The torta stand in front of my hotel is considered one of the best. This hot sandwich of chorizo, pierna español, cheese, avocado, egg, and onion weighs more than half a pound, could feed three people, and costs 38 pesos. That's right, about $2.00.
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Saturday, October 15, 2016
To tour group or not to tour group?
I rarely participate in tours of any kind when I'm traveling, whether it's big-bus escorted excursions, cruise ships or small guided groups of local sites. Part of the fun of a trip is the research, planning and negotiating of local buses and subways to make my way around a new destination. I am definitely the Queen of Public Transport. But as I get older, and as the world's top spots make it onto everyone's bucket list thereby becoming more and more crowded, I'm rethinking my aversion to relying on someone else's expertise when I'm in a new place. Wisely chosen and done early, a guided tour can relieve some of travel's inevitable stress and lay the groundwork for the rest of a visit.
The top thing I want to experience in Mexico City besides a visit to Teotihuacán and the Anthropology Museum is the famous street food. I plan to eat most of my meals from carts and markets rather than sit-down restaurants. To that end, I've booked a tour with Eat Mexico on my first full day in the city to that I can scope out all the best and most reliable sources of good eats. The tour covers the Cuauhtémoc neighborhood of my hotel, Casa Gonzalez, and promises the following:
"On this tour you’ll gain an overview of one of the most vibrant street food scenes in the world, spread out across a neighborhood full of hungry office workers. Moving from stand to stand,
we’ll sample fresh tamales, squash flower burritos, carnitas (pork simmering for several hours in lard) and more. You’ll understand why the tacos de canasta can sell out before 11 a.m., and
bite into a cemita sandwich that packs an incredible punch."
Yum. That should set me up for the rest of the week. And for a touristy splurge, I might grab breakfast-with-a-view at El Balcón del Zócalo before hitting the Cathedral and the Templo Mayor.
El Balcón del Zócalo
The top thing I want to experience in Mexico City besides a visit to Teotihuacán and the Anthropology Museum is the famous street food. I plan to eat most of my meals from carts and markets rather than sit-down restaurants. To that end, I've booked a tour with Eat Mexico on my first full day in the city to that I can scope out all the best and most reliable sources of good eats. The tour covers the Cuauhtémoc neighborhood of my hotel, Casa Gonzalez, and promises the following:
"On this tour you’ll gain an overview of one of the most vibrant street food scenes in the world, spread out across a neighborhood full of hungry office workers. Moving from stand to stand,
we’ll sample fresh tamales, squash flower burritos, carnitas (pork simmering for several hours in lard) and more. You’ll understand why the tacos de canasta can sell out before 11 a.m., and
bite into a cemita sandwich that packs an incredible punch."
Yum. That should set me up for the rest of the week. And for a touristy splurge, I might grab breakfast-with-a-view at El Balcón del Zócalo before hitting the Cathedral and the Templo Mayor.
El Balcón del Zócalo
Monday, August 1, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Primera dia
What I Did: Planned to shop locally at the markets but ended up at a supermercado. Bought some basic foodstuffs and minimal utensils for the apartment. Will be a more thoughtful shopper tomorrow. Channeling Scarlett O'Hara, but I'm dead tired from yesterday's trip.
Where I Ate:La Olla for a huge breakfast of eggs over easy, chorizo, pan tostado, frijoles, nopal (cactus), a 7-fruit juice, and the best coffee in Oaxaca. (Forgot to take photos until I'd eaten it all. I'll do better tomorrow!) A small sandwich from Cafeteria La Principal for lunch. Lots of cacahuates.
Something I Learned: Not everyone loves futbol. I took a cab home from Soriano's supermarket, and the driver remarked that he finds watching it very boring and prefers to sing and play guitar in a local band. We had a nice conversation all in Spanish although I'm stumbling whenever I need to express complex ideas. But he said I spoke like an angel, so he has a warm place in my heart!
What I'm Thinking About: You need to have a pretty thick skin to be a photographer, especially if you're taking photos of local people. Before noon, I'd seen so many things that I thought would make great pictures but was reluctant to take out my camera. I mean, really, does the guy sweeping the sidewalk using a twig broom that's taller than he is really want to appear on my blog? I also saw a confirmation group of little kids all dressed in white, long chiffon dresses for the girls and mini tuxes for the boys, outside a church on the north perimeter of Parque El Llano and a funeral procession down Calle Porfirio Diaz that included many people on foot carrying white gladioli, calla lilies and Madonna lilies following the hearse, some singing very solemnly. But I will leave these scenes to your imagination.
And about texting, something I'd never done before this trip, all I can say is that the language of the tweet or text is just one step above grunting. R U gettin' me?
Where I Ate:La Olla for a huge breakfast of eggs over easy, chorizo, pan tostado, frijoles, nopal (cactus), a 7-fruit juice, and the best coffee in Oaxaca. (Forgot to take photos until I'd eaten it all. I'll do better tomorrow!) A small sandwich from Cafeteria La Principal for lunch. Lots of cacahuates.
Something I Learned: Not everyone loves futbol. I took a cab home from Soriano's supermarket, and the driver remarked that he finds watching it very boring and prefers to sing and play guitar in a local band. We had a nice conversation all in Spanish although I'm stumbling whenever I need to express complex ideas. But he said I spoke like an angel, so he has a warm place in my heart!
What I'm Thinking About: You need to have a pretty thick skin to be a photographer, especially if you're taking photos of local people. Before noon, I'd seen so many things that I thought would make great pictures but was reluctant to take out my camera. I mean, really, does the guy sweeping the sidewalk using a twig broom that's taller than he is really want to appear on my blog? I also saw a confirmation group of little kids all dressed in white, long chiffon dresses for the girls and mini tuxes for the boys, outside a church on the north perimeter of Parque El Llano and a funeral procession down Calle Porfirio Diaz that included many people on foot carrying white gladioli, calla lilies and Madonna lilies following the hearse, some singing very solemnly. But I will leave these scenes to your imagination.
And about texting, something I'd never done before this trip, all I can say is that the language of the tweet or text is just one step above grunting. R U gettin' me?
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Where to eat in Oaxaca City
There won't be enough days in July to try all the food that's available to the traveler to Oaxaca, but I'm sure going to try. Last summer's visit helped me get oriented, but I'll need to make a serious plan of action if I intend to sample as much as possible. But the first thing I'm going to do after my plane lands and I take a collectivo to my room is to walk to Paseo Juarez El Llano to the Popeye's there and get a paleta:
Photo of a cajeta paleta (goat's milk & caramel) courtesy of goodiesfirst.com
Then I'd like to go to Marco Polo if it's still open for a seafood splurge. Since most Oaxacans eat their biggest meal before 5pm, they only open for breakfast and "lunch" and are closed by 6:30pm.
On my way back to my room, I'll have to stop by a tienda and get some cacahuates japones for snacking later. If you've never had these, they are highly addictive peanuts covered with a soy or chili flavored shell, salty and just a tad sweet.
The next morning, I'd like to revisit Cafeteria La Principal for a light breakfast of pan tostado con miele and some of their wonderful cafe. This tiny storefront shop had just opened last summer while I was in Oaxaca, and I'm happy to see the two sisters who own it have become quite popular. They make yummy sandwiches that will be perfect for days when the NEH group is on the road and I need food to go.
I expect many of my colleagues who are traveling down with the NEH have favorites and recommendations of their own which they'll share. In the meantime, if you haven't been to Oaxaca or just want a little tease of what you're looking forward to foodwise, Eat Your World -- Oaxaca has a brief illustrated explanation of some typical Oaxacan foods. The blog Goodies First has a nice post on Oaxacan market food.
And there's a wonderful Flickr group of photos that will get your mouth watering (check out the link as there are pages and pages of images):
Photo of a cajeta paleta (goat's milk & caramel) courtesy of goodiesfirst.com
Then I'd like to go to Marco Polo if it's still open for a seafood splurge. Since most Oaxacans eat their biggest meal before 5pm, they only open for breakfast and "lunch" and are closed by 6:30pm.
On my way back to my room, I'll have to stop by a tienda and get some cacahuates japones for snacking later. If you've never had these, they are highly addictive peanuts covered with a soy or chili flavored shell, salty and just a tad sweet.
The next morning, I'd like to revisit Cafeteria La Principal for a light breakfast of pan tostado con miele and some of their wonderful cafe. This tiny storefront shop had just opened last summer while I was in Oaxaca, and I'm happy to see the two sisters who own it have become quite popular. They make yummy sandwiches that will be perfect for days when the NEH group is on the road and I need food to go.
I expect many of my colleagues who are traveling down with the NEH have favorites and recommendations of their own which they'll share. In the meantime, if you haven't been to Oaxaca or just want a little tease of what you're looking forward to foodwise, Eat Your World -- Oaxaca has a brief illustrated explanation of some typical Oaxacan foods. The blog Goodies First has a nice post on Oaxacan market food.
And there's a wonderful Flickr group of photos that will get your mouth watering (check out the link as there are pages and pages of images):
Where to eat in Oaxaca City, a set by planeta on Flickr.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Damn good coffee
Reading: Oaxaca Journal by Oliver Sacks
Oaxaca al Gusto by Diana Kennedy
My friends know I'm extremely picky about coffee, so much so that I have mine shipped up from New Orleans every three months. But I loved the coffee we had in Oaxaca. One of my favorite places was La Antigua on the Reforma. We went in the evenings to play chess while drinking coffee and eating chocolate cake with chili sauce.
The Oaxaca Wiki has other suggestions of where to get a great cup of coffee or chocolate oaxaqueno, and I'm planning to hit them all, and more, this summer!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Please, can I have some more?
Image via www.amazon.com
Okay, so I was quite pleased last summer that I ate chapulines (grasshoppers) twice and salsa with smoked gusanos (worms). But then I read Diana Kennedy's Oaxaca al Gusto and discovered a recipe for Mole with Black Iguana. And I realized that in the realms of adventurous eaters, I'm probably not a candidate for the next Survivor tv series.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Food wasn't the only thing I loved about Oaxaca, but . . .
(I have to say that pictures taken with an iPod are not as good as a digital camera despite assertions to the contrary.)
On Thursday last week, I was lucky to be invited by KC to a Members Only event at the Museum of the American Indian. The topic was chocolate and its many manifestations in Mexican cuisine. In addition to a chocolate-infused tequila and white wine, the tastings included turkey with an almendrado mole, pork in a chocolate chili sauce, tamales with chicken and black mole, and some sublime desserts, my favorite being the flourless chocolate cake. This last was washed down with hot chocolate and chocolate egg creams. All of the food was prepared by Zarela Martinez, an authority on Mexican cooking and the stories behind the recipes. She owns a restaurant that was the best place to get authentic Mexican cooking in NYC.
I say "was" because yesterday I saw the news that Zarela's would be closing after 23 years. Sad news indeed!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The Cramp
A quiet movie about a disaffected young Frenchman in a small Oaxacan village on the Pacific coast. It dragged in a few places but was ultimately very satisfying emotionally and visually. Sadly, there was very little dialog, and a lot of it was in French and English as well as Spanish, so I didn't get to practice my new skills in espanol. But it was a great choice for my birthday movie, and I ate the best mole verde I've had since Oaxaca at El Ranchito del Agave. BB didn't like her food or drink, but I will definitely go back there again.
Discovery of the night: There are delicious cupcakes in New York, and they're made by Mitchell London!
Monday, July 26, 2010
In Oaxaca, one must eat . . .
Sopa Azteca with epazote, corn and a zucchini-like vegetable called chayote
Tlayuda with sausage and -- yep, those are tiny chapulines (grasshoppers). Watch out -- they're hidden in many dishes!
Fish steamed in brown paper with herbs and peppers and mushrooms
Flan -- notice that portions are half the size of what we're used to, so you can eat many different courses
Sated and happy
It's possible to eat well here without being too adventurous. But if you really want to get into the spirit of Oaxaca, you must be open to trying things that look a little (okay, very) different than what you are used to. (Sorry to sound so smug, but I've been quite pleased with myself for trying unusual things and not gagging!)
The pictures above were taken at a restaurant in the hills near Ocotlan where we had gone for the Friday market and to visit the church and museum that were funded and/or restored by Rudolfo Morales (more about him later).
A funny thing happened while we were there. A loud marimba band was playing at a baptism that had taken over the inside of the restaurant. We were eating out on the veranda and our guide (let's call her Nina) who is also the owner of the apartment where we are staying, knew the restaurant's cook, so she asked him what was going on.
Imagine her surprise when he pointed out the man who was paying for the baptism of his child and the child's beautiful young mother. The man is married to a woman in Nina's husband's family who had not been very welcoming of Nina's marriage as Nina is not as pure-blooded as her husband. (Apparently, this woman always used to ask Nina, "What are you going to do when my cousin throws you over for a more sophisticated woman from Mexico City?")
This woman, the cousin of Nina's husband, is apparently unaware that her own husband has a whole second family with what the cook called his "weekend wife"!
Tlayuda with sausage and -- yep, those are tiny chapulines (grasshoppers). Watch out -- they're hidden in many dishes!
Fish steamed in brown paper with herbs and peppers and mushrooms
Flan -- notice that portions are half the size of what we're used to, so you can eat many different courses
Sated and happy
It's possible to eat well here without being too adventurous. But if you really want to get into the spirit of Oaxaca, you must be open to trying things that look a little (okay, very) different than what you are used to. (Sorry to sound so smug, but I've been quite pleased with myself for trying unusual things and not gagging!)
The pictures above were taken at a restaurant in the hills near Ocotlan where we had gone for the Friday market and to visit the church and museum that were funded and/or restored by Rudolfo Morales (more about him later).
A funny thing happened while we were there. A loud marimba band was playing at a baptism that had taken over the inside of the restaurant. We were eating out on the veranda and our guide (let's call her Nina) who is also the owner of the apartment where we are staying, knew the restaurant's cook, so she asked him what was going on.
Imagine her surprise when he pointed out the man who was paying for the baptism of his child and the child's beautiful young mother. The man is married to a woman in Nina's husband's family who had not been very welcoming of Nina's marriage as Nina is not as pure-blooded as her husband. (Apparently, this woman always used to ask Nina, "What are you going to do when my cousin throws you over for a more sophisticated woman from Mexico City?")
This woman, the cousin of Nina's husband, is apparently unaware that her own husband has a whole second family with what the cook called his "weekend wife"!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Rough Justice
Huevos Divorciados for breakfast -- green and red sauce
In the kitchen with Nora
Ingredients for mole
After much toasting, sauteeing and blending, the ingredients become the mole
1st course -- squash blossom soup
I spent the morning searching for a farmacia so that I could buy some Pepto-Bismol, so it's only fair that I mention the food here.
Did I already say that everything, and I mean everything, is eaten with chiles? This not only includes things you would expect -- moles, meats, fish -- but even things you wouldn't expect. (You think that dish of red sauce next to the butter on your bread plate at breakfast is raspberry jam? Nope!) However, for those of you who are thinking tasbaco sauce and waving your hand in front of your mouth, you would be surprised at how subtle and not-hot some of these chiles are. Once your tastebuds get used to them, you will wonder how you ever ate papaya, ice cream or hot chocolate without them!
The stomach is the last line of resistance, though, especially as we get older. I began feeling a little uncomfortable an hour after breakfast yesterday and have been sticking close to the apartment for the last 24 hours until the little pink tablets begin to do their magic. In a way the timing was good -- it could have been disastrous if we were on a bus excursion in the mountains to visit ruins. But it was also unfortunate because The Husband and I were taking a cooking class with our host and the smell of the delicious mole and tamales we learned to cook was making me queasy. The Husband got to eat my share and his, so I'll just have to wait until I get home and replicate this dish before I can taste it.
In the kitchen with Nora
Ingredients for mole
After much toasting, sauteeing and blending, the ingredients become the mole
1st course -- squash blossom soup
I spent the morning searching for a farmacia so that I could buy some Pepto-Bismol, so it's only fair that I mention the food here.
Did I already say that everything, and I mean everything, is eaten with chiles? This not only includes things you would expect -- moles, meats, fish -- but even things you wouldn't expect. (You think that dish of red sauce next to the butter on your bread plate at breakfast is raspberry jam? Nope!) However, for those of you who are thinking tasbaco sauce and waving your hand in front of your mouth, you would be surprised at how subtle and not-hot some of these chiles are. Once your tastebuds get used to them, you will wonder how you ever ate papaya, ice cream or hot chocolate without them!
The stomach is the last line of resistance, though, especially as we get older. I began feeling a little uncomfortable an hour after breakfast yesterday and have been sticking close to the apartment for the last 24 hours until the little pink tablets begin to do their magic. In a way the timing was good -- it could have been disastrous if we were on a bus excursion in the mountains to visit ruins. But it was also unfortunate because The Husband and I were taking a cooking class with our host and the smell of the delicious mole and tamales we learned to cook was making me queasy. The Husband got to eat my share and his, so I'll just have to wait until I get home and replicate this dish before I can taste it.
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