A Tale of Five Cities: San Cristobal Dining (Part 2)

For our third and final night in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, we decided to go for broke and hit happy hour before going to the restaurant we'd decided on for dinner.  Woo-hoo!  As we were walking around checking our options, this sign touting two for one margaritas for $70 MX (approximately $5.60 US) lured us right into Ay Dolores! for a couple of drinks and appetizers before dinner.

We tried the tamarindo margaritas, which were excellent.  Here's one of my favorite photos of the whole trip, which you'll recognize if we're Facebook friends.

To accompany our drinks, we ordered some of their delicious guacamole, fried cheese, and quesadillas.  I loved that the guac was made with red onion and lots of cilantro and have since modified my own recipe likewise.

Our waiter was super friendly, and although I was sure I'd remember his name, sadly, my memory fails me now since it's been over a month. (Yes, I am getting old!)  He was very proud of his English and spoke it well, which was a treat for us -- we could actually have a nice conversation, something we didn't get to do often while in this part of Mexico.  He had another staff member take a photo of the three of us on his phone, and we also got one on our camera.  

For our dinner, we went to Entropia, a French-Mexican fusion place that is the #2 rated restaurant in San Cristobal in Tripadvisor.  We got this photo earlier in the day while it was still bright and sunny out.

And here's the interior in the evening.

We decided to stick with margaritas, and they were also offering a two for one happy hour special.  Score!  Don't tell our friendly waiter at Ay Dolores!, but these tamarindo margs were even better than theirs.  And the waiter was obviously French.  San Cristobal is a cultural treat!

Barry had a chicken dish that was served with black beans and yet more guacamole.  There's no such thing as too much guac, though, right?!

I had the special of the day, which was a really, really nice fish dish, potatoes, and salad.  The fish looks rather plain in the photo, but it was very fresh and perfectly seasoned and cooked.  I'll never know, but when I ended up with a bad stomach 36 hours later, I wondered if eating this salad was my downfall.  I did eat a few other salads in Mexico with no problems, but Montezuma's revenge finally caught up with me on the way back, in Palenque.

A tasty dinner at Entropia

One slight negative of Entropia was the little children who came in during our dinner attempting to sell us things.  It's pretty obvious that they really only want a peso or two, but they offer little trinkets for sale instead so it's not so obvious they are begging.  There was a lot more begging and what I call "aggressive vending" in San Cristobal than the other places we visited in Mexico, from both children and adults.  We didn't want or need anything they were selling, but I carried a few pesos in my pocket to give out to the kids.  They would normally leave quickly upon getting a peso or two.  It's too bad that they are living lives requiring them to do this.  

Barry still had a bit of appetite after dinner, so we stopped for him to have a gelato.

I was too full, but it looked good.  However, the flavors were unmarked, and having to ask a Spanish-speaking worker what every one was made for an interesting ordering experience!

On our last morning in San Cristobal, we were disappointed to find our favorite place for breakfast, TierrAdentro, closed.  We kept walking by hoping they were just opening late, but when 9 am came and went and the door was still locked, we decided we better find another place.  We noticed that many restaurants in Mexico don't bother posting their days or hours of business outside; if the doors are open, they're open, and if they're closed, they're closed.  Simple as that.

We ended up at the Cafeteria del Centro and had a good breakfast.  The atmosphere wasn't quite TierrAdentro, but it filled the bill and nourished us for our day of travel ahead.

Mexican eggs, bread and jam, coffee

After breakfast, we bought a couple snacks for the road.  Can you say chocolate?

Not totally related to dining, but having heard what great coffee was grown, processed, and could be purchased, in this part of Mexico, I picked up this bag of organic coffee to bring home to Belize.  It only cost me $70 MX (about $5.60 US) and was indeed a special treat.  Long gone now, though!

Stay tuned for more from San Cristobal before we head back through Mexico to Belize!