PLAYAFOOD

AT THE TABLE IN PLAYA DEL CARMEN

Salbute, panucho or tostada?

Three antojitos with almost identical toppings. The difference is underneath.

At Antojitos El Gordo, avocado, tomato and pink onions make these three bites look like close cousins. Pick one up and the corn base gives it away.

Original photos by Art · November 5, 2026

Three antojitos from El Gordo on a red table, with the salbute at upper right, panucho on the left and tostada at lower right.
The salbute is at the upper right, the panucho is on the left, and the tostada is at the lower right.

Look at the base

A hand bends the pale, puffed edge of a salbute around its toppings.

Salbute

Puffy and pliable

A small round of corn masa puffs as it fries. The rim can crisp while the base stays soft enough to bend, as it does in this photo. The toppings sit on the fried masa.

A hand lifts the browned edge of the panucho to show the underside.

Panucho

Beans inside the tortilla

For a traditional Yucatecan panucho, cooks open a pocket in a corn tortilla, fill it with beans and fry it. The close-up shows the browned underside and edge.

A thin tostada held in one hand, with beans visible on top beneath the other toppings.

Tostada

Thin, flat and crisp

A corn tortilla is fried, toasted or baked until crisp, then served with toppings. This El Gordo tostada has a layer of beans spread on top of the base.

Try all three at Antojitos El Gordo

El Gordo’s photographed menu lists each of these at 30 MXN. Order one of each with the same topping to compare the bases in three bites.

Un salbute, un panucho y una tostada, por favor.

One salbute, one panucho and one tostada, please.

See El Gordo’s menu and map

Culinary sources

Also in the guide · Taco or tostada? How the tortillas differ