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way, is the one part of NotTheNews that often features POSITIVE critiques, so to those
of you whining about NotTheNews being too negative, get off my case.
A Day Trip to Campeche, Campeche, for lunch at
(Again)
January, 2000
Once again, the Christmas rush is over and the Critic has regained some inspiration and so; a little day trip out of Merida to nearby Campeche! The Critic has heard a lot of criticism regarding Campeche (dinky little town, nothing going on, boring as hell, Valladolid 20 years ago, etc. etc.) but hadn't actually returned to the town since 1980 (wow) and that was only a 2 day stopover.
Well listen up folks, Campeche apparently is having some sort of rennaissance, there's lots of money being invested in the place; new cinemas, a flashy all-glass bank (Serfin - booo) overlooking the water, and an amazing and remarkably well thought out malecon/boardwalk drive along the waterfront - a la Havana, Cuba - that makes Progreso look really bad!
The Altstadt (look it up in a German dictionary), completely surrounded by walls and forts since Campeche was once pirate booty, is charming (kind of a cheesy word but hey) with the colonial buildings all restored and painted different colors, the ugly TelMex and CFE cables buried and gone underground where they should be - take note, Merida restorers - and cobblestone streets. The one thing, and it's an important one, is that on this particular Sunday, there wasn't much open for meandering tourists like the Critics' large group. There should be more restaurants, bars and things for people visiting the town to go to. Then again, maybe this is another reason Merida, not Campeche, was chosen as the Cultural Capital of the Americas.
After visiting several forts whose names the Critic can't recall; enjoying the topography (in Campeche there are actually hills and steep hilly streets to drive up and down, which is a nice treat when one has lived in flat Merida for a while); it was time for that favorite activity everyone had been waiting for.... lunch!
The rather enlarged Fussy Crew (The term 'enlarged' is used, not because there was a significant weight gain by any members of the Crew during the holidays, but because additional critics went along) went to La Pigua for seafood, having tried the Merida branch, located beside El Guacamayo in beautiful downtown Campeche. Parking on the street wasn't a problem, and several strange looking individuals are available to 'care' for your car and rub a filthy rag across your windows rendering them useless as far as visibility goes in exchange for some coinage.
Once inside, the Pigua in Campeche turns out be surprisingly small, at least in the humble opinion of this Critic, since after seeing the Merida version, one would assume that the 'mothership' is bigger than its offspring. Only one room, palapa roof, all glassed in with air conditioning throughout. All in all there are perhaps 12 tables of four. There are photos and letters from Mexican celebrities and political and consular amigos' at the entrance for your reading enjoyment while you wait for a table. Fortunately at the time of the Critics and Fussy Crews arrival, around 1:00 pm, there was no wait whatsoever, and all 10 people were seated promptly. This changed a little later in the afternoon, when several large groups arrived one after the other, taking up any available table space.
The waiters are neat and clean, attentive and courteous. The actual service speed is adequate; not too fast to imply that they had the food sitting around and not so slow that you are gnawing your fingers raw, waiting for something, ANYthing to eat. The little buns were particularly buttery, not from any Price Club (there is no Sams or Costco in Campeche yet, thank God) and great for sopping up the garlic sauce from the shrimp.
The group's lunch included shrimp in garlic sauce (al mojo de ajo); shrimp with garlic, parmesan and other good stuff; calamar (squid) tossed with a delicate combination of pasilla chiles, a touch of garlic, olive oil and slivered almonds; the now-famous and extremely habit-forming sweet and crispy coconut shrimp with delicious homemade apple compote. Crunchy breaded shrimp and breaded fish fillets were generously served and tasted good.
Appetizers included the cold seafood salad: a heaping plate of seafood served cold in a kind of vinagrette dressing with tomato and onion slivers; and the fish pate, which, although rather bland was tasty nonetheless. The silky smooth cream of shrimp, with crunchy croutons and pieces of fresh shrimp throughout is highly recommended.
La Pigua deserves the coveted 5 rating. If NotTheNews and the Casual Restaurant Critic worked as a normal touristy website, an address, phone number, credit card information and operating hours would be included. Since it isn't, you won't find any of that here. Just remember the name, the fact that they're open mid-day for lunch pretty well every day, and that everyone and their marmot knows where La Pigua is in Campeche. So just ask and get friendly with the locals!
The trip by the way, by car or bus, is constantly improving, due to the state and federal governments finally getting around to upgrading Yucatan's fomerly awful highway infrastructure. The new stretches of road are fantastic; wide, smooth and well marked. Campeche is still working on their side, having probably spent millions so far on the malecon, so it's nice when you get back into Yucatan to see that at least some of your taxes are being applied as they should be!
By car, Merida to Campeche is a 1 1/2 to 2 hours drive,
depending on your vehicle, tire condition, traffic, and bladder control.
