New York Times may have spent 36 hours in Merida

And then again they may not have. Nothing new in this New York Times article... It seems they neither wanted or needed my advise...It's about as reliable as Trip Advisor. It would be hardly worth coming to Merida for 36 hours if this is all you did.

YUCATECANS are fiercely proud of their culture, sprinkling their Spanish with Mayan words and quick to recount the stories of resistance and revolution that set this region apart from the rest of Mexico for centuries. Somehow, those tales seem a little distant now in Yucatán’s capital, Mérida, a languid city of pastel mansions and evening promenades. The city, now one of the safest in Mexico, is an architectural jewel, and has one of the country’s largest historic centers outside Mexico City. Block after block of houses dating to the mid-19th century and earlier are in the midst of a restoration boom, and the city’s cultural and restaurant scenes are flourishing.

Merida: Mexico's Foodie Hot Spot

If you read this article in Departures Magazine you'll have the impression Merida is the Foodie center of the universe. I doubt you'll leave town with the same impression unless you are invited into the private homes of Yucatecans and Expats who are fortunate enough to have a real Mayan cook from a nearby pueblo cooking their meals.

Here's another article about authentic Mayan cuisine from Mark Bittman the New York Times food columnist and friend of a friend.  This one is about his travel to the interior of the peninsula on the trail of farm fresh peasant fare.

"Almost all of this food came from their milpa (which Rosendo still works, with a hired hand), and from the garden, where there are tomatoes, pigs and chickens. With the exception of the lard and the eggs from those animals, the meal could have been produced 500 years ago, and in much the same way. It tastes like that: essential, ancient, unlike any food you’d find in a big-town restaurant."