Our Best Meals in Playa del Carmen

As far as food goes, Mexico is not at the top of our list. I suspect it's because we don't know what we're doing and we were staying at an all-inclusive for part of the trip.

The food at the Iberostar Paraiso Lindo was good, not amazing. The buffet had a lot of good options and CJ certainly never went hungry. The trouble is, we're foodies and we go on vacation for the food as much as anything else.

We did have several very good meals. The first was at a Mexican-Japanese sushi fusion restaurant called Sushi-Tlan. Chris, the concierge at the Hacienda was surprised that we wanted to go there, but the sales guy at the Royal Paradise said it's his favorite place in Playa del Carmen. As expected, the place was visited mostly by locals, which was just fine by us.

Okay, so if you're looking for authentic Japanese sushi, Sushi-Tlan is not the place to go. But if you're looking for some interesting rolls, this is a great place. A lot of the rolls are fried, and the menu had an overwhelming number of rolls that featured ACCH (avocado, cucumber, cream cheese). There was even a rice dish with chopped up crab, seaweed sprinkles and cream cheese! We were dubious but it was delicious; even Maki's dad loved it. CJ LOVED the place. He stuffed himself with salmon sushi, tuna sushi, California rolls, and another roll that featured salmon and cream cheese.

We had dinner at a fancy restaurant our second evening in Playa del Carmen. We went to a restaurant in a cave, yes a cave! The restaurant is called Alux (pronounced a-loosh) and it was definitely an experience.

You have to walk down stairs to enter the restaurant because it's a cave. Alux is huge and different sections feature different decor. There was a lounge with white leather couches. There was a section with long tables. There were several bar areas. The food was good, not amazing, but the whole experience was worth it.

Our absolute favorite and best meal during our trip was at a local placed called El Fogon. TripAdvisor reviewers gave it amazing reviews and Maki and I were craving some local food, so off we went. Again, the concierge at the Hacienda raised his eyebrows when we told him we wanted to go to El Fogon, but we were delighted at the food.

We had amazing pork tacos, chorizo tacos, nachos and chorizo quesadillas. El Fogon is not in the touristy 5th Avenue area. It's on Constituyentes. The place is open air, but with a roof, no air conditioning, the waiters don't speak a lot of English, and it's hot in there. Locals and adventurous tourists packed the place. Including beer and mango drinks, 5 people ate for $35. If you go to Playa del Carmen, do not miss El Fogon!