut at Teddy’s Roti Shop, just over the DC border in Shepherd Park. But it’s so close it’s basically Silver Spring.

NaiNai's in Silver Spring, Maryland

What was your favorite meal outside of the DC-area?

Paul – Our meal at Metzger Bar & Butchery in Richmond back in February. We were introduced to their schnitzel, which is now one of our favorite restaurant dishes of all-time.

Marnay – There is something magical about eating a nice, long, relaxing lunch while on vacation in a new city. This year, that leisurely lunch took place at Maurice in Portland, Oregon. It’s hard to beat sipping on some wine while sitting at the counter watching the chef prepare some incredible French-Danish dishes right in front of you.

Tail Up Goat

What is your favorite recipe to make at home?

Paul – Avocado toast with cumin oil and a fried egg: this is one of our go-to dinners and it’s just so good! The creamy avocado, the spice from the cumin and the richness of the runny egg yolk.

Marnay – Spaghetti with bacon, capers and mint: it’s a great year-round dish and we always have plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day.

Spaghetti with bacon, capers and mint recipe

Here’s a list of our favorites. Go ahead and give them a try!

Clavel – 225 West 23rd Street Baltimore, MD 21211
Woodberry Kitchen – 2010 Clipper Park Road Baltimore, MD 21211
Tail Up Goat – 1827 Adams Mill Road, NW Washington, DC 20009
NaiNai’s Noodle and Dumpling Bar – 1200 East-West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910
Teddys Roti Shop – 7304 Georgia Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20012
Metzger Bar & Butchery – 801 N 23rd Street Richmond, VA 23223
Maurice – 921 SW Oak Street Portland, OR 97205
Q by Peter Chang – 4500 East-West Highway, #100 Bethesda, MD 20814

Tacos in Tulum

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We spent four days over Thanksgiving at Dreams Tulum Resort in Tulum, Mexico. The resort is actually in Tulum Municipality, which appears to be the Mexican version of a county. But for this post we are going to focus on a magical few hours when we visited Tulum Pueblo (the downtown) and had the best tacos of our lives.

Tulum Mexico ocean

It all started with a taxi ride. The taxi ferried us from the resort and down the main road into Tulum. We asked the driver to drop us off somewhere in the middle of town, nowhere in particular. The ride cost 290 pesos, about $15. When he let us out, he gave us a nice description of where things are.

Step 1: Wandering

We did our research and knew that Tulum is not as well-known as Cancun, but it is a burgeoning tourist destination. I will admit, though, it was less touristy than we imagined and more of an authentic Mexican small town. We took some time walking up and down, back and forth along the main street (Avenida Tulum) to get adjusted to the scenery. The stray dogs wandering around were a major hint that we’re not at the resort anymore.

Tulum Pueblo Avenida Tulum in Mexico

Step 2: Adjusting

After about ten minutes of zigzagging through town, we felt confident enough to go into a souvenir shop. Of course, they are very used to tourists as tourists are their reason for existence. We needed something tangible to remember the trip. Marnay picked out a beautiful white dreamcatcher with a wooden frame that we are going to hang on our wall. We chatted with the proprietor and learned that two Mayan families make the dreamcatchers. As we chatted, we could hear chickens squawking in the rear of the store that we think doubled as the family home.

Step 3: Gaining Confidence

During the “Adjusting” phase, we noticed a bar that didn’t look too touristy, so we headed back that way. The thing that really drew us in, though, was the four bar “swings” (instead of stools) that had their back to the sidewalk. The entire restaurant was open-air with a thatched roof, a familiar sight in Tulum. It was a calming experience, swinging in the swings, drinking some mezcal and Tecate and just taking it all in. Mezcal in Mexico!

Drinking Mezcal and Tecate at El Mariachi Loco in Tulum, Mexico

Drinking Mezcal and Tecate at El Mariachi Loco in Tulum, Mexico

Step 4: It’s Taco Time

We did our research and knew where to find the best tacos places in Tulum, so there was no wandering this time. Interestingly, most of the taquerias are only open after 5pm and stay open late at night. We headed straight for Los Antojitos la Chiapaneca and pulled up seats at the street side counter, perched right in front of the cooks. Tacos were 8 pesos – less than 50 cents each. Los Antojitos la Chiapaneca is known for al pastor tacos, and we did not hold back, getting three each.

Los Antojitos la Chiapaneca taqueria in Tulum, Mexico

We got to watch the magic happen right in front of us – one woman would grab masa and flatten it with a press, a second worked the flattop grill heating-up meats and melting cheese and a third person worked the trompo of al pastor. He was wielding a sword-like object and had a brick of pineapple above the meat. With a tortilla in his left hand and the knife in his right, he would slice off pineapple and meat and catch it with the tortilla.

Los Antojitos la Chiapaneca in Tulum, Mexico

The tacos themselves were so incredibly rich and juicy on their own, not dried out at all. To ratchet up the flavor, I headed to the “salsa bar” to get some salsa picante to top it off. The heat from the salsa brought out even more of the richness in the meat, plus some beneficial moisture.

Al Pastor tacos at Los Antojitos la Chiapaneca in Tulum, Mexico

The tacos al pastor from Los Antojitos la Chiapaneca were transformative, the best tacos we have ever eaten. But we weren’t ready to head back yet. We walked two storefronts down to Taqueria el Nero. Taqueria el Nero is known for lengua tacos – tongue. I will admit, the tongue on my tacos looked very “real”. That’s OK though, because they were still delicious, especially when topped with tomatillo salsa.

Taqueria el Nero in Tulum, Mexico

Al Pastor tacos at Taqueria el Nero in Tulum, Mexico

The picante salsa at el Nero was so hot that I was coughing! Admittedly, el Nero was not as memorable because we did not get to watch the tacos made right in front of us. That was the best part about Los Antojitos la Chiapaneca.

Stuffed to the gills with tacos, we jumped in a taxi and headed back to the resort. I do not think that we will ever top the taco experience at Los Antojitos la Chiapaneca – until our next trip to Mexico!

Marnay and Paul Meyer with family in Tulum, Mexico