[music]
I think Gordon is more excited about the food than anyone here
- If food is the way to get to a beer [in Portuguese], you bet
[laughs]
- Are you scared?
- I don't know.
[music]
Oh, my!
I see that you already want to start the food tour right here.
- Yeah, I start my own, create my own.
[laughs]
Hello again, from Playa del Carmen! [mixed with Spanish]
Today we're going to do a very different video here
because when I was doing my research about what to eat in this area,
I discovered that the food here in this part of Mexico
is very different from the traditional Mexican food
we're all used to, especially in the United States.
So the best way for us to really try and understand
what the food here is all about
is to join a food tour.
I did my research and discovered the most well-rated food tour
in this area here,
it's called Eating with Carmen,
and that's what we're doing.
I reached out to them, explained that I'd love to do a video,
asked if it would be okay, they said, "Of course, join us here."
I'm very excited to show you what the food in Playa del Carmen
and the Riviera Maya is all about.
The food in Playa has roots in the Maya civilization,
but also it's now a mix of flavors from across Mexico and even the world.
Many websites claim that Playa is among the fastest growing cities
in Latin America,
so people that move here also bring a little bit of their cuisines.
Thanks! [in Spanish] - You're welcome.
- Today we're going to discover where the locals go.
- How are you? [in Spanish]
- Very good, very good. [in Spanish]
I'm Renata. [in Spanish]
- Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
- My name is Alex. - Alex. Okay.
- We're easting quesadillas,
- Whoo-hoo! - ...tacos, enchiladas...
Follow me, please.
This is our first place.
We're having quesadillas. - Okay.
- I brought a little appetizer for you.
Did you ever try a sweet tamal?
- Not sweet, not sweet.
- Sweet corn tamal
with raisins and a strawberry.
I hope you like it because I spent the whole night cooking it.
[laughs]
- We usually make tamales with chicken
and green sauce and red sauce.
They're salty, right?
But we also make sweet tamales
to have for breakfast with some coffee.
- Uh-huh.
Thanks! [in Spanish]
- The Mexican way will be with the hands,
but I have some forks.
- Mmm.
- You let me know if you want. - Thank you, Alex.
- It is so cool.
It is warm, tastes like a dessert.
I love it!
It reminds me a little bit of a cake.
He said that, right? - Yeah.
- Like a cake.
The consistency is not like a cake,
look at this, the flavor is, though.
- Candy cornbread. - Okay.
So how do you like the candy cornbread?
- It was good, really good.
- I love it. Yeah.
- Okay. About our quesadillas...
- Huitlacoche is what we're trying here.
- This is a mushroom.
You find it on the cornfields.
It's more like a fungus.
In Mexico, it's a pre-Hispanic tradition to eat huitlacoche
Aztecs and Mayans found out that it's very healthy
Wow!
Are you scared?
- I don't know. - [laughs]
- Thank you very much. [in Spanish]
- Huitlacoche means the poop of the gods.
It has a very specific taste.
- This is totally different.
It looks interesting.
- [laughs]
- I think you look scared, Gordon.
- [laughs]
- Not scared...
Interesting.
Big bite, Gordon! [laughs]
And the huitlacoche, what does it taste like?
- I don't know, it's strange.
- Sorry? - It's strange.
- Yeah. - It's very strange.
It tastes like God's poop.
- No.
Does it taste like mushroom?
- Yeah, it's...
No, not that I remember.
[music]
Interesting flavor.
This is one of those things that if I was not on a food tour,
I'd never order.
And it's nice to be discovering it.
He asked if we wanted to be adventurous,
or go with a more traditional quesadilla,
like pork, meat, chicken,
I guess we all went for the huitlacoche here.
Everybody being adventurous.
You taste a lot of the cheese...
but it doesn't taste like mushroom at all.
- No? - I don't think so.
A little bit of spice in the end.
I think it's interesting. It's interesting.
I don't think it's bad. No.
- Yeah? - Uh-hmm.
- I got you used to it, yeah.
Handmade corn tortilla, very different from machine,
prefabricated tortillas.
Delicious!
And the cheese there is Oaxaca cheese.
Your reaction was priceless. [laughs]
You like mushroom?
Actually, I did like that. Yes.
[music]
Playa del Carmen is well-known for the street art.
And look at what we discovered walking to the next restaurant.
- Looks really cool.
Now...
To be just like her!?
That group that paints the murals,
they leave this signature here in every street
indicating that they have some murals.
Welcome! [in Spanish & English]
This one is very traditional. - Oh, yeah?
- So we're having enchiladas
with mole sauce.
Mole is made out of chocolate.
The recipe in the Ancient Mexico
before the Spanish people came,
they used to make it just with cacao seeds, pumpkin seeds,
dried peppers and tomato.
When the Spanish conquered,
they brought lots of ingredients from Europe.
And now mole has around 40, 35 ingredients on it.
It's a whole gastronomic experience.
- Oh, thanks! [in Spanish]
Cheese? Okay, thanks [in Spanish].
Cheese and chicken.
The name of the sauce here is mole.
- That's a lot of mole. - Yeah.
[music]
Mmm.
Definitely the most different enchilada I've ever had.
[laughs]
So now you got to try the cheese, baby.
- Uh-hmm. - Let's switch here.
Try the cheese and I'll try the chicken.
So which one you prefer?
- It tastes the same to me.
- No, baby, one is chicken, one is cheese.
[laughs]
- There's a lot of sauce. - Yeah.
The chicken is very good, too.
Both are good, but I prefer the cheese.
- Thanks! [in Spanish] - You're welcome.
- Very simple restaurant called Antojitos.
And our guide was explaining that it is a local favorite here,
hard to find a seat in the morning.
Welcome, we're having aguas frescas,
natural fruit water.
- [laughs]
It's huge, huh?
- Yeah, bigger than a grapefruit.
I'm gonna explain the flavors for you.
Horchata,
rice with milk and cinnamon
- Thank you very much. - You're welcome [in Spanish].
Mmm.
This is like a rice milk.
That's exactly what it is.
Delicious, very tasty.
Mmm.
Seriously, I could have this every day.
I love it.
Guanábana.
I recommend it if you're trying...
if you're looking for something new.
Guanábana.
I think the translation is soursop.
But it's not that sour, it's sweet, actually.
I'll be the adventurer
I think so.
Thank you very much [in Spanish]
That is so...
- Sweet. - So sweet?
Your face was not sweet.
- That's very good. - Is it?
- Yeah, try.
- Oh, it's delicious.
The consistency is strange,
but the taste is delicious.
- It's thicker. - Yeah, thicker.
- It has some slices here, like pieces of the real fruit here inside.
I like it.
Guessing game with the different types of pepper.
This is the serrano,
the serrano chili.
Now, everyone needs to make a bite.
- Ohhhh! [laughs]
- Poblano.
Five Mexican points...
for Lia.
- Jalapeño?
- Very famous.
- Habanero.
- Banana pepper. - Oh!
- Jalapeño, very famous.
Actually, jalapeño, it's not a chili
like a traditional chili.
This one was created in a lab.
It's a hybrid between poblano and serrano.
- Oh, wow!
Mamey, this is a fruit, very traditional in Mexico.
I call it the girl avocado...
[laughs]
...because it's pink.
- Coconut?
- Avocado [in Spanish]
Yeah!
- Five Mexican points for Renata.
- Yeah!
- Some competition right there, eh?
[laughs]
Our next stop here is so busy
that we can't eat inside.
It is popular and must be really good.
It took a few minutes, but we made it.
- Very few foreigners. - Yeah, yeah.
So you know you're in the right place, huh?
When the menu is on the wall,
you know that the place is traditional.
Suadero, I call it the Mexican brisket.
- You ask for intestines?
[laughs]
Bacon, bacon flavor.
- That's what you expect!? [laughs]
- Which is which?
- Tripe. - Tripe.
- Enchilada. - Okay.
It just tastes like crunchy meat.
- Not like bacon?
- A little bit, but not the bacon meat, the bacon fat
- Oh, okay. What is your other one?
- Carne enchilada.
- How do you compare?
- Better.
- You wouldn't go for the intestines again?
[laughs]
- No.
- Mine here, one is suadero.
And the other one is bistec de res.
Wow, that is so interesting
how they put two tortillas here for each taco.
I don't know which one is first here
because they both look very similar.
Delicious taco.
Let me see the other if there's any difference.
The second one has a lot more fat than the first.
I prefer the first.
A lot of food.
The one that I thought was harder was bistec de res.
Suadero was the perfect one for me.
I love it.
[music]
And finally, look at this,
taco al pastor.
Taco al pastor actually came from Lebanon.
And traditionally, it was made with lamb,
but lamb would not work here in Mexico,
they adapted to pork, and it is a success.
- Lebanese people immigrated to Mexico
long time ago in the 1870s.
So we got a lot of Lebanese heritage in our blood.
[music]
So here is the pork, and it comes with pineapple also.
The pineapple is supposed to help with your digestion.
First impressions? - Good.
Good.
- Which taco is your favorite so far?
- Tripe. - The tripe!? [laughs]
The tripes. [in Spanish]
My first time eating taco al pastor, the famous one.
Wow, this is such a different taste,
especially when you have the pineapple together with the pork.
Mmm.
I really like it because, normally,
I'd not order a taco with pineapple,
but great way to discover food.
I'd totally have this again.
A little left, Gordon, a little left.
[laughs]
I love this.
Time for dessert. Mexican popsicles.
We got a water based and a milk based.
- No tequila based?
[laughs]
- After the tour.
Spicy pineapple.
- Hmm.
- Spicy mango.
- Spicy? Very?
- Different. A little bit, yes.
- Thank you very much. [in Spanish]
Look at this popsicle!
Strawberry, mango, and kiwi.
The fruits, the real fruits here.
I thought it would be spicy, but it's not really spicy, huh?
No. This is Gordon's. It's really good.
I was even careful here with the bite.
Good. Now let me go for mine.
By far, the most beautiful popsicle I've ever had.
Really, really delicious.
Pure fruit.
We had such a wonderful time here
with our guide Alex, who introduced us all this
great, deliciousness, goodness,
all these delicious foods here.
Thank you so much, Alex. Fantastic job.
Now I have a question for you.
Which one is your favorite?
- Oh, hard to say. - Yeah.
- Being Mexican, it's hard to say.
But I will stay with the taco al pastor with flour tortilla.
- Oh, that was my favorite, too.
You know, taco al pastor, that was absolutely my favorite.
First time that I tried it was here, I never expected it would be so good.
- It is. - I don't know if it's that place,
and every taco al pastor is that good,
but that one that we had was phenomenal.
- Must be the place.
And, yeah, all around Mexico is good pastors.
Come and get the tour.
- Absolutely, Eating with Carmen,
and hopefully, you get Alex because he does an amazing job.
Eating with Carmen, is there a lady called Carmen,
or just because of Playa del Carmen?
- The mom's owner is called Carmen. - Really?
- Yeah. - That's so nice.
- It's a big coincidence that we are located in Playa del Carmen.
- Very nice. Awesome.
We did the entire tour here in English.
So if you speak English also, it works, it works.
Don't worry.
- All right. See you! - Yeah.
Another thing that was interesting about the tour
is that we went to a lot of local places,
we tried street food, you know.
And when you try street food in a foreign country,
you not always know what you're gonna get.
But having someone local, who knows the quality of the food,
is a much better option,
much safer.
Okay, Gordon, now the question for you.
Which is your favorite taco?
Tripe.
The intestines? - Yeah.
You're really adventurous.
- Yeah, because I can...
...double process the food.
[laughs]