Bakal is on the grounds of the Mayan Palace and is a great place to eat. Being a history buff, I tried to determine if there was a connection to this name. I could not come up with an exact match but something close. Mayan civilization evolved in the ancient city of Palenque, located in the foothills of Chiapa. King "Pacal" the Great is in the record. I wonder if the folks who designed that gorgeous lily pond outside the reception area knew that one of the important Mayan Gods was Water Lilies Jaguar? It’s nice to see some cohesion in the theme.
We had a few breakfasts at Bakal and poked around on Fiesta Mexicana Theme night (different themes daily and a champagne breakfast on the weekend). For early birds there is the 2-for-1 breakfast buffet between the hours of 7am and 9am. The complete buffet per adult about US$15. I would pay that much just to be able to find the luscious cactus juice they prepared freshly for me whenever I had breakfast there. The cactus is also used in salads and is eaten as a vegetable, much like green beans. It is sliced and seasoned and can be a marvelous accompaniment to any meal. They call it nopales, which are the prickly round cacti, and I am still not able to get any here in New York.
Though they have Mexican specialties in the buffet spread, they also take into account the calorie-counting traveler like myself. I was in rapture when I surveyed the fresh-fruit area: sugary watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe that were never rancid, pineapple cubes, baby bananas, sweet platanos, red grapes, papaya that was the perfect color and taste, and for the first time, a fruit cocktail – but not the Del Monte canned type: this was freshly cubed assorted fruit you could top with some cottage cheese or plain yogurt and feel fabulous about it.
No spread would ever be complete with the omelet maker, and he sure knew how to make omelets. I had a couple of bites from Chuck’s, and it was very tasty. On the other side was a local woman making quesadillas from scratch; you could have them just with cheese (as I did) or color them with additives like mushrooms, onions, and other condiments. A variety of cheeses and cold cuts were beautifully laid out in concentric circles. Give me queso blanco any day!!
On Fiesta Mexicana night, we dropped by to see the artisans and their offerings, and caught a glimpse of the buffet: those desserts I espied had little or nothing to do with Mexico. They were so tempting that I had to make a quick exit and look at the finger painting artist (yes, another one). Some folks had been invited, and had their crafts on tables outside of the restaurant as well; silver, leather and beautifully crocheted items.