Holbox & Chichen Itza

I have not been to Holbox since before Covid 19, so when I had several appointments nearby, I made it a point to stop by and treat my tastebuds to fresh fish and seafood. 

They were remodeling their kitchen, so they were operating out of their food truck parked in front. The menu was limited to ceviches and tacos for a few weeks, but they had a special of ceviche mixto with shrimp, octopus, and fish served with a  crisp fried tortilla, along with 2 fried baja rockfish tacos for only $19. 

Every bite of the ceviche was perfectly marinated with lime, onions, and topped with avocado and micro cilantro. The generous serving was more than enough for one person, so I saved some to take home and concentrated on the lightly battered fried rockfish tacos served with cabbage slaw, tomatoes, and a drizzle of crema and lime on excellent corn tortillas.

Since I had several visits to the area, I got different tacos on different visits, like the scallops ($8 each), octopus ($7 each), and shrimp ($6 each). Each one was either lightly seared or fried and all served with the same hearty corn tortillas.

When they finally reopened inside Mercado La Paloma with a large new kitchen and seating area, I immediately ordered the whole branzino for $28 with cilantro rice, black beans, x'catic sauce, avocado, tomato salsa, and corn tortillas. Their branzino is one of my favorites in all of Los Angeles, stuffed with lemon and fennel, and tenderly grilled.

While waiting for the remodeled Holbox to open inside Mercado La Paloma, I also revisited Chichen Itza, Holbox's sister restaurant in the same Mercado. I ordered the rockfish special which came with a salad of orange and jicama, and served on a bed of rice with a citrusy sauce that tempted me to lick my plate :) On another day the pollo asado, marinated in achiote and sour orange juice for $14.95 served with black beans, cabbage, rice, tortillas, and fried plantains was such a generous serving that I made 2 meals out of it!

Their habanero sauce is addictive, but thankfully they sell bottles of it so you can take some home until your next visit.