Huevos motuleños: art meets flavor in the Yucatán’s best breakfast

Published June 22, 2023

You hear the crunch of the base tortilla as soon as you cut in. Slathered in a thin layer of refried black beans, then fried once more, it’s the bedrock of one of the Yucatan’s most iconic dishes: huevos motuleños.

The dish became a southern Mexico breakfast staple way before any of our times, and it’s only grown in popularity over the years.

Named after the Yucatán city of Motul, it’s a work of art: a baroque brunch on a crispy tortilla canvas that’s a melange of reds, yellows, and oranges, dotted pink — and green for good measure — because art is play, and who doesn’t like to play with their food?

When the side of your fork slices in and runny egg yolk oozes out, it’s like the breaking of a dam, transforming the base of your plate into a reservoir of burnt orange. It’s a feast for the eyes — and don’t get me started on the flavor.

One hundred years ago, when Yucatán governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto walked into La Sin Rival eatery with artist Diego Rivera, Mexico’s education minister José Vasconcelos and writer Jaime Torres Bodet — among others — he couldn’t have known the role he’d play in changing the face of Mexican gastronomy.

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