I have had many memorable meals in Cozumel. There is a lot of variety among the restaurants and quite a few places really care about their food and the service.
A birthday dinner on the island has lots of possibilities. A couple of years ago, a friend and I went to El Moro on my birthday. I’d heard about the terrific shrimp dishes. Big shrimp, a contradiction in terms, that come from the Bahía de Campeche. We were wowed that night, and it has been a habit for the past couple of years.
Guests are greeted with enthusiasm and warmth. Chips and a nice habañero pico de gallo arrives at the table, followed quickly by drinks. Fortunately, they serve Mexico’s finest beer, Bohemia. Only worth noting because not everyone does here in the land of hopless, flavorless Corona.
You can’t miss by starting with the garlic soup with egg. A rich chicken stock that has the perfect amount of garlic, and an egg that is swirled into and cooked in the broth.
The shrimp brochette (shrimp on a wire) is good, the grouper is always fresh and never overcooked, and one friend loves the chicken mole.
But, I’m after the Camarones Palapa, which I have never seen anywhere else. They start with large shrimp, pounded flat, breaded and fried. The results are small shrimp bowls. In the shrimp bowl is a sauce very much like a Veracruzana, but with green peas, and more shrimp.
What more could a shrimp lover ask for, but shrimp on shrimp?
The meal is topped off by a complimentary Mayan liqueur Xtabentun, made of honey and anisette. Not a common drink, it has a nice balance.
If it is your birthday and someone in your party has spilled the beans, the lights go down and a homemade banana split with candles comes to the table, accompanied by a sombrero (you can’t keep it) and a version of one of the worst songs ever written.
