MFNYC

This is our 3rd condo rental visit to PDC. We had a great week with great weather. Based on some research, much of it here, I had a list of places to try, and we did try a few.

Some of our new favorite discoveries are:
Imprevist - A nice change of pace in flavors, and location is peacefully off the main drag (on 1st av between calle 14 & 16). This is our favorite restaurant in the area.

Los Aguachilies (Constituyentes location) - the best tacos we had anywhere, with some interesting twists. Also great ceviche.

Carbonocitos - excellent al Pastor dishes, and nice atmosphere. In the evening, they apparently serve drinks balanced on their heads (according to my son)!

DAC market - great fresh fruit, also bread, hot out of the oven. Also a great place for a nice breakfast and a great variety of fruit smoothies. We kept our condo stocked with fruits and guacamole ingredients for late afternoon snacks and sangria.

Ah Cacao - the brownies are to die for. They just melt in your mouth.

Mexico Blue Dreams Dos Ojos Cenote snorkel tour - We usually do things on our own, but for cave snorkeling, a guide is needed. They are located at the dive shop on calle 28th near the beach. They are delightful people, and our guide Vicky was the best. We were the first group to arrive at the Cenote so had the place to ourselves for a while which was an extra bonus. There were 6 of us, we had our own tour.

Colectivos - we knew about them but never used them. We'd usually rent a car for the day to go on excursions, but after having trouble getting a car for 6, we decided to use the Colectivo. It's a great service, and so inexpensive. We went to Tulum for the morning.

Coconuts - The beach attendant at our condo (Luna Encantada) offered to get us some coconuts off the tree. We took him up on his offer. It was quite a production, he did manage to get down a bunch of coconuts, and sliced them open so we could drink the water. Naturally we gave him an extra tip for his trouble, and it was well worth it and quite entertaining.

bbq Chicken from the takeout place on 20th av and calle 2 - this we have done before, but forget how absolutely wonderful this chicken is. We bought extra for leftovers. The next day we picked up some cheese and made quesadillas for lunch with the remaining chicken and tortillas.

We keep returning to PDC because whenever we try to find a similar type location (on the beach, walk to town, easy transport for excursions, lots of dining options, good grocery resources, etc) we never find anything that comes close.

MichelleY

Thanks for the recs!

emd3

Glad to see you tried some of my recs from your April thread, like the DAC restaurant, Imprevist, Carboncitas,, and Aguaschiles.

I know that chicken place at 2 nd and 20th, it is so good. Sounds like you had a great time.

MFNYC

Yes, emd3, I did try some of your recs.

We also lucked out with the weather. The week before it rained quite a bit and this week it's supposed to rain again. We had maybe 2 minutes of a sun shower Friday morning, and that was it.

Actually another rec is a fabric store my daughter and her friend found (both have BFAs in Fiber arts and love textiles). It was on 30th av, somewhere around calle 18. Then we saw another on Constituyentes, around 15th av, but they didn't get around to check that one out.

emd3

Yes, 30th ave is great for all kinds of specialty stores, from flowers, to hardware (many diff specialty shops like electrical, paint, light bulbs, etc), bike stores, fabric, office supplies, on and on. Plus the Mega, DAC, and Walmart are also all on 30th. It is really the main shopping st. for locals

emd3

BTW, the pita bread they make at the DAC is the BOMB. it is fantastic, fluffy, incredible. try it if it is available.

docdan

Would appreciate the location of DAC. thx for the tips.
BBQ Pollo? Now we're talking!! Sin Duda!!

emd3

DAC is on 30th Avenue, btwn Constituyentes and Calle 20. Actually it is on corner of 30th Ave and Calle 20.

If you go, definitely eat breakfast or lunch at the wonderful restaurant at the front of the DAC. Very very good, and get a fresh fruit smoothie with whatever you order. You will thank me for the tip.

Getting ready to go down to spend time at our condo at end of Oct. in Playa and also drive to Merida for Hanal Pixan. We are planning to watch the World Series at End Zone in Playa and Boston's in Merida! Looking forward to it.

docdan

one more Q: DW is also into fabrics, what makes the above mentioned fabric store on 30th so special? Unique fabrics? Selection? Price? I am trying to be a recovering straight guy, but I still just don't get the shopping for fabric thing.

docdan

I'm sorry, just repeating the question - was there something particularly unique about the fabric shops that made them worth recommending? Thanks.

colokid

I think there is some beautiful lace that I've seen there both in the store on 30th by Mega (across the street from Mega on 30th Ave). and the store further north on 30th Ave on the corner of 30th ave & 34th street (Assis is the name). I went in to try and get some stuffing for pillows and thought that was the same price as in the U.S.

docdan

THX