Breakfast by the bus station

[Anna]

Here's a good tip for anyone who's looking for authenticity and different kind of breakfast experience. From about 6am to about noon, a number of small ambulatory taco stands are set up by the main bus station, on the north corner of the Zocalo (the main square). Here you have the opportunity to try some Yucatecan specialties, such as tacos de cochinita pibil (shredded pork, very juicy), relleno negro (turkey or chicken in a black sauce), milanesa (like wienerschnitzel) and salpicon (shredded beef). Most stands serve their tacos or tortas (sandwich) with beans, different salsas and lime. Round off your breakfast with a fresh orange juice from the juice guy and you had yourself a real Mexican breakfast. And you get to hang with local people on their way to work (if you get there early enough).

[james]

Good call, Anna. That's definitely a classic local breakfast.

[Jesus]

That was what I did in January while visiting PdC. Is the best combination and the most authentic to the area. Also it was very convenient as is close to the begining of most of the trips in the area (the bus station).

[mindz]

Do any of you old Playa hands remember the guy with a parrot who sold cocos frios and jugo naranja from a cart near the bus station on Juarez? He was one of my first sights my first time in Playa, and I was hooked. He has no doubt moved up to bigger and better ventures...but I don't see anyone selling green coconuts on the street anymore. I miss them.

[Munichchick]

That's true Mindz! We also have noticed that there where no more Coco's Frios stand on Highway 307 between Puerto Morelos and Playa. There always used to be at least 2 of them. Hmmm? We love the peanuts with lime juice and spicy stuff all over the guys sell walking along the Beach. They go so great with Cheladas or a nice cold Corona. And the sweet coco macarones are great as well. Can't wait to get back to Playa. Still
4 month and 1 week to go!

[rubaboo67]

Just got back from my first trip to PDC, and want to offer my first (of many future, I'm sure) thanks to Anna and James, as well as all of the other regulars who offered advice. The information I culled from this website was absolutely priceless and made my first beach vacation nothing less than perfect.

Anyway, now that I'm back in snowy gray Chicago I am suffering withdrawal from the cochinitas pibil tacos that I had on three different mornings from the cart by the bus station. The richness of the pork combined with the endorphin producing salsa (nopales, I think) to go with it made for an awesome (for lack of a better word) way to start my morning.

Now, I've been able to locate a recipe for the pork portion of these tacos (which I'm sure won't be as good as the original), but what I'm trying to find now is a recipe for that super hot salsa. The recipes I've found on line right now all look a little tame...anybody have any ideas, and if not, do any of you know what kind of peppers created that wonderful heat?

I was so stunned by the beauty of PDC that it didn't occur to ask for the recipe until I was on the plane. D'OH!

[Jesus]

Originally posted by "rubaboo67"

The richness of the pork combined with the endorphin producing salsa (nopales, I think) to go with it made for an awesome (for lack of a better word) way to start my morning.

Now, I've been able to locate a recipe for the pork portion of these tacos (which I'm sure won't be as good as the original), but what I'm trying to find now is a recipe for that super hot salsa. The recipes I've found on line right now all look a little tame...anybody have any ideas, and if not, do any of you know what kind of peppers created that wonderful heat?

As far as I know, there should be no nopales in the salsa that goes with cochinita (I can't remember in the case of that exact salsa, because I didn't tried it as I don't like my food too spicy). The normal kind of chile to go with cochinita is Habanero and should be quite easy to make the salsa: put habaneros with purple onion and lime, that is the traditional one.

The habaneros are the hottest chiles available, maybe you can make your chiles hotter by rubbing them vigorously on the side of your pants (no joking on this one, that way the capsiciana (the substance that makes them spicy) in the chiles gets "activated" by the friction).

If you had a red salsa with your cochinita, try using red peppers and rubbing them.

Buen provecho

[ottawakate]

We will be leaving cold and snowy Ottawa this aft to head for Playa and just a one night stay before catching the ferry to Cozumel in the morning. Had read the post about the bus station breakfast and sounds interesting. Any other suggestions for breakfast in Playa? We are travelling with another couple and two teens who have never been south in the winter so I'm thinking they'd like to be down by the water...

[MWC]

Use the forums search function. Use "restaurants" as your keyword, and "dem" as the author. This brings up an extensive listing of PDC restaurants ... categorized for every meal of the day. Also, do another search of "breakfast", (no dem) because there are a couple of other suggestions that didn't make dem's list. Can't wait to try them!

[Curlygirl]

Run, don't walk to your nearest newstand and pick up a copy of the May issue of Bon Appetit magazine. It is a special issue devoted to the cuisine(s) of Mexico. There is a recipe for cochinita pibil on p. 186 from Chef Stephanie Rowe of Maroma resort. This recipe looks good, but no recipe for the habanero salsa is mentioned. However, there are some other salsa recipes scattered throughout the edition - everything looks mouthwatering and mas delicioso.

[Curlygirl]

I found habanero salsa on p. 112. I'll paraphrase the recipe for you:

Xnipec is the Mayan word for this mixture and means "nose of the dog"- I'm sure your nose will be wet and running after a good spoonul of this!

about 2 lbs. fresh tomatillos, husked
1/2 med. white onion
4 peeled cloves garlic
1 fresh habanero chili, (or more for you masochists out there)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. salt

On a foil-lined baking sheet, broil the tomatillos,onion,garlic and chili until blackened in spots - chile will blacken in half the time of the others. Transfer to blender with any accumulated juices. Add remaining ingredients. Puree, check for salt and chill up to 4 hrs.

[tbone]

I know this is a belated response to Anna's post but breakfast at the little stands by the bus station was a regular thing for me during the 3 months I spent in Playa this past winter. There is one in particular which I can only distinguish by a sign which said "Ricos Tamales" on the front. A really friendly couple ran it and they specialized in both chicken & beef tacos and tortas. Either was delicious and I obviously became addicted. It's a small thing but one of the things I miss most about Playa.
I'll never forget standing there on morning last February when a tourist couple was walking up from the ferry terminal (I think) and the woman said to her husband, "Oh look honey, this looks good" (referring to the food stands), to which he replied, "Awww honey, that stuff's the bottom of the food chain. We're goin to McDonalds!" as he pointed heroically up to the golden arches. I laughed in disbelief and only hoped that the locals standing around me didn't catch what he had said.

[dane]

Maybe a dumb question for those of you with experience: but --
can i take the food/drinks from the breakfast stands on the publicos and buses? i'd love to eat there instead of at AI, before taking publico or bus south. thanks, if you know the answer.

[Jesus]

No problem, but the hungry crowd would look you with envy.
Just don't be too messy and bring extra napkins and a plastic bag to store the garbage at the end, the tacos de cochinita can be very moist, so be careful and don't let them soak too long, otherwise the tortilla can get too soft and break in the middle of the ingesting process.

[Beachnutt719]

Jesus,

Love the pic!