Know what you're ordering.
Sure taking a chance and ordering the thing with the strangest name on the menu can be fun, but if you feel like playing it safe, here are some go-to foods that are on most menus. Enjoy!
Tamales
Before I came to Mexico I had never tried tamales before, and they surely are different than anything I have ever had, which is perfect because we are here to try new things! It's interesting though because Yucatán has its own style of making tamales. (When I ordered they asked, "Mexican style or Yucatecan style?")
Basically in the Yucatán they wrap them in large banana tree leaves instead of corn husks. The best place I discovered is right outside the panadería by the monument on Paseo Montejo. They are only 13 pesos each and are really filling.
Panadería
I couldn't help but post this place. It doesn't really classify as something that you can order at a restaurant, but for the first couple months I was here I must have visited it at least 4 times a week. It is full of traditional pan dulce (sweet bread). You can't go wrong and everything is so cheap! Most of the ones I bought were only 5 pesos. Be adventurous and try to taste every one!
Panuchos/ Salbutes
The first time I tasted Panuchos and Salbutes was in Tinum, a little Mayan town (pueblito). I fell in love and now I search for them at every small taco shop. There have been amazing ones, and there have been not so amazing ones, but that's expected when you visit different restaurants. Panuchos are a fried tortilla with frijoles, a very popular black bean in the Yucatán. Salbutes are without the frijoles and has a softer more dough-like tortilla. Both of them usually have tomatoes, onions, avocado, and a type of meat.
Tacos
I know what you are thinking. You know what tacos are, but just understand that the tacos in Mexico are going to be different from the ones you are used to. Also, when you see 8 pesos on the menu, don't freak out too much, that's the cost of one taco about the size of your palm. They are usually delicious though, so not much of a risk to order.
Tortas
Torta means something like a submarine sandwich and can have many different things on it. This was chicken (pollo). There's also turkey (pavo) and beaf (res). This one was toasted and was only 15 pesos. We bought it in the Centro (downtown) on Sunday when a bunch of little taco shops pop up. It's a beautiful atmosphere also!