The Borrego Acurrucado is the kind of place that most restaurants aspire to be. The building itself is a converted older home, and suffers therefore, from a musty humid smell that assaults the nose upon entering, however, this soon dissipates as you begin to enjoy a quality meal with courteous, knowledgable service. The menu is not extensive, but has something from most food groups to appeal to just about any taste.

Appetizers sampled include the artichoke pate, a house specialty that had been commented on by friends prior to the Critic's visit and was a must to try on the occasion. Everyone in the party thought it was just great, however, the Critic, with his aversion to artichokes and all things pasty, was not impressed, but that was probably a matter of personal taste rather than a reflection of the quality of the dish itself. The other entree was a guacamole, and while artfully prepared, a guacamole is basically a squished avocado, not much room for innovation there; unless you let it ferment at which point it becomes grey and unpalatable which was not the case here. A delicious treat was the french onion soup, complete with melted gruyere and the customary crouton. It did not taste at all like it came from a package, as a very famous french onion soup did at a popular deli in Cancun that called itself Super. That particular soup tasted so much like a package soup, that a look behind the scenes proved that it did in fact, come from a package, as in "just add water". But that's another story, for another time.

Back at the Borrego, however, the main dishes were all outstanding; all the meat was cooked as ordered, including a very realistic semblance of blue rare as requested by one meticulously fussy guest in the party who took great pains, as did the waiter, to define exactly the term 'blue rare' so that there would be no ensuing confusion and disappointment upon the steak's arrival at the table. At this restaurant there was no need to bring out a shrink-wrapped package of supermarket beef steak, the meat was excellent. Each item available was explained in a very knowledgable and detailed way by the waiter, who demonstrated without being pompous and overbearing, his intimacy with the menu's offerings and the preparation involved in each main course. The house specialty, which was ordered by one of the guests in the Critic's party, is delicious, and consists of lamb, cooked in the same pot or roaster as the cochinita or suckling pig, thereby absorbing all the fatty flavour of the famous pork dish. Highly recommended.

Presentation of the entrees was appropriate, the timing fine - there were no 'baches' or long waits between courses, ashtrays and empty drink glasses were disposed of promptly and while at times it felt as though the waiters were almost listening in on the dinner conversation, one never had to hissle (whistle sharply through the teeth) to get anyone's attention. In the dessert department, coffees were quite acceptable, especially the Cappuccino Acurrucado, which contains a dollop of sweet cajeta. The only glitch was the crepes, which were to be flamed at the table; this dessert was a frustrated non-event as the flamer (the waiter who was to do the flaming at tableside, not what you may think) suddenly realized there were no more crepes. There are the typical Yucatecan desserts such as dulce de nancen, de papaya and so forth, none of which, however, appealed to the Critics' palate.

The only thing that, in the Critic's very humble and highly opiniated opinion that prevents the Lamb from getting the coveted 5 rating is the fact that the concept doesn't quite gel, with the excellent French-style main courses competing with the occasional very Yucatecan platter. Just a quibble, but a 5 is a 5 so one has to be picky...

All in all, El Borrego Acurrucado is a very pleasant surprise, and well worth a visit on your next trip to Merida. If you live in Merida, what are you waiting for... visit them tonight.

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The Casual Restaurant Critic's appetite knows no bounds.
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Beginning 1999, the Critic started rating the places he visited. Here's the scoop:

1 horrendous, don't bother, not worth the price, time and/or calories
2 not really good, but has the occasional saving grace
3 average, some good points some bad, nothing special
4 good, only a few nitpicking details
5 really good, great food, great ambiance for what it is supposed to be, great
        service and appropriate concept (everything gels, from silverware to furniture to
        music to decoration etc.)