I have many friends on Isla Mujeres.  Some I have shared a dinner or lazed upon the beach with and others I have met “cyberly” and then eventually met in person.  Such is the case with this friend who is a US ex-pat now living full time in paradise.  I have asked her opinion of the best place to go for a romantic dinner for two on Isla ( I happen to know a couple who could use one).

“Greetings from Isla Mujeres!  After some chilly weather (for us) it is finally a beautiful beach day!  The Island is quickly getting decorated for Christmas & it looks festive.  We just put our tree up on Sunday with the kids.  Now the count down for Santa begins!!
 
Sunset Grill is a pretty spot but I have heard mixed reviews about the food & the beach seating (they charge extra to sit on the beach).  By the time you arrive Fenix, an Asian Fusion restaurant should be open.  That is on the beach at NaBalam looking towards Avalon.  The couple opening it up used to have a quite popular place in Nashville. 

Looking west towards Cancun from the vicinity of Casa Las Suenos

A couple other romantic options with a view would include Casa Las Suenos (used to be Altmar Lounge, on Punta Sur next to Casa O’s).  It is a beautiful setting, under a great big palapa looking out at Cancun.  They have reopened their restaurant which used to be excellent but have not done any marketing to let people know.  Another soon to be opened & should be opened by that time is Marina Paraiso.  They have a chef from France who will be doing lovely dinners on their deck under big old  trees with views of the water.  I have been there for a private dinner & they food was incredible.
 

The Caribbean Side

Da Luisa at Casa Ixchel on the Caribbean side has a great ocean view.  I have not had dinner there but I have had tapas & drinks.  The chef Giorgio from Italy does a great job.
 
Without the beach or a view….Sergio from Rooster Cafe starts his Special Chef Dinner Menus around December 15th on Wednesday, Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays.  Honestly, his culinary creations are some of the best I have ever had in my life.  He is truly the most talented Chef (accredited at La Cordon Bleu in Austin) on Isla.  I am still dreaming about his pork belly three ways, his shrimp in a grapefruit reduction sauce & his filet mignon in huitlacoche sauce.  WOW.  The decor of Rooster is a bit more modern & for them evenings, he has table clothes & it has a nice romantic feel.  You can also make reservations for his chef’s tasting menu, where he will bring 5 or 6 courses out for you.  This is by far my favorite place for a special occasion.
 

The bright lights of Hidalgo

Also without a beach or view, Lori Dumm previously of Mango Cafe just opened up Lola Valentina on Hidalgo with a Mexican business partner, Rodolfo.  The place is very pretty.  The food is Mexican Fusion.  The tables are quite big so there is not a real romantic feel at the table but the lighting & decor feels romantic.”

Kath’s quote: “Your words are my food, your breath my wine. You are everything to me.”-Sarah Bernhardt

I’ve not known until this morning, the translation of this restaurant’s name: “the witch or sorceress, a hag”.  We’ve met the owners of La Bruja and I can’t imagine that he named this neighbourhood destination after his wife, who he clearly adores.  He and D compared notes about how it was quite pleasant that the kids were grown and we had had more time to spend together-nudge, nudge, wink, wink.  Although he professed that all of their time was spent in keeping the restaurant  open. 

There were no other tourists sitting around us at the tables that spilled onto the sidewalk.  But as the locals came to visit, they stood in the kitchen, chatted and ate.  Perhaps this lack of business, was because it was Ash Wednesday.  Although we are quite aware of the church calendar back home, we had to be reminded by the goings on by the service occuring right next to the restaurant.  This proved to be very enjoyable for us, as the babies were getting fussy and so older siblings were given permission to escort the little ones outside to try to distract them, until the festivities were concluded.    We love the Mayan children with their big brown eyes and quiet smiles.

But to the food.  D ordered shrimp tacos

and I the pan fried fish. 

I apologise for the photo quality-this trip was the last straw before I purchased my new camera.

The fish, as is typical on Isla, tasted just caught-because it likely was.  I was a little disappointed by the frozen fries but perhaps I should have avoided indulging in fries by this point of our trip.  D said that the shrimp were perfectly cooked (still firm) and the fresh veggies and salsas a delectable combination of tastes.

All toll, I recall that we spent about $17.  including cervesas that evening.  We walked home through the various neighbourhoods on the colonias peaking into living rooms and seeing hammocks swinging in the light of TV sets.  A perfect night on Isla.

Kath’s quote: “I wonder, now and then, if the prevalence of divorce has any connection with the decline of home cooking?”-Martha McCulloch-Williams

We go on our annual sojourn to Isla with a list.  A packing list?  No-I am happy to say that I’ve made the trip so often, that I know that I can pack light and spend most days in a bathing suit, pareo and flip flops.  I also come home with more clothes than I take because our friend and expert dress-maker Hortenzia whips me up a summer wardrobe each time I visit her.

The list that I refer to is a food list-restaurants that have opened on Hildalgo since our last trip, a number of places whose dishes I dream about all winter long (Fredy’s pork chops, La Brisa’s Fruite de Mare Linguine, Tino’s ribs) and undiscovered places that I’ve investigated in the Colonias.  Bimbo Dogs are always on the list too, but have never been checked off. I don’t know if this is their real name or the slang that Isla forum posters use-but this is how we know them.

The street carts are around the ferry landing and when we arrive on Isla we are so excited to head to our hotel or apartment and get settled in that we bypass them.  On other days we are heading to the beach with arms ladened with beach chairs, novels, sudukos, journals and perhaps a cooler full of Sol.

On the last day of our 2011 trip we were ticking many “must eats” off the list: we had breakfast biscuits from Barlitos, lunch at Rolandi’s, La Lomita’s Chiles Relleno for happy hour and were heading for yet another feed of fish and chips at Bally Hoo before boarding the ferry.  We were once again going to say “no gracias” as we walked past the cart but the aroma of the carmelized onions and buns steaming on the grill top was too much to resist.  And did I mention?  Bimbo Dogs are wrapped in bacon!

Kath’s quote:  “The hot dog, as the phrase runs, seems to have come to stay. Even the gastroenterologists have given up damning it…..I am informed by reliable spies that at their convention in Atlantic City last May they consumed huge quantities…..and with no apparent damages to their pylorus.”-H.L. Mencken

In keeping with the laid back nature of my favourite destination-many businesses are known for the “relational” name rather than an actual business name.  I think that this particular place has the word Taco in its official name but I simply know it as being two doors down from Alexa & Giovanni’s.  There is a row of loncherias that look like a row of garage doors when closed but bustle with people, coloured table cloths and amazing aromas when open. 

 The food is prepared and priced for the locals but the Islanders are such a friendly lot that they’ll always make room for one more.  On this day, we were with Isla friends that we see once a year while on vacation.  We were getting together for a birthday party around our hotel pool that night but because we were hosting the event, we were concerned that we might not get enough of a visit in.

Amidst the chatter I ordered Soupa de Pollo with Lima.

D dug into the platter of fresh fish.

One of the guys sampled the Mole Chicken.

J loved the pork chops and another J, the chicken enchiladas (except that the photo did not do the dish justice).  

All were plentiful portions of freshly prepared, delicious food.  I think that the le quenta including beer was about $7 each!  We love Isla Mujeres for so many reasons, not least of which is the fabulous food. 

Kath’s quote:  “Food responds to our soul’s dream as to our stomach’s appetite.”-Joseph Delteil

All through Sicily and our sojourn up the west coast of Italy, we ordered either a mixed seafood pasta or pizza at every opportunity.  The variety of seafood was changeable depending upon what the local catch had produced and species native to the area.  The varieties would usually include: prawns, mussels, clams, calamari, conch and whitefish.

On Isla Mujeres the seafood choices are as plentiful and the chefs as expert.  I can especially commend La Brisa’s Grill right on the beach (off Medina) and Angelo’s on Hidalgo.

I actually got to sample La Brisa’s Frutti de Mare linguine twice.

First time at La Brisas

The first time we were a large table and were able to sit right in the sand on a beautiful evening.  I employed a spoon and a fork to get a perfect bite of seafood and pasta with every bite and used up all my pasta before I could consume all of the seafood-that’s how plentiful the seafood was.  I took home the prawns and got to enjoy them in a picnic lunch the next day.  When my daughter arrived on Isla and heard my ravings about La Brisa,  she requested that we go there for lunch near the end of our stay.

Lunch at La Brisas

Three of us shared the linquine again, along with an order of their Frutti de Mare pizza to compare it to Angelo’s.

La Brisa’s Pizza

Although it was my first time to La Brisa’s, I’ve enjoyed Angelo’s many times during the years of our stays on Isla.  On this night the weather was variable and we started the evening at a table on the street; but as the rain made an appearance, they were able to move us all under shelter in the open restaurant. 

Angelo’s Linguine

D ordered the pasta on this occaission and I the pizza.  Except for the pieces of mussel shell that surprized me a couple of times-I was as crazy for the pizza at Angelo’s as I had been for the pasta at La Brisas’s.

Angelo’s Pizza

I would say that La Brisas won the Frutti de Mare pasta round and Angelo’s the pizza one.  Two fabulous restaurants serving up Italian fare as good as is found on the Italian coast, on the little piece of land known as Isla Mujeres in Quintano Roo, Mexico.  Who woulda thunk?

Kath’s quote:  “Do not overcook this dish. Most seafoods…should be simply threatened with heat and then celebrated with joy.” –Jeff Smith