Quesadillas - the best Mexico has to offer

Sep 13

Sep 13 Quesadillas - the best Mexico has to offer

If you'd asked us a few days ago what meal showcased Mexico the best it would have been tacos from a street-side vendor. They're inexpensive, tasty as hell, and munching from a food truck holds a certain appeal to the traveller within us both.

Hold the phone. Having now visited San Cristobal everything has to be re-appraised. Hands down one venue, a top-secret one at that, creates the most mouth-watering quesadillas ever served.

Stumbled upon through some heavy googling and desire to escape the tourist traps, we remembered a blog post by Along Dusty Roads. Thankfully a map had been included as only a very nondescript image accompanied their recommendation.

Speakeasy-esk, find a door with no name (Google Maps labels it as 'No name quesadillas') down a backstreet, locate 49B and you've arrived - doesn't mean you can get in! Conversing through a wooden hatch nestled within imposing double doors does add an element of mysticism to the whole affair.

Operating every night from 8:30ish, a queue forms early as dishes are prepared fresh; once it's gone, it's gone. You have to love a place that doesn't pander to modern day tourist norms - utilising local produce, altering the menu every night, and catering to carnivores and plant eaters alike (day of the week dependant).

Despite having an unwritten rule of not visiting venues twice we opted to ignore it this time around and sampled 7 dishes over two nights - a decent feat as these bad boys aren't on the small side! The best calamari we'd ever tasted, spicy pork, succulent veggie options, and plantains...all combined with local cheeses and washed down with Modelo beer, chunky watermelon juice or a hot drink tasting like a combo between porridge and nut soup. Odd but we'd happily have another.

Suffice to say we sat speechless in this hidden away courtyard scattered with candles, a Mexican food Nirvana if you will. Tastebuds tingling, every morsel is worth savouring and savour we did. It truly knocks the socks off any eatery in recent memory and for little more than $12 it's impossible to go wrong.

Go to San Cristobal, go to hole-in-the-wall at 49B, Flavio A. Paniagua, and eat these quesadillas...they're simply unforgettable.