Gourmet Mexican Food at Julia Mia Cancun
/OMG my second post and it's about food again... no surprise there!
My boyfriend and I decided to try a semi-new restaurant in Cancun last weekend for our date night. We had heard great things about Julia Mia and its gourmet Mexican food. Julia Mia is located in downtown Cancun right next to Costco. The decorations inside and out are just beautiful.
Obviously I checked in on Foursquare as soon as I got there (social media geek) and was excited to find the gift of sopecitos! Free sopecitos for checking in, bonus. They came with chicken inside and 4 different salsas to try. Sopes are thick fried tortillas that are generally topped with chicken or beef but can vary by region in Mexico. Sopecitos are the smaller versions of these.
Next we tried some appetizers. Fernando got "Tacos de la esquina" or literally corner tacos, meant to be modeled after Mexico's many types of street tacos. There was one of requesón (the Latin version of ricotta cheese), potato with sausage, and one of chicharrón (pig skin). I helped him eat the requesón one and let me tell you it was phenomenal.
We also tried another traditional Mexican street food that is commonly found in parks and on street corners around the country called esquites. Esquites are the pieces of corn that have been removed from the cob and are then added to a cup with mayonnaise, lime, and chile. I thought it was super cute that the esquites at Julia Mia came in little individual carts just like the ones that are driven around by the esquites sellers in the streets. Nice touch!
For the main courses it was really hard for us to choose because the Julia Mia menu is packed with a variety of interesting and different gourmet Mexican dishes. I picked stuffed raviolis that were actually pink because they were made with pink pasta. They were stuffed with huitlacoche (a mushroom fungus that grows on corn kernels) and topped with grilled pumpkin flowers, goat cheese, Poblano chili sauce, cream, and chili oil. This dish for me was to die for! Confession: I am NOT a spicy eater. It was a tad on the spicy side but I couldn't stop eating it!
Fernando chose "carne en su jugo" and he also loved his dish. We couldn't stop there though , we had to order desserts. We ordered flan and churros to finish up the night. The churros were AMAZING -- warm, crunchy goodness.
Apart from the amazing cuisine, Julia Mia has mariachis that play every Friday night from 9pm-10pm and we just caught the end of them when we arrived. There's nothing more relaxing and Mexican, than listening to mariachis on a Friday night and eating real Mexican food. The rumors I heard about this place were true, it's delicious and has a great atmosphere. Julia Mia has a real knack for turning authentic Mexican street fare into a gourmet sit down dinner without losing any of the flavor.
Being the sober sally that I am, I was also happy that their alcohol free strawberry daiquiris were fresh, natural, cold, and yummy! I've run into some places who make their daiquiris with artificial mix and too much sugar, never a good combo.
If you're in Cancun and looking for a classy, affordable, authentic Mexican place, Julia Mia should be at the top of your list. I highly recommend you try a dish you've never had before because this menu is loaded with interesting Mexican food! What's the craziest Mexican dish you've eaten? Share your comments with me!
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