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
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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Dick 18 years ago
Thanks for the translation. Not as musical as the original Spanish though.
That's an interesting interpretation of Palmares, especially in view of the independent Maya enclaves still around in the 1920s. I had understood it to be simply palm groves.
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Khaki 18 years ago
For those of you who do not speak Spanish, this last verse says:
When you leave my palmares and my land
Traveler of the charming face
Do not forget, do not forget my land
Do not forget, do not forget my love.
Palmares is a holdover name, from 17th century Brazil, often used to describe groups of people who escape to jungle strongholds to form self-governing communities. He was asking her not to forget his people and not to forget his land.
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Dick 18 years ago
Peregrina, a beautiful love song with sentimental lyrics, was written by the renowned Yucatecan composer Ricardo PalmerÃn, in the Cuban danzón style.
It was recently recorded by the folkloric group of Californian musicians Cascada de Flores, who specialize in the traditional music of Mexico and Cuba. The last verse:
Cuando dejes mis palmares y mi tierra
Peregrina del semblante encantador
No te olvides, no te olvides de mi tierra
No te olvides, no te olvides de mi amor
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ricardo 18 years ago
My first meal at a restuarant in Merida was at the Portico del Peregrino fifteen years ago. It was amazing. Your review nailed it beautifully. On every return visit we find another new restuarant and we always return at least one time to Portico...... We are now six weeks away from our retirement move to Merida, where we intend to return for special meals on a regular basis.
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Genny M/La Peregrina 18 years ago
Hola amigos gringos/yucas: You just did it again! I can just imagine myself eating "helado de coco"! hmmmmm!
I was transported to MY hometown. Of course we know who Peregrina was,the song was written specially for her, but Felipe was already married, hers was an impossible love. Did you know that she requested to be buried next to her lover? You can check the cemetery in Merida, it is very interesting. By the way, my nickname was picked up in her honor, not because I am a beauty like her, but in this country (U.S.A) I am a peregrina. I am not from here, nor there..just traveling thru... in the world...I love the song Peregrina, have you listened to the words?..it is a serenade like Roque said.
I would just love to fly back...soon, very soon..until then gracias, muchas gracias.
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Calamity Jane 18 years ago
Your article made my mouth water. I can visualize the shrimp and the eggplant. Shrimp would be better to me too. Great article.
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rick normand 18 years ago
MAN!!! That sounds wonderful, I'm a Cajun from the free state of Avoyelles (central Louisiana ) and I really enjoy eating out cause I`m not that good of a cook, and from the pictures Khaki included it looks like a wonderful place. I imagine the people there are beautiful also. Hopefully, one day I will get to visit there and especially make a stop at Peregrina, I would love to see one of the menus. Thank you very much for the article and I sure would like to know more.......Rick
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Working Gringos 18 years ago
Hecho!, as we say around here. It is done!
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Tommy 18 years ago
I sent you an email last month to post the prices of the restaurants that you reviewed last month. Thank you for posting the prices. It might be nice also if you post the address of the restaurants that you review......
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Roque Joaquin Moguel 18 years ago
Thanks for the "did you know" section. There is so much culture and history in Yucatan that small caveats like this bring in a nice tie in from the past to the present.
To add on, catch a serenata one night and you are guaranteed to hear the song dedicated to Alma Reed called “Peregrinaâ€.
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