Tulum Beyond the Beach: Tacos, Art and Local Life in Tulum
- The Anonymous Hungry Hippopotamus
- Nov 18, 2022
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 6
*Tulum (Taqueria Honorio, Antojitos La Chiapaneca, Art Exhibit, La Onda, Mateos)
The Caribbean storm arrived sometime before dawn and was still going when I opened the curtains. The beach — which had been the organizing principle of the previous two days — was invisible behind sheets of warm tropical rain. This was not the elegant misty rain of temperate climates. This was rain that had a point of view.
I abandoned the beach plan and drove to Tulum Centro instead. This turned out to be the best decision of the trip.
Tulum Centro is the part of Tulum that the Instagram posts don't show. It is where 30,000 people actually live — where the taquerias open at dawn and close when the meat runs out, where the markets sell things for people who cook rather than things for people who photograph, where the storefronts are open-fronted and the streets smell of coffee and nixtamal and, after the rain, of wet earth and something floral I could not identify. It is the heart of Tulum, and I might not have found it without the storm.
Taqueria Honorio
I started the day with a very early breakfast at Taqueria Honorio, a place highly recommended by locals for delicious tacos from morning to night. Tacos for breakfast? Yes, please! These were some of the best tacos I have had in my life. That says a lot for someone who eats tacos voraciously and since childhood. The ingredients and offerings were pretty standard (except for the turkey taco) so, what was the secret?
One secret is the tortillas — pressed fresh and warm, served one per taco rather than the doubled tortilla common elsewhere. This is both philosophical and practical. A single tortilla forces you to eat the taco whole rather than rebuilding it mid-bite. It demands a certain confidence in the structural integrity of the filling and the wrapper. Taqueria Honorio's tortillas have the density and flexibility to make that confidence warranted — they hold without breaking, bend without cracking, and taste, even on their own, like something made ten minutes ago. Because they were.
(Clockwise from the top right)
Poc-Chuc (charbroiled pork steak marinated in sour orange juice and spices), Lechon (stone baked suckling pig roasted in spices), Relleno Negro (pulled turkey meat marinated in a blend of grilled peppers and spices, topped with a boiled egg), Conchinita Pibil (pulled pork meat marinated in achiote sauce and spices with chicharrón).
These tacos are ridiculously good!
Agua de tamarindo y horchata
Tamarindo (beverage made with tamarind, sugar and water) and Horchata (sweet rice beverage)
After a very satisfying breakfast, I wandered through streets and stores, taking in the vibrancy of Tulum life in the city, which I tried to capture in the photos and videos below.
Outdoor cafe with marigold adorned fountain
Food carts line the sidewalks and fill the streets with delicious smells.
Most restaurants and shops have open storefronts, creating a welcoming atmosphere.
Taqueria La Chiapaneca
After familiarizing myself with the city, I headed to lunch at another local favorite where traditional Yucatán food is prepared by the owner and his family, and the al pastor is considered the best in town.
Antojitos La Chiapaneca serves up authentic, street-style food in a no frills, cozy environment.
Chicken Panucho and Al Pastor Taco
This spit-grilled pork, roasts gently for hours before it comes to your table on warm tortillas with homemade salsas.
Beef Salbute and Sope Al Pastor
Agua de Jamaica
After spending the entire morning and a good portion of the afternoon in Tulum Centro, I made my way back towards the beach to visit an outdoor art exhibit.
Ven a la Luz
Ven a la Luz ("Come Into the Light") was created by South African artist Daniel Popper, who is known for his massive figurative sculptures. This imposing installation is composed of wood and rope formed into a female figure. Her torso creates an archway of lush plants, that viewers can walk through.
Below are some other beautiful pieces I encountered in the park.
Continuing on down the main road in Tulum's Zona Hotelera, I came upon this famous
landmark outside of Matcha Mama and had to take a picture.
Due to the downpour, there was no line but, Instagram has made this site so popular that people usually line up down the street to get a photo on the swings.
La Onda
As I was walking away, I passed a man pouring drinks at La Onda, the outdoor bar and restaurant next door to Matcha Mama. He struck up a brief conversation with me explaining first that La Onda means "wave" in Italian and then invited me to have a quick drink at the bar and wait for the rain to let up. Although a "quick" drink was the plan, I got far more than that.
This is Mateo, the owner of La Onda (and the painter of the pieces you see hanging in the background). Mateo immigrated to Mexico from Italy over 20 years ago. The son of a mother from Italy and a father from Bergamo, he describes Italy as "the refrigerator of God." It was thus inevitable that he would start an Italian restaurant.
For the next several hours, I sat riveted in the pouring rain while Mateo told me stories of growing up in Italy, building (literally with his own hands and a team of two other people) a home in Tulum, opening an Italian restaurant in Mexico and travel, which he says is necessary to "cleanse the eyes."
He said this in the particular way that people say things they have said many times because they believe them completely — not as an aphorism but as a practical description of what travel actually does. It removes the residue of familiarity. It makes you see again.
...excellent tequila and mezcal...
(Though not a tequila or mezcal connoisseur, I have had my fair share of both. The tequila and mezcal I sipped while chatting with Mateo were the best I have ever had. I am kicking myself for not noting the specific names and producers.)
...and how to build a wood fire pizza oven, make authentic pizza dough and fresh, hand cut pasta. After all of the food talk, he insisted that I try one of his freshly made pastas, even if it was just a few bites worth. Who was I to argue?
Tagliolini amatriciana
Fresh, hand-cut tagliolini with a sauce of tomato and guanciale
And what impromptu Italian meal is complete without gelato? Not this one.
Neapolitan Gelato
I learned that Mateo owns both La Onda and the gelateria next door.
So, I sat on a swing labeled "I love the ice cream" in 87 degree heat and ate my gelato cone while watching the rain pour down.
Mateo's
Several hours later, after some window shopping in Zona Hotelera and a few hours back at the hotel, I went next door for a late night snack.
Without planning it, I went from an Italian restaurant owned by a man named Mateo to an eponymous Mexican restaurant with an owner by the same name. Mateo's Mexican Grill claims to have the world's best fish tacos, so I had to find out if that was indeed true.
(By the way, there is something so inviting about these open kitchens at almost every restaurant I visited in Tulum.)
The fish tacos at Mateo's were good but did not, in all honesty, challenge the best I have tasted. Given the name of the place and the claim attached to it, that was mildly deflating.
Given the rest of the day — the storm that sent me to Tulum Centro, the four tacos at Honorio that genuinely competed for the title, and the hours with the Italian Mateo who built a restaurant in the jungle and described travel as necessary to cleanse the eyes — the fish taco disappointment seemed entirely beside the point. Some days give you more than the itinerary planned for. This was one of them.
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