Saturday, March 14, 2015

El Rincón de Las Delicias Morelia

THEN and THERE:
Back in the '70s, when we lived in Springfield, MO , the Vegetarian Wave was sweeping ashore with the counter-culture movement. So it wasn't a big surprise that even in far Southwestern Missouri that a vegetarian restaurant would open.

You can get an immediate sense of the place from its name: "Earthwonder Is ...". It was a righteous hippy place, infused with patchouli and dedicated to the proposition that every mouthful should be chewed 32 times. The tables had printed paper placemats (I wonder why they weren't made by Third World artisans from hand made paper using all natural vegetable dyes.) listing rules for healthier eating. The most unforgettable rule was to avoid mucus-producing foods, specifically dairy products. Yuck. How unappetizing a thought, as we awaited our food.

That food was slow to come from the kitchen, for they had to cook the brown rice to a glutinous glop while over seasoning the vegetables with excessive curry powder. ( A mark of truly righteous vegetarian cooking back then was the abuse of curry powder.)

Our sole visit to Earthwonder Is ... put vegetarian cuisine on my blacklist for years afterward.

HERE and NOW:
I had, over the years eventually come to appreciate well prepared vegetarian cooking, as exemplified in the one of my favorite cookbooks, The Vegetarian Epicure, Book Two, by Anna Thomas. Its emphasis is on fresh ingredients to make good tasting food that almost anyone would enjoy. Best of all, it's free of self righteous proselytizing.

Not long ago, our Morelia friend, Ms RedShoes, told us of a small restaurant in the colonia of Lomas de Santa María, Morelia, where the chef offered an inexpensive set menu Monday through Friday. The food was balanced, healthy, locally sourced organic ingredients and professionally prepared with creative flair.

We had an opportunity to have comida  at this restaurant, El Rincon de Las Delicias last Thursday. The location is off the beaten track, a house in a residential area. No sign nor house number announces its existence. Only we, the cognoscenti know. ;-)

Inside the white fronted house
There's a pleasant patio and garden with a large, umbrella shaded table. Inside, the dining room has three large tables, although another could be deployed if the need arose. Classical music softly plays, enhancing the air of tranquility. The kitchen is open to view and you may see the food being prepared by the Chef and the one assistant. I liked what I saw of this kitchen.

La cocina
Chef and owner Cecilia Solis greeted us and told us the menu of the day. We were brought glasses of a very good agua fresca de guayaba. Refills were freely offered.

The salad had a choice of three dressings. We all chose yoghurt with dill dressing. The salad was modest in size but flavorful. The dressing was applied with a very light hand. There were neither bread nor tortillas, nor did we request any.

Salad with yoghurt-dill dressing
There were two soup choices: an oatmeal soup (don't snicker; I've made this myself, with fresh peas.) or a clear soup of huitlacoche, nopal, tomate y frijoles. All of us chose the latter. It was simple but clean tasting and enjoyable. Again, seconds were offered.

Soup of huitlacoche, nopalitos and frijoles
For the plato fuerte that day, there were two options. One was a tart of chard, and I think setas (shelf mushrooms) plus requesón, a Mexican version of ricotta. The other option was a calabacita rellena de setas, tomate y romeritos sobre mole casero con arroz integral y arroz silvestre. (A zucchini "boat" filled with setas, tomato, romeritos on mole of the house, with a mound of brown rice mixed with wild rice.) The mole was so good that Doña Cuevas asked for more and her wish was immediately fulfilled.

The calabacita rellena was a very nice dish and the presentation artful.
The zucchini was perfectly cooked al dente.

Calabacita rellena
We requested some salsa picante and were immediately brought a small dish of thick green sauce, compounded of chiles jalapeños, oil, salt, and I think, green pumpkin seeds.

Cecilia cheerfully answered our questions when we asked her about the food and other related topics. She described her low key restaurant as a "comedor familiar". A family style dining place.

Dessert was offered, again with two choices: gelatina con chile  or compota de melón. We unanimously chose the compote. A good choice, served warm, with perfectly cooked spheres of honeydew melon, naturally sweet.

Compote of honeydew melon
The price for this excellent meal was $60 pesos.

RATINGS
Food: ****
Service: *****
Cost: $ Bargain!
Ambience: Tranquil simplicity.
Hygiene: Impeccable.
Rest rooms: Impeccable also.
Other foods, such as wraps, vegeburguers, and pizzas are offered, besides the menú del día.
Key words: "Balanced, light, organic, healthy, nice, creative."
We will return.

Hours: M-F 11:00 -4:30
Menú del día from 1:30 to 3:30

Location:
Calle Antonio Plaza s/n between #425 and #437
Lomas de Santa María,
Morelia, Michoacán, México
Tel: 4433-30-10-77 or 4432-39-68-08



View Larger Map

19 comments:

jennifer rose said...

El Rincón de Las Delicias has become my go-to comida place in Morelia now. Cecilia has redefined vegetarian cuisine, kicking it up a notch. The ravioli, pizza, enchiladas, and legume-burgers are excellent. And I wish I had some of their mushroom pozole on this cold and rainy night.

DonCuevas said...

Thanks for telling us about and showing us El Rimcón de Las Delicias. It was a very nice experience.

Mmmm ...mushroom pozole?

Saludos,
Don Cuevas

Felipe Zapata said...

When my wife and I eat in Morelia, it's almost always at veggie restaurants. Nice write-up here. My only question is where the devil is this place? Don't make me download Google Maps, please. Some simple directions would be welcomed.

DonCuevas said...

Felipe, the best I can do is give you a Google Map route link, from the south side of the Plaza of Santa María del Guido (A) to the Restaurant, (B).

http://goo.gl/maps/w9KuO

If that doesn't help, perhaps Ms Shoes can guide you personally.



DC

DonCuevas said...

Felipe, I just embedded a better map in my post, showing a feasible walking route from the Plaza of Sta. María to the restaurant. The end point is actually Calle Antonio Plaza #425, not exactly the restaurant, which you will recall has no number. If you view the larger version of that map, and switch on Street View, you should then be able to locate the restaurant.


Buena suerte.
DC

Steve Cotton said...

Thank you for splitting the joy of vegetarian cooking from its oppressive ideology. Most of what I cook and prepare at home these days is entirely vegetable-based. Unfortunately, it is also pasta and rice-based. But that is another issue. Thanks for the news on a good eatery for my next visit.

Felipe Zapata said...

Gracias, er, I mean, thanks.

DonCuevas said...

No hay de que.


DC

DonCuevas said...

No hay de que.

Saludos,
Don Cuevas

jennifer rose said...

From Ramon Lopez Velarde, better known as the calle principal, drive south (away from Morelia). Turn at the first left past the church, and you're on Antonio Plaza. It's a one-way street in your direction until it's not, and then it's two-way. There is ample parking across the street from the restaurant.


Or you could just go to my house, and we could drive or walk from there.

jennifer rose said...

You're never had mushroom pozole? All right, the first time someone brought some to my house, I wondered "What the heck?" You will be pleasantly surprised, because substantial, full-flavored, robust mushrooms are used in lieu of meat. It really is a pozole with substance.

Mary Lou said...

Mike, I cannot thank you enough! This place is mere blocks from the entrance to our gate due east on Antonio Plaza. I have driven past there a zillion times a month and never, ever knew it existed. Jerry and I need a place nearby up here since the traffic in and out of Santa Maria, down to the periferico can be so horrific at times. If you find anymore treasures up here, please spill the frijoles!

Gratefully,
maria luz

DonCuevas said...

Glad to spill frijoles, but the real credit goes to Jennifer Rose ( Ms RedShoes).

saludos,
Don Cuevas

Mary Lou said...

Don Cuevas, I must apologize. I had you mixed up with some other guy! I will thank her for introducing you to this place when I hopefully make it to the next Gringas get together.


But, it was you who placed it on your blog, so thank you, too!


maria luz

Felipe Zapata said...

Thanks. Sounds like a plan.

Kathy said...

Mike, that was an excellent review. Doug and I plan to try it the next time we're in Morelia. Thanks for letting everyone know about it. Now I just hope we'll be able to get a table with everyone heading there after your great review!

DonCuevas said...

Thanks, Kathy;
You could phone for a reservation.


Saludos,
Don Cuevas

(who's this "Mike" guy that you and Mary Lou mentioned?)

Kim G said...

Wow! Sounds like a great place. And I had some nice chuckles at the little bombs you dropped through the piece. ( A mark of truly righteous vegetarian cooking back then was the abuse of curry powder. or Only we, the cognoscenti know. ;-).)

Saludos,

Kim G
Boston, MA
Where, as you might imagine, there are plenty of nice vegetarian restaurants. We even patronize them.

DonCuevas said...

Thanks, Kim G. There were plenty of other little bombs I could have dropped on the less desirable vegetarian restaurants past, but I wanted to focus instead on the highly positive features of El Rincón de Las Delicias.

Saludos,
Don Cuevas