What groceries to buy when coming to Xcalak

What groceries to buy when coming to Xcalak

Because our Xcalak hotel has full kitchens in each suite, many of our guests like to cook their own meals for at least some of their stay. One issue we have is that there are no grocery stores here in Xcalak. We have a few “Tiendes” that sell chips, cookies, soft drinks, etc. but not much else. We also get a vegetable truck that comes by the Inn 4-5 times per week. But they don’t always have what you need. So we get asked a lot of the questions about what you should buy to bring down. Now of course that is going to depend on how much cooking you want to do (We do have a number of restaurants in town that are very good. You can see the reviews for Toby’s, Silvia’s, Costa de Cocos, and Tierra Maya and others on our blog). But if you want to do some cooking while you are here, we highly recommend you hit a grocery store on your way in. If you are coming in from Cancun, we recommend stopping at the Chedraui in Tulum. (It is about 200 yards off the main drag (307) on the left. Take the turn towards Boca Paila.) It is a large store that will have pretty much anything you will need. If you are coming in from Chetumal, you have a number of options, but the Chedraui in the Plaza las Americas is probably the closest to the airport.

All of our suites in our hotel have rice, beans, cereal, oil, milk, organic Chiapas coffee, tea, and purified drinking water. So you won’t have to buy any of that. Here are some easy things to make while here:

Pico de Gallo (for 3-4 people)

• 4 x Tomatoes
• 1 x green pepper
• 1 x onion
• 1 x carrot
• 1 x jalapeno pepper
• 1 x clove garlic
• 1 x pineapple (optional)
• Hot sauce
• Totopos (or Corn Chips, look for them in the bread aisle)
• 1-2 limes

Directions: Squeeze in lime. Chop everything into small bits, mix together and eat with chips or put on quesadillas.

Guacamole (for 3-4 people)

• 3 x Avocados
• 1 x onion
• 1 x clove garlic
• 1 x tomato
• 1-2 limes

Directions: Dice everything and mash together with the avocado. Squeeze in lime. Eat with chips or garish other items. Make fresh.

Breakfast burritos

• 1-2 x Eggs per burrito
• 1 or two slices bacon per burrito
• 50 g Chorizo per burrito
• Oaxaca Cheese
• Veggies (optional)
• ½ Kg Corn Tortillas

Directions: Scramble eggs, cook chorizo and bacon, drain, fry up veggies, put in tortilla, topped with cheese. Use Pico de Gallo for flavor.

Quesadillas

• ½ Kg Corn Tortillas
• Oaxaca cheese
• Chicken (optional)

Directions: Spread cheese evenly over one tortilla, if adding chicken, cook chicken first, then put meat on top of cheese, cover with another tortilla, cook on one side until tortilla is crisp. Flip it over and cook until the other side is crisp.

Cabbage Slaw

• 1/2 head of cabbage
• 1 x grated carrot
• 1/4 onion slivered
• salt
• 1 x lime
• Pepper to taste

Slice cabbage into thin slices, sliver onion and shred carrots, massage with salt, squeeze of lime and add pepper. Let set for 1 hour.

Other items, we can usually get fresh fish, but please let us know in advance so we can get the word out. Lobster season is July 1 through the end of February. You can usually get fresh lobster tails during this period. If you want lobster, don’t forget the butter 😉 . Occasionally we also get fresh shrimp delivered to the Inn but we never quite know when they are coming, so hard to count on it. Also, remember we do have a barbeque grill for use by our guests so if you would like hamburgers or steak, go ahead get those as well. Don’t forget to get fresh tropical fruit. Depending on the season there are papaya, mango, pineapple, dragon fruit, jack fruit, plantains, and any number of exotic fruit to try. Finally, though it is not consistently available, sometimes the veggie trucks have cochinita pibil (mayan roast pork), and we can sometimes get locally made tamales.

Alcohol A couple of the tiendes in Xcalak sell beer, but if you would like hard liquor, I would get it at the grocery store on the way down, or alternatively get it at duty free in the airport. Another alternative, Costa de Cocos has three different craft beers (a porter, ale and a lager) as well as some moonshine. They have been messing around with aging whiskey in barrels as well.

A couple of things you can buy on the way down. When you make the turn off from 307 (your first turn if you are coming from Cancun) at the 5 KM mark there is a little store on the left side of the road called Rancho 5 KM. They make their own habanero sauces that are really good, including a Soy Sauce habanero that is delicious. They also have some fruit (depending on season) and they do spiced peanuts that are really good. If you are coming from Chetumal, you can get fresh pineapple and fresh honey in Pedro Santos. You can’t miss it because there are like 50 pineapple stands along the road. This is just prior to the turn off of 307.

Example shopping list Assumes 4 people eating the following for 7 days. Cabbage Slaw, guacamole, pico de gallo, breakfast burritos, quesadilla, fried potatoes, ham sandwiches

• 1 lbs bacon
• 1 lbs Chorizo
• 8 avocados
• 12 tomatoes
• 8 green peppers
• 7 onions
• 12 potatoes
• 12 limes
• 1 pkg Oaxaca cheese
• 18 eggs
• 4 carrots
• 1 head cabbage
• 1 Kg tortilla
• 4 bags of Totopos (corn chips)
• 2 fresh pineapple
• other fruit
• 1 clove garlic
• 5-6 jalapeno or habanero chiles
• 1 package ham
• 1 loaf bread
• 1 small jar mayonaise
• 1 small jar mustard
• alcohol – tequila, rum, beer, etc.
• mixers – more limes, contoy, soda water, etc.