La Lomita’s was the very first restaurant we visited on our first trip to Isla Mujeres in Feb 2005.  We landed at noon and decided to pick up some groceries and grab lunch before we took a cab to Punta Sur and our Villa.  We picked up our necessities at Mirtita’s and as we got out Laura’s map to get our bearings, we looked up and saw La Lomita’s.  Wow-what a great place to start our multi-year love affair with Isla and its food.  We spoke to the next table that were salivating over the Chiles Relleno.  We opted instead for papa fritos (french fries from just cut potatoes) which provided my first taste of a squeeze of lime instead of our accustomed vinegar.  We also shared shrimp with garlic and polo frito (fried chicken) with “pink” rice and fuchsia coloured onions. 

We could not get the idea of trying the Chiles Relleno out of our heads and tried to go back on the Sunday of our first week.  We found out and have remembered since, that La Lomita’s is not open on Sundays.  But we went back a third time for our last meal of that first trip and discovered that the Ophelia’s Chiles Relleno were definitely worth waiting for.  The whole poblano chile gets hotter towards the stem.  They are stuffed with a creamy white Mexican cheese, breaded and deep fried and then served on a bed of homemade tomato sauce and topped with cream and a “feta” style cheese. 

We returned for Chiles again in February 2006 when we had a bit of a food “accident”.  One member of our party thought that the green sauce on the table was guacamole and she took a sizable scoop on her taco chip.  It was so fiery that she could hardly speak and it took a good ten minutes before our concern for her subsided. 

When I took my husband to Isla for the first time in January 2007, he was anxious to try the Chiles as well.  There are some situations in life that I find particularly unique-we were waiting for an authentic Isla meal while watching Rachel Ray in Rome on “$40 a Day” which had been overdubbed in Spanish.  The world is a very small place. 

My husband loved the bean soup but saved me from future dismay by not consuming the entire bowl.  Our intention that night was to go out for coconut ice cream but even though we had split the meal, we were too full!  Supper was $14 for two of us including beer.  

We were excited to introduce our kids to the restaurant when we took them there in December 2007.  That experience though was “difficult”.  We were a large group and had all ordered beer when we arrived.  We could see that each time the table next to us finished their beer, the glass was cleared, washed and then delivered with beer to us.  Unfortunately they got the glasses first and we were almost finished eating dinner before we all got ours.  When in Mexico-you just have to relax and do things the Mexican way.  The food was fabulous as usual, so I was content.

I’ve seen mixed reviews on La Lomita’s on the message boards lately.  I hope that all is well for this family.  See you soon Isla. 

Kath’s quote:  “In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is strength, in water there is bacteria.”-David Auerbach

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