Can you (as American) eat/drink local foods in Mexico, especially in the Cancun area?
I have booked a trip to Cancun, Mexico and wanted to get some feedback regarding eating local foods. I am an American and have lived there my whole life. That being said, I have a very strong stomach and never got sick eating from street foods, local diners, and water when traveling in less-than-sanitary places like Cambodia, Philippines, China, and Vietnam (every travel guide you read will not advise this). I am young and adventurous and like to have "authentic" local experiences when I travel, so I generally prefer to avoid places catering to foreigners when possible. However, I also don’t want to waste an amazing trip in the bathroom or hospital. Thanks for your input!
February 4th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Yes. Absolutely. You have to understand that while Mexico is the "Third World" ( that term should have died with the USSR) it’s not any of the places you mentioned in Asia. We are in North America! Also Cancún was brought into existence and built to accommodate foreign tourists from the US, Canada and Western Europe.
If you get slightly off the beaten path just remember to be careful with your personal hygiene and don’t eat food that looks or smells bad and don’t eat in an establishment that smells bad. Outside the main tourist area don’t eat anything raw unless you prepare it yourself. In the main tourist area you can drink the tap water. Off the beaten path stick to bottled water.
As you, a world traveler know, anywhere you go your system might not like something in the local cuisine or in the local environment. Just take normal precautions.
February 4th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
I eat in street taco stands all of the time and have never EVER gotten sick even once. The handful of times I get stomach infections in Mexico always happens when i eat something in a usually very fancy restaurant. My dad once got insanely sick eating a dish in a 4 star restaurant to boot.
I suggest that if you wish to eat in taco stands (which is highly recommended because it’s cheap and delicious), bring hand gel with you because these places don’t have a place to wash your hands. You can watch the man preparing your food right in front of you (so you know they aren’t doing funky things like dropping food on the floor and serving it to you), and in a lot of places another person that doesn’t touch the food handles the money.
My favorite tacos are tacos al pastor (which aren’t popular in that region of the country sadly), suadero, alambre, anything with bacon, liver and cow brains. I also love pig head tacos and assorted mystery pork meat tacos a lot, but they are far more popular in Mexico City than in the peninsula.
I also love quesadillas, but I didn’t see any over south either. I really like the kind of tortilla they use down there, it’s kind of between the color and flavor of normal corn tortillas eaten in Mexico City and wheat tortillas. You just can’t get those kinds of peninsula tortillas up north sadly, but they are awesome! Fish and shrimp tacos will be something fairly common over there because the obvious closeness to the sea.
We always have our tacos with either assorted flavors of soda (drink the off the beaten track soda flavors like tamarindo or sangria if you can!), horchata, jamaica water or in some places tepache or orange juice. Equally delicious.
I believe you can also eat tortas down there which ia another awesome thing to eat (kind of like a sandwich, but better). My favorite torta flavors are pierna and cheese. You’ll probably love the street food very much! If you get sick, Cancun has a general hospital that treats those problems for only 10 bucks.