Pórtico del Peregrino Restaurant
Whenever I eat in a restaurant, anywhere in Yucatan, I generally end up with a little wave of guilt washing over me at some point during the meal. Now, mind you, the guilt is never enough to stop me from eating, but I am always well aware of just how lucky we are to be dining out in Yucatan, rather than in the States. The following is a prime example of our most fortunate circumstances.
I'm From Louisiana...
Originally from Louisiana, you can be certain that I am well aware of what good food is, and exactly how much it costs to dine in some of the finer establishments there. For the sake of comparison, one of my favorite meals in Louisiana is a shrimp cocktail, soup of the day and salad, and stuffed eggplant, finished off with a nice sundae and a cup of coffee. Now, such a meal is going to take a while to eat, but no hurry. Louisiana was, after all, settled by the same folks who settled Yucatan, so the need to rush through anything, especially a meal, is not part of our culture at all. Ultimately, the damage for such an evening, including tip, is just under $50.
…and then I came to Merida! …and found myself in El Pórtico Del Peregrino.
Oh-looky-looky! Shrimp cocktail, a stuffed eggplant and coconut ice cream topped with Kahlúa! Are you sure I’m not in Louisiana? Every once in a while, I still look around, just to make sure.
…and then our food begins to arrive. Three of us were eating out together that night. My shrimp cocktail came to the table and we must have looked as if we had lost our minds completely. Not one of us could make a sound! We just sat there, looking at it. It was huge! We were speechless and then began to giggle. It was beginning to dawn on us that we had no idea how much food any of us had actually ordered!
Thankfully, the soup and salad were of a reasonable size. The three of us shared my shrimp cocktail and prepared for our entrées. My stuffed eggplant was excellent, even though the stuffing had chicken in it, rather than Louisiana shrimp. When I was ordering, I was a bit worried about that but, considering the size of my shrimp cocktail, I think I had already had quite enough shrimp for one night. My stuffed eggplant was large, but not overly so. I think I only had to stop and rest once during the entire main course, but I was enjoying the company, so that was not a real problem. We were, however, all glad for a little break between our entrées and our desserts. I don’t believe I ever remember actually praying for a slow waiter at any other time in my entire life!
My coconut ice cream, topped with Kahlúa, came with a slice of almond cake. I made it through the ice cream, with the help of my coffee, but had to give the cake to one of my friends. What a blessing it was that we were headed for the Yucatecan Serenade, in Parque Santa Lucía. If ever a meal called for a walk, this one did! The total of my bill, for all of the above, in dollars, was about $17, plus tip. I just feel terrible about all those poor people, back in the States, not having the advantages we have – but what can one do? We will just have to think of them often and hope they can come and visit every now and again.
Did You Know...
The name of El Pórtico Del Peregrino is taken from a popular folk song about Alma Reed, a New York Times reporter, who covered the early excavations at Chichén Itzá. She admired the social reforms of Governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto, which were quite progressive for the times. Carrillo’s greatest accomplishments were reclaiming ejidos (communal farms) from the haciendas, legalizing birth control, giving women the right to vote, and translating the Constitution into Mayan. Reed and Carrillo fell in love and he called her La Peregrina, which means pilgrim. Reed wrote articles that helped recover artifacts that an American had taken from Chichen Itza. Their wedding was to be in January, 1924. While Reed was in San Francisco, preparing for the nuptials, angry hacienda owners paid federal troops to march Carrillo to the cemetery in Merida and execute him by firing squad. Today, the bullet holes can still be seen in the wall near his grave.
El Portico del Peregrino, or Peregrino's as the locals call it, is located on Calle 57 halfway between Calle 62 and Calle 60.
Posted By Khaki Scott
Comments
Ceci Sullivan 18 years ago
Alma Reed was my husband's Aunt. I'm looking to find the song La Peregrina, and I heard there was a movie (does anyone know the name) about Felipe Carrillo. Alma's nephew, my husband, has been famous, like his father also. To read more you can go to The Gene Sullivan Story or www.jumpforjesus.net.
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DJ 18 years ago
My wife and I ate years ago at this restaurant. Must have been shortly after it opened, I think, because in several trips to Merida, this marked the first time we had seen it.
It was not in the shape it's in now, but it was still one of the most civilized dining experiences I'd had to that time.
The courtyard area hadn't been rehabbed yet and it was a bit overgrown and shabby. As I recall, there was a fountain along one of the walls, but it wasn't working.
They took us to an outdoor seating area when we arrived, where we were served drinks and given a chance to study the menu. After a reasonable time, they took our order, but left us sitting in the courtyard area til just a couple of minutes before dinner arrived, when we were shown to a table inside.
We're heading back to Merida in a few months -- for probably the 12th time -- and this place is on the list of restaurants I plan to visit. I hope it's as great as I remember.
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Khaki 18 years ago
Rachael, Don't wish your life away - take your time - Merida will still be here when you're ready. Just visit often and keep on making memories. :)
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Rachael 18 years ago
Ah, so many memories! I remember eating at Pórtico del Peregrino (and thoroughly enjoying my meals there!), but I did not know the history! Thank you! Again, I am having such a wonderful time reading through your site! Now, if only retirement would (or could!) come sooner!
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Working Gringos 18 years ago
Hola, Manny...
Are you a Mexican or US citizen? If you are Mexican, it will be much easier for you.
We can suggest that you email or call various restaurants and talk directly to the owners. You could certainly start with the restaurants we have reviewed (Trotters, Slavia (3 restaurants), Villa Maria. But there are a lot more restaurants here than that. Do you know someone here? Maybe they can photocopy the Yellow Pages for you? There isn't as much on the web for Merida as there might be for any other city of this size.
The other option of course is to BE here and just start going places. There are a lot of restaurants here and bound to be some openings.
If you are a US citizen, you are going to need to get someone to hire you in order to stay here and that will be difficult unless you have some sort of specialty that they need and can't find here.
If you still have questions, feel free to email us at info@yucatanliving.com
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manuel 18 years ago
I plan an moving to mexico and need to find a job in merida or the surrunding areas I am a chef.I cant seem to find many jobs on the web. if you can help or have any ideas it would be great. thanks
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Khaki 18 years ago
If you look at this Yucatan Living article, you will see the marker on Felipe Carrillo Puerto's grave and find that he was considered to be an apostle and maryter by his people:
http://www.yucatanliving.com/daily-life/merida-cemetery.htm
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Felipe Carrillo 18 years ago
Khaki,
Thanks a lot for the information on Felipe Carrillo Puerto. (We have the same name, but we are not related)
His execution reminds me of Blessed Miguel Pro, who also helped his people and was executed. Is Felipe Carrillo considered a saint and a martyr--in the hearts of the Mayan people?
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Khaki 18 years ago
What you think of as Louisiana often passed between France and Spain because the area was huge and expensive to defend. East boundary of Mexico was at Natchitoches (central LA), southern boundary of the U.S. was Bayou Manchac (Baton Rouge). The Galvez family governed the entire Gulf region (all of it!), all the way to Guatemala (son in LA, father in MX, uncle had the rest). Galvez promoted heavy levels of immigration from Yucatan to Louisiana. Read about them here: http://enlou.com/people/galvezb-bio.htm
Current data shows that there are still 22 Carrillo families and 105 Cheek (Carrillo) families in Louisiana.
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Carlos Daniel Gallegos 18 years ago
Being a native of the Fort Worth-Dallas Texas area for 46 years, I've never visited Louisiana. Only passed through it a few times. I have met a number of people from New Orleans, and tasted the great food of that region. I can imagine Merida being some what like New Orleans. 1 question. You said the same people who colonized the Yucatan also colonized Louisiana. I thought the Spanniards colonized the Yucatan and the French colonized Louisiana. How are they the same? I love History.
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Khaki 18 years ago
Dick, my first clue was that I didn't know what "palmares" meant - and discovered it doesn't translate - it had to have meaning to him because he used it in this particular song - so I just looked it up - as is - in a history book - part of the mystique that surrounds Felipe is his claim of Creole and "royal" Mayan heritage - so isn't it interesting that he would use the words "my palmares" in the same sentence with "my land"? I'll bet dear Alma knew a whole lot more about things that were going on back then than anyone could ever guess.
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