Pop-Tarts for breakfast? Forget that. Give me huevos encamisados any day.
This egg dish from Yucatán couldn't be more simple, or more earthily satisfying, just huevos (eggs) baked inside fresh tortillas. But the tortillas must be hot off the grill, the eggs have to be farm fresh, and the plate must include roasted tomato salsa and black beans.
This is the way huevos encamisados (at top) are served at Restaurante Kinich in Izamal, a charming town that is an easy day trip from Mérida.
At Kinich, you can walk right into the thatched hut where Mayan women are baking the tortillas on a comal (griddle) over a glowing fire. The woman above is going to slide a raw egg into a pocket formed by cutting into the puffy side of a partially-cooked tortilla.
The stuffed tortillas then go back onto the comal, propped up with a little masa so that the egg won't spill out.
Kinich is a perfect stop for lunch after a morning spent climbing ancient pyramids and exploring the 16th century church that houses Yucatán's patron saint, Our Lady of Izamal (above).
This grand structure (above) was built over Mayan pyramids by Spanish colonials. The enormous courtyard is the largest after that of Saint Peter's Square in Rome, or so my guide said. No wonder Pope John Paul II stopped there when he visited Mexico in 1993.
From the church it's a short walk to Kinich for a lunch composed of the most typical dishes of Yucatán.
For starters, you could have sopa de lima (lime soup); quesadillas (above) colored green with chaya, a leaf that is widely used in Yucatecan cuisine, and panuchos, small tortillas stuffed with beans and topped with shredded cochinita pibil (pork).
Then there are papadzules, egg-stuffed tortillas with tomato and squash seed sauces topped with crumbled longaniza (above). And the festival dish, pavo (turkey) en relleno negro, a sauce black with charred chiles.
You might also have queso relleno, a round Dutch cheese filled with meat, and pollo pibil (above), which is chicken seasoned with achiote paste and steamed in banana leaves.
The meal never seems to stop. Out comes poc chuc, smoky tasting pork grilled over a wood fire, followed by chicken in escabeche oriental (above), which is not Asian but named for the eastern part of Yucatán where it originated.
A pork meatball stuffed with an egg is in the dish with the chicken, and marinated onions are on top.
A platter of rice (above) includes golden brown fried plantain slices.
The tables are set under a palapa roof with fans whirling overhead. Glasses of bright green agua de chaya help you cool off as the sumptuous meal fills the table.
For dessert, you might have dulce de papaya--candied papaya sprinkled with cheese (above)--and you can cool off further with the restaurant's tropical ice creams.
Izamal has been named a Pueblo Magico for its historic attractions, traditional architecture and pleasant ambience.
In a few hours, you can experience all of Yucatán's history there, from prehispanic pyramids to colonial cobblestoned streets (above) to contemporary art works and comfortable accommodations.
It's a sunny place no matter the weather, because the buildings are painted a cheerful egg-yolk yellow.
Like the town, Restaurante Kinich makes a point of preserving the past with its traditional menu. As you enter, you pass a shop stocked with regional products. Look for the cookbook "Ko'ben," which explains how Yucatecan dishes are made. Ko'ben is the Mayan word for kitchen.
Ricardo Muñoz Zurita, one of Mexico's leading chefs, ranks this among the top five Mexican cookbooks. It may be hard to find, he warns, but if you're lucky, Kinich will have a copy or two.
Restaurante Kinich, Calle 27 No. 299, Izamal, Yucatán, Mexico. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tel: 01 (988) 954-0489.
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