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



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