The Casual Restaurant Critic
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Ooh... Wabbit!


March, 2001

The taste of rabbit is still on the Critic's punished tongue. Yes, rabbit. For most Europeans and the more rurally enlightened North American, eating rabbit is not such a big venture into the jungle of exotic foods, yet no doubt some of my more conservative readers will feel a bit queasy about the idea of eating the Easter Bunny's distant relatives.

eat this!

They are so cute after all.

An ad in the local Diario de Yucatan newspaper, in the Imagen section, ignited the Critic's adventure meter:

Yucatecan Food!

Try Our Rabbit Specialities!

Hacienda Tepich

So off went the Critic and Co., sans Fussy Crew, to sample yet another Yucatecan culinary offering, all in the name of research and for the benefit of our visiting reader's benefit.

The hacienda called Tepich is a little unrestored hacienda, not at all like Temozon Sur or some of the other newly renovated multi-million dollar projects that attract extremely allocentric and millionarie tourists in the multiple-star accomodation range. Sparingly being restored by a family made up of genuine people and not bankrolled by bankers like the other more spectacular haciendas (the bankers can't give YOU credit so they have to spend the money somewhere), Tepich is lacking the most interesting part of the hacienda experience - the cuarto de maquinas - machine room, where the henequen plant was once ripped to shreds to make fiber and rope. Access to this building and all that giant rusting machinery is not available - from the Critic's superficial visit it looks like the owners of the hacienda did not get the machine room included in the purchase.

The speciality of the Tepich, according to it's ad and it's menu, is the grilled rabbit, previously marinated etc. etc. It would be wise to point out that the Critic did phone ahead to get information on how to get to the hacienda; it would have been nice had someone mentioned that the rabbit might just run out and would the group like them to throw another bunny on the barbecue...

Sin embargo, arriving at 2:30 pm, not a really late lunch hour, this particular dish was 'sold out' and the Critic's party had to settle for other rabbit-y dishes on the menu. Rabbit pipian, rabbit relleno negro, cochiconejo pibil and marinated turkey breast steaks were ordered and mostly enjoyed by all. 

The pipian, which is a dish similar to mole in that it is a paste made of ground seeds and spices and customarily served with venison, was a little insipid for the Critic's tastebuds and it's temperature was an unpleasant lukewarm. That, coupled with an excessive dose of corn starch as thickener, was enough to place the dish in last place. The relleno negro, (literally: black stuffing) usually found in turkey and served with shredded turkey meat, was delicious; hot in temperature and with a mildly hot kick in the spice department. Cochiconejo, which is the world-famous Yucatecan classic Cochinita Pibil with Bugs Bunny doing the Suckling Pig honors, was less greasy than the piggy version and extremely tasty. The marinated and yet somewhat dry turkey breast steaks were, on a scale of 1 to 10, about 5, with a sweet mustard-y taste; the accompanying garnishes of mashed potatoes and grated carrots 'n' lemon were a little lame.

For appetizers, the party ordered all three items from that section on the one-page menu; a do-it-yourself guacamole, which was rather scimpy - the avocado paste spread out a little to un-casually on the plate - and lacked presentation; some delicious corn flour empanadas filled with melted cheese and calabaza flowers; and the house paté, made of rabbit liver, wine and other goodies and served with sats' crackers. Sats' crackers are those crackers that have been left out for a while and instead of crunching when you bite them , they kind of fold between your teeth. It's the humidity I tell ya! The paté itself was tasty enough in a Tulip kind of way, perhaps a little dry - some more fat needed there - the crackers - ugh. 

Drinkks included agua de lima and tamarindo, which were great - one doesn't get agua de lima in Merida anymore. So refreshing! The coffee is passable and the red wine by the cup, sweet and not that great. But this is a family run restaurant and it looks like they're starting out so let's wait and not wait too impatiently for that sommelier and the wine cellar. It may be a while yet.

The hostess, obviously the owner of the place, was extremely friendly and the service was attentive but not at all professional - more like the muchachas and the mozos got dressed up and played service staff. Well-intentioned but just a little clueless. That will come along eventually as well.

This is not a tablecloth and dress up kind of place. It's more like popping into someone's country home and having a meal. Downstairs (at ground level) there is a tiny menagerie of 2 funky birds, a pisote (a lemur-like animalito), and about a million rabbits in cages waiting to be sacrificed. This will, presumably, turn some people off, seeing the rabbits and then going to the restaurant to eat them. Oh well.  

Casual Critic Rating: 3

Beginning 1999, the Critic started rating the places he visited. Here's the scoop:

 

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