Review: Harry's Grill, Cancun Mexico

Formal steakhouse dining isn't for everyone, but it's my perfect way to celebrate. After a few nights in an all you can eat resort in Cancun it was time to head out and get something different and we weren't disappointed. Our night at Harry's was the perfect kind of meal - great food, great company and great service. 

Harry's is all about great meat and good wine with old fashioned service. A pre dinner Martini and a post dinner Cognac kind of place. There's even a balcony fit to bursting with Hispanic men sharing cigars. If you are the kind of person that fears calories and machismo, this is probably not for you. This would make a wonderful place to take business partners or a convention meal; an entire table behind us was sporting high end Swiss watches and shouting about finances. 

Aging meat on display

Choosing your cut

In the theme of the old fashioned steakhouse was the presentation of choices; not only did they bring us half a butcher's window to help choose our meat cut but later they would do the same with a rolling aperitif bar.

Now unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the entire menu, and their menu online conveniently forgets to include prices. Being clear though this was an expensive meal and we ordered as much alcohol as we did food. The Bill for two very excitable foodies came to around $500USD

We ordered waaaaay too much food, but the menu was ... everything we love and so we couldn't help ourselves but over order and try everything. We were on vacation after all! 

Rob Roy

Cucumber Martini with Chilli Lime salt ring

Each drink came with the full shaker making a Martini more like two. The bar staff are excellent and made both to order and menu items with flair. 

Fresh baked brioche with whipped butter and fresh sauces (included)

Toasted flat breads (included)

Beef Carpaccio

Another favourite - raw beef hammered thin and served with fresh herbs and spices. 

Empanadas - Blue cheese and Sundried Tomato & Six Cheese

These were amazing, no street food here! High end cheeses are folded into flakey shortening pastry and then fried. Served with fresh chili and salsa verde.

Jalapeno Mash

Honestly we didn't need this in the end  and barely touched it but I think my man got excited by the idea of rich buttery potatoes with Jalapeno chilies. 

Caprese

Honestly it was like they'd rung up our psyche and asked our favourite sites - while the boy squeed about the potatoes I ordered this caprese and then discovered it was a huge platter full.

Creamed Spinach

Again, we didn't need this at all but again... creamed spinach is one of our favourite things. They could only have topped it by adding a soft duck egg. 

Filet Mignon 8oz 420MXN

Usually my man prefers big macho cuts of steak but I think having gone a little wild on the appetizers he thought he'd order a more sensible petite filet. Melting on top are large salt crystals.

Bone in Cowgirl cut 16oz Steak 580MXN

When the staff so clearly treat their meat reverentially it seemed a must to get a bone in steak for that marrow infused flavour. This Cowgirl option is a clean cut Rib Eye on the bone, frenched in the "lollipop" style. Grilled to perfection with salt. 

2011 Terrazas Reserva Malbec

Of course good Latin beef deserves good Latin wine and there's nothing we like more with steak than Argentinian Malbec. Unfortunately most the vintages older than this 2011 were drifting off into ridiculous price territory. Of course were you in the mood to spend money they had a cellar to support any high end choice from Australian Grange to Californian Screaming Eagle.

Brownie Sundae

Having been on a diet for months it was time to blow it all with one dessert. This brownie was studded with nuts and the whole thing was topped with salted caramel. 

They billed these as "mini desserts" and so my partner ordered 2... at this point the calorie count was basically laughable so it seemed fitting.

Mini Lemon Cheesecake

Molten Lava Cake

There may have been some cognac and port that came with the dessert and coffee but honestly we were a bit tiddly by this point and I forgot to take pictures. 

Fairy Floss (Cotton Candy) included

The bill on arrival was accompanied by this huge paddle of Fairy Floss, for what I'm sure was about 20c worth of spun sugar they had the entire dining room full of otherwise serious adults wooping and cheering. 

The whole meal was absolute perfection, short of one soft egg and one order of liver parfait this was basically every single one of our favourite foods in one sitting. Add in immaculate service and a lovely setting, vacation relaxation and wonderful company... this may have been one of the best meals of my life. Had I realised how rich and plentiful the servings would have been I'd have split this meal into two visits. We chose to walk home to our resort to try and pace off some of the wine and the fat.

Harry's Grill Cancun

http://www.harrys.com.mx/

High end steak house cuisine

Harry's Grill Cancún
Boulevard Kukulkan Km. 14.2
Zona Hotelera
77500 Cancún, QROO, Mexico

The Little Mexican Cooking School, Puerto Morelos Mexico

The thing that I like to do most when I have free time is cook so when we were on Vacation in Mexico we took the time to visit the Little Mexican Cooking School. The school is located in a small hotel in Puerto Morelos a picturesque fishing town not far from Playa del Carmen, about a half hour drive from the hotel zone in Cancun. 

The day that we attended was the first time their current chef was returning after a break so he was jovial but nervous - without reason! The entire class was well organised and entertaining and the recipes were wonderful. He took the time to plan out the cooking so that our meal was all prepared and ready to eat as a multi course meal.  

We started with some lectures on the local food and how to prepare it, some misconceptions about Mexican food and the history of some of the major ingredients. Then we moved into the large kitchen to prepare our dishes; a 4 course meal. 

For some of the attendees this included some basic guidance on knife skills, seasoning, mise en place and kitchen cleanliness but it was a great tutorial for the beginner and experienced cook alike. The range of dishes included salsas, soup, appetizers, a main dish and a pastry and covered a great variety of cooking skills was covered like baking, frying, sauteing and more. 

The kitchen is large and well kept and perfectly suited for cooking classes, I was particularly enamoured of this above stove mirror system which meant the whole room could see what the chef was doing on the stove. I wish that my school had had something similar for home economics classes as a teen. 

The recipes we cooked that day focused on Caribbean Mexican food; tropical and fresh flavours combined with the familiar spicy comfort food that many were used to eating Mexican in the US.  

The class took up a whole morning finishing with the meal as a lunch so be prepared to spend an entire day at the school. This was well worth the time out of our sight seeing and relaxing schedule though and was one of the more memorable vacation days we've had travelling. 

On leaving the school they provided us with a recipe book of everything we had done that day and a lovely apron each, that I use constantly. Here I'm going to give one of the recipes that they provided but I will say that the experience, the hands on fun and the time we had as a couple make the cooking school experience worth far more than the recipes we walked away with. Much recommended.

Chilled avocado soup with tortilla sticks and chilli oil

Fresh potato and corn gorditas; including all the salsas and salads

Crusted tuna fillet with mango salsa and cilantro lime rice

Chocolate Truffle Tart with Spicy Pecans

Spicy nut topping

1/4 cup dark agave

2tspn ground cinnamon

1 tspn ground orange peel

1/4 tspn dried chile arbol (ground)

2 tbspn brown sugar

2 cups pecans

1/2 tspn salt

Method

• Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and set asside
• Mix the agave, cinnamon, orange peel, chile arbol, brown sugar and salt together in a small bowl
• Place the nuts in a skillet and set over medium heat. 
• Add the nuts to the skillet and cook while stirring frequently for 4 -6 minutes until they start to brown and a toasty scent is found
• Add the spice mix to the skillet and stir continuously until the mixture thickens and coats the nuts, approximately 2-3 mins
• Transfer the nuts to the sheet pan and separate with a spatula. Allow the nuts to cook then use to top pastry or on their own with cheese or dried fruit

Crust

3 cups plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup cold butter cut into cubes

1 large egg

1 tbspn white vinegar

3 - 5 tbspns cold water

Method

• Preheat oven to 220C (425F)  
• In a small bowl mix egg, vinegar and 3 tbspn water
• In a food processor combine flour and salt and pulse slowly. Add buttter and pulse until you get a small crumb consistency
• Add the egg mixture and continue to pulse until the dough comes clean off the sides of the mixer
• Portion dough into 2 equal disks and rest the dough in the fridge for 1 hour
• Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface into a 20cm (8 inch) circle 
• Transfer to a shallow tart pan, cover the bottom of the pastry with a circle of foil and 2 cups of dry beans (to dry bake the pastry flat)
• Bake pastry for 10 minutes
• Remove the beans and foil and continue cooking for another 10 mins until light brown in colour
• Rest the crust for 30 mins to cool before adding the filling

Filling

1 cup heavy cream

5 oz (125g) dark chocolate

1 tablet Mexican chocolate

1/4 cup melted butter

2tbpsn toasted ground coffee

2 oz liqueur - Xtabentun for Mexican flavour or your choice of spirits

2 tspn Vanilla extract 

1 tspn ground cinnamon

Method

• In a small pot bring the heavy cream to a boil and then take off the stove
• Mix the chocolates and butter into the cream folding well until you see that the butter is encorporated
• Add the rest of the ingredients to the chocolate and mix
• Pour the chocolate mixture into the tart shell and place in the fridge for 3 hours to set completely
• Top with spicy nuts, cream or other garnish of your choosing
• Serve with fresh berries and wild honey

The Little Mexican Cooking School

http://www.thelittlemexicancookingschool.com/

A hands on, all day cooking class 

Fun for beginners and foodies alike

Av Javier Rojo Gomez
77580 Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo
Mexico

Review: Sandos Cancun Luxury Experience Resort, Mexico

One of the advantages of the United States is the vast number of tourist destinations within affordable travel range and so we took a week's vacation to Cancun Mexico and tripped about the Riviera Maya and Yucatan.

As it was toward's the end of the high season we got a killer deal on Orbitz for a week at the Sandos resort, an all inclusive holiday destination. This means all you can eat food and drink; a concept that Americans seem to love on vacation but for me this was my first time at such a place.

I thought you might be interested in what you get at such a resort. They had 3 major restaurants - Seasons - a set menu molecular gastronomy affair, Zango's - the main restaurant and buffet, Gaijin - an unfortunately named teppanyaki restaurant.

They also include all you can drink cocktails, coffee time pastries, as well as bistro snacks by the pool and limited room service menu. Going during off season meant that we got a suite and all the food and beverage packages for less than $200USD per night. Prices in Cancun are similar to the US so don't expect to be able to eat off resort cheaply unless you track down small venues that the resort staff and locals eat at.

Please excuse some of the shadowing on the pictures I have a new camera which is proving difficult on macro shots.

Cocktails

Rob Roy

Miami Vice

Grasshopper

High Tea

Seasons

Assorted breads baked in house 

Shrimp "ceviche" ravioli with chipotle emulsion

Yellow corn "cappucino" with coconut foam and truffle parfum

Roasted duck breast with passion fruit spheric and sweet sensations salad

Deconstructed Key Lime Pie

Zango's Mexican Fiesta night

Breads

Sweets and desserts

Festive setting at sun down

Gaijin

Theatrics from the Teppanyaki chef

Fried rice

Miso with seasonal vegetables

Garlic chicken teppanyaki

Fried ice cream

So what was my experience of the food and drink at Sandos? For the price eating in was very economical, snacks, beers and cocktails by the pool would easily have run us $100 a day. Like many facilities designed for Americans I find the customer service to be variable depending on how nice you are to the staff and whether you tip. $1 a drink is a standard US tip and ensured that we got regular service and kind offers of refills or dish suggestions. I found that customers that were rude or needy to the staff were treated in kind. I have found reviews online of such resorts to be peppered with US tourists expecting to be waited on hand and foot without a single word of kindness to their servers. 

For foodies the quality was 'acceptable' but not amazing and given that we were there for a week it got a bit stale in choice. Still I would happily recommend the experience to others going to Mexico especially given the very limited number of smaller hotels and resorts in the Cancun area. If you include the cost of nights at the bar, breakfasts and dinners it was almost impossible to match the price. I would probably advise going out a night or two for local food. The breakfasts were amazing so fill up in the morning, spend the day site seeing and come home for a hearty dinner before relaxing in your room. 

Be prepared to change seats if you encounter large wedding parties. The all you can drink service and beautiful beach setting make this a common destination for weddings. We weren't the only couple on a romantic holiday to run away from loud groups invading the dining rooms and bars late at night. 

Sandos Cancun Luxury Experience Resort, Mexico

All you can eat and drink beach resort

Good for groups and romantic vacations - not family friendly