Cozumel's Yucatan Cuisine 2 o

Pozole

A hominy chowder with shredded pork seasoned with dried oregano and other spices and garnished with finely chopped radishes, onions and/or pickled onions

Quesadillas

Tortillas (in this case often flour tortillas) filled (usually) with grated cheese, folded over and baked or quick fried in a lightly-oiled frying pan until the cheese just melts. These are a good choice if you're eating out with youngsters of conservative food tastes and they're also a very easy, fast dish if you're Eating In. You can always dress them up with easy home-made guacamole or salsa.

Anjojitos (Finger Food) Virtually all the delicious "finger food" snacks of Mexico begin with a tortilla. In Cozumel it's usually a corn tortilla.

Tacos

If you're looking for the crunchy folded over kind filled with hamburger, cheese, lettuce and tomato, you won't find it in Mexico. Here, the word "taco" refers to fresh, soft un-fried corn tortillas wrapped around any kind of filling you can imagine.

Some places in town, specialize in "Guisado" style tacos and have a variety of fillings laid out for you to choose from. Typical choices--sweet poblano pepper slices in cream sauce, potatoes and chorizo (a spicy Mexican sausage) ñor sauced and shredded chicken, beef or pork.

Huaraches

A larger version of the regular taco and in the shape of a shoe-you know--the woven leather sandals. Eat them folded around whatever filling you choose--from mashed potatoes to refried black beans to mushrooms, chicken, pork or sausage. Often topped with slices of avocado and a bit of "crema" a rich, thin sourish cream.

Tostados These are similar to the version you may have had in Mexican restaurants back home--flat tortillas cooked to a crisp in fat then topped with whatever fillings the cook has made up that evening (often you can point to the filling you want which will be on view behind glass in a large metal tray.) Then lettuce, cubed tomatoes and perhaps a little crema is piled on top.

Panuchos and Salbutes A variation on the tostado, tacos are half-fried so they're crunchy and chewy at the same time, then topped with a thin layer of refried black beans, shredded chicken breast, crumbled dry cheese and usually a thin slice or two of avocado.Thinly, sliced pickled red onions are another common and tasty addition.
The best place in town we know to buy salbutes and panuchos is Los Tres Gatitos (Check Restaurants/Cheap Eats for more on this popular local place that is only open in the evenings.)

	Pastores Pastor tacos are a particular style of soft taco filling made from pork that's been cut into thin strips, marinated in adobo sauce, skewered on an upright spit and cooked over a low flame.
The wafer-thin slices are piled on soft tacos, topped with chopped onions, cilantro, and in Cozumel, usually some chunks of pineapple.A good place to try out pastores in Cozumel is at Las Seras, on the corner of Avenida 30 and Morelos. Pastores are pretty much all they serve there. Be sure to try the green sauce which is not too hot and tastes like a combination of avocados and tomatillos.

Empanadas These are tortillas folded over a filling of your choice-often cheese (queso) and deep fried to a golden crisp. Called "Dorado" tacos in some parts of Mexico, the word "Em Pah NAH da" for this fatty but luscious treat is used in Cozumel. This is another one the kids will probably like. A lot.

Tortas

Sandwiches made on soft french bread rolls are served everywhere and are, in fact, one of the most common pick-up breakfasts for Cozumelenos. They generally wash down their torta de pollo, jamon y queso (ham and cheese) etc. with a soft drink of which "coca" (CocaCola) is the preferred Drug-Of-Choice here.

	Tamales You'll be familiar with these if you eat Mexican in the US-steamed corn dumplings made from Masa dough pressed into a corn husk then filled-most commonly with pork but also other things-wrapped up in the husk and then steamed in a giant kettle.
Above is a variation on the traditional tamale known as a "Gordita" (little fat one). They make great tamales and gorditas most afternoons at the island's oldest bakery, St. Martin which is in the middle of the block on Avenida 30 between Calle 5 and Calle 7.