On our 21 day Yucatecan culinary quest, we ventured all throughout Centro Mèrida, and feel ready to crown the prized Cochinita Pibil winner.
Taqueria La Lupita - Congratulations on your victory!
To the uninitiated, let's spend a moment on discussing the regionally renowned Cochinita Pibil. This is a slow-cooked pork dish, made as a hybrid of traditional Mayan and more modern New World techniques, much as its name is a hybrid of Spanish (cochinta = little pig) and Mayan (pib = pit-cooked) itself. Traditionally it's cooked while wrapped in banana leaves, flavored with spices (especially achiote) and left in an underground pit oven for a LONG time.
When done properly, it's a juicy, tangy, savory, delight that can go in a taco, a torta, or whatever you fancy.
Taqueria La Lupita does serious volumes of business, and a highlight is certainly their cochinita pibil. But, they are more than a one-trick caballo.
During our extended stay, we visited TLL several times, and got to try both form factors (tacos, salbutes, panuchos, tortas, polcan) as well as meats (cochinita pibil, relleno negro, lechon al horno, escabeche). We still couldn't try everything, and certainly not every combination. But we sure loved our experience throughout, even for the items that were not notable winners.
This place is popular for all the right reasons: Deliciousness, variety, service, value, experience. Even when it was a bit busy, they have a lot of tables, and we had really good service there. Don't get discouraged by a little wait time...it's the best option we found in Santiago Plaza/Market.
Some places in Mèrida may have struggled to maintain their experience after being highlighted by Netflix or Youtube programs, but Taqueria La Lupita has stayed true, and we couldn't have been more delighted by our visits there. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did! read more