Cocina 38 in Playa del Carmen
Cocina 38 in Playa del Carmen; a local’s point of view.

By Nicola Inwood

 

There is a new restaurant in town and although at first we were reluctant to share for fear of changing this great spot, we decided we had to share this little piece of heaven. The food is excellent, the service great, the atmosphere is wonderful and, we like the husband and wife team that own the place.

 

Los Aguachiles in Playa del Carmen

Healthy Tacos at Los Aguachiles in Playa del Carmen.

By Michele Kinnon

When one thinks about health food, something friendly to the heart and wasteline, tacos really don't spring to mind. When was the last time your cardiologist put you on an "all taco diet"? Exactly. Mounds of meat cooked in lard or deep fried shrimp piled on a torilla don't exactly fit the bill for most healthy eating plans. Well, maybe our doctors need to make a visit to Los Aguachiles for a plateful of delicious seafood tacos or a heaping bowl of ceviche.  

Tacos Mari in Playa del Carmen

Finding Old Friends In Playa del Carmen.

By Michele Kinnon

No, I'm not talking about reconnecting with all my old classmates on Facebook, although, that has been remarkable as well. These old friends are Maria and her parents, the proprietors of the old "Tacos Israel", formerly located on the corner of Avenida 15 and Calle 10. Back in 2005, "Tacos Israel" was our "go to" taco place. Several times a week, I would turn up for a kilo of pork, cooked Arabe style, freshly made tortillas and all the fixings.

PG's Sandbox Bar and Grill in Playa del Carmen
Check out the new PG's in Playa del Carmen- Now known as the PG's Sandbox Bar and Grill!

The Pinche Gringo originally opened its doors in December of 2006, and quickly became a local favorite. Opened by two local veteran business owners, Jimmy Wallace and Jaime Strimpopulos they created a personalized space that caters to all walks of life from nationals, to local foreigners, to visiting sports fanatics. Seven different satellite systems including 2 American feeds, 2 Latin American feeds, and a European and Canadian feed, ensures there is a sport available for everyone. Located just off the beach in an open air setting with a 25 square meter giant screen along with 4 large flat screens it is a sports fan paradise whether it is soccer, the NFL, F1 racing, or curling!

 Wine and Wine Tasting in Playa del Carmen

Try out some great wines and restaurants in Playa del Carmen!

When one thinks of Mexico images of beautiful beaches, sparkling blue water, warm weather, and relaxation come to mind along with margaritas and an ice cold bucket of Corona, but wine? Not often do people affiliate Mexico with quality wine, and wine tasting. However, there are some great national wines as well as some exquisite choices from our neighbors to the south in Chile and Argentina as well as Italy.

Ah Cacao Cafe in Playa del Carmen

Ah Cacao Chocolate Café - Energizing Playa del Carmen with Real Chocolate

Press Release-Playa del Carmen, Q. Roo, México,  2008 - Where does chocolate come from? Belgium or Switzerland? Not even close! Chocolate was enjoyed by the Maya people of Mexico at least 2,000 years ago and at Ah Cacao Chocolate Café you can find out why.

Asiana Restaurant in Playa del Carmen
By Sara "The Editor" Moen

New Restaurant in Playa del Carmen Offers a Variety of Tastes from the Orient

Asiana, adjacent to The Royal Resort, has some new flavors to add to our ever growing restaurant options in Playa del Carmen. Web Guy and I decided to check it out a couple of weeks ago, and then again last night, to see if it was worthy of a Playa Maya News recommendation. ...

La Carmela Restaurant - Playa del Carmen
Meet Carmen Moraleda- owner and operator of La Carmela Restaurant in Playa del Carmen.

Carmen, originally from Madrid, Spain, left her home land nearly 20 years ago traveling throughout the United States , Central America, and Mexico. She landed in Playa del Carmen over 12 years ago, and has been an active community member ever since she arrived.

Hole in the Wall in Playa del Carmen

 

Hole in the Wall Deli and Bar opens in Playa del Carmen.

Three years ago Karen Lange, long time Playa del Carmen resident, opened a deli, a real deli with pickles, pasta salads, potato salads, bagels, and killer sandwiches, down in Puerto Aventuras. Web Guy and I would make a special trip down to Puerto Aventuras just to get our Reuben or Italian sandwich fix. Occasionally we would even phone Karen to see when she was coming north so we could get a "home delivery" Unfortunately she was forced to close down less then a year after opening her doors. To say the least we were not only sad for her, but what about the food?

 

La Palette in Playa del Carmen

La Palette, not just eating out, but a true dining experience!

Web Guy and I were celebrating our 14^th wedding anniversary so we decided to commemorate this occasion with some fancy drinks, gourmet food, and some good conversation; a true "date night". We decided on La Palette for a number of reasons; we hadn't been there before, we had met the owners Farrah and Michael and liked their personable attitudes, and we missed dining out in a style similar to many restaurants we frequented in Seattle prior to moving to Playa del Carmen. So off we went to have a date night at La Palette....

Burrito Brothers in Playa del Carmen

Cheap Eats

More bang for your buck at the Burrito Brothers in Playa del Carmen.

Recently a large group of us wanted to get together for dinner out, but we didn't want to break the bank so we decided to try a new restaurant, the Burrito Brothers, in Playa del Carmen. We went in earlier in the day to let them know there would be between 10 and 15 people around 7 for dinner and they were delighted!

Rachel Ray in Playa del Carmen

 

World famous cook, Rachael Ray, will be visiting Playa del Carmen this coming weekend to film an episode for her latest cooking show; Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels, which airs on the Food Network.

Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels is a television show based on her 30 Minute Meals and her travels around the world (somewhat similar to her 2002 Food Network show, $40 a Day). She tries different types of food from each place she visits, and gives a "Hot List of Values", which includes some of her favorite places visited from the show, $40 a Day.

Parilla Arracheras Playa del Carmen Mexico
Parilla Arracheras is a Real Treat for the Steak Lover.

We had 9 friends visiting from Stockholm, add a few Playenses, and we had a group of 15 people looking for a good dinner spot. Not being all that organized we did not make a reservation the day before so we were kind of at the mercy of who ever would take us.

Papa Loco Restaurant Playa del Carmen
Dr. Taco Adds Third Restaurant to His Taco Empire.

Dr. Taco has certainly made a name for himself in our community. Dr. Taco, aka Carlo from Guadalajara is an MD who got burnt out on his life in the city and moved his family here to Playa del Carmen 4 years ago. He opened his first location on 10th Avenue between 8th and 10th Streets and it was an immediate hit. With inexpensive prices, cold beers, the best salsa bar in the world, and great fish tacos, it was no wonder that his business exploded. He opened a second location on the road down to Mamitas to cater to the beach crowd, and 2 months ago he opened Papa Loco.

 

 

Corona girls in Playa del Carmen

 

NO, we are not talking about people here, we are talking about the latest sports bar to open in Playa del Carmen.

Pinche Gringos is the latest endeavor of Jimmy Brown former owner of the No Name Bar. Large and open, it is a great place to catch a game or grab a bite and a beer. With a huge projection television and multiple flat screens throughout there are plenty of tables with a view.