Fast Visit to the Big Enchilada

We'd been invited to the wedding of the oldest son of our dearest friends in Mexico city, to a girl he met in Monterrey. The wedding would take place Saturday, April 16, 2011 in Vista del Valle, a suburb of Naucalpan, Estado de México.

A Yen For Chow: Wang Jiao Comida China

Not long ago, our amigo in Morelia, Peter Terry told us of a better-than-average Chinese restaurant, Wang Jiao Comida China, at  Avenida Universidad # 695, corner of Jesús Romero Flores in Morelia. Peter had heard of it from world traveler, Michael LeBroy. Last Thursday, we went to Elaine's Garage Sale (not to be confused with Elaine's in Manhattan) and because the Wang Jiao Comida China is only a few blocks away, we went to dinner there.

Hey, Mr. Tangerine Man!

When I was a kid growing up, a small glass of orange juice was an obligatory start to each breakfast, Sometimes there'd be a grapefruit juice variation. The juice was poured into an approximately 4 ounce glass. Usually the glass was a bonus "gift" from having emptied out a Kraft cheese spread jar. This juice was tossed down as if it were medicine. Back then, before we started using frozen juice concentrates, the family morning oj was usually from a can. Back then, I wasn't fond of orange juice.

Over the years, packaging improved, and as an adult, my wife and I enjoyed various fresh pack, with pulp, not-from-concentrate Florida orange juice.

What's this doing here in Michoacán?

Youmaynotbelieveit, but we have seen refrigerated Tropicana Florida orange juice in cartons at Costco in Morelia. Why would anyone would select this packaged juice (although it's decent stuff), when oranges and other citrus fruits are so relatively inexpensive here in México?

Prices for naranjas dulces vary seasonally. Right now, we can get 5 kilos for $20 pesos (about $1.70 U.S, for 11 pounds. And they are delivered to our street, at least twice a week. In the off season, the prices are higher, and the citrus fruits probably not worth consuming.

How about some nice, large, juicy mandarinas (tangerines)? This truck, heaped with mountains of mandarinas (also 5 kilos for $20 pesos). It's stationed every day in season, down by the Tzurumutaro RR crossing.

Truck by the Tzurumutaro tracks

But wait! There's more! Now, for a limited time only, you can get sweet juice oranges from the same guy for only $20 pesos for 6, yes SIX kilos.

With an inexpensive lever-action citrus squeezer, you can make freshly squeezed juice in a few minutes, with little effort.

Great looking hardware!

(Psst. Last night, before bedtime, I squeezed enough mandarinas and some oranges to make a very large glass of juice, which I drank with no inhibition but with the greatest pleasure. It could serve as a refreshing dessert after a substantial meal. There's juice enough for two generous glasses at breakfast time.)

A Mexico City Weekend Part 5

Mojing Comida China

Monday, January 31, 2011

In the late morning, we made another visit to the Mercado San Juan and neighboring shops. The visit was bookended with two Twisted Taxi rides.
Our shopping list was light, and we spent less time at MSJ than usual.

Our dining goal was the Mojing Comida China restaurant, first reported by Nick Gilman as "The Real Thing". It's located at the corner of Calle Humboldt and Artículo 123, south of the Alameda Central, and a block from Metro Júarez station. We could have walked there from Calle Ayuntamiento and Balderas, but we did not know that when we hailed our second Twisted Taxi of the day.

A Mexico City Weekend Part 4

An evening at "La Embajada Jarocha*".


Sunday night, after our walk through the park, we were hungry again. After all, our meals that day had been light picnic fare and a lot of coffee.

None of us wanted a big deal meal nor to travel very far. We did a Google Maps search for Colonia Roma Norte and restaurants. Near the top of the results was "La Embajada Jarocha", only 6 or so blocks from our hotel, at the corner of Calle Jalapa and Calle Zacatecas. Doña Cuevas and I had eaten there in 2009, and had mixed feelings about the food, but we were willing to give it another try.

La Embajada Jarocha, esq. C/ Jalapa a C/ Zacatecas

A Mexico City Weekend Part 3

Nibbling La Condesa

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Parque México is the green heart of Colonia Condesa-Hipódromo. I confess; I don't know where one colonia ends and the other begins. But it's one of the mellowest areas in el D.F.

The Parque is defined by the course of the former horse racetrack. Avenida México takes an elliptical course within the outer ring of Avenida Amsterdam. Parque México is surrounded by every sort of café and restaurant imaginable, with the possible exception of Mexican restaurants, as Nick Gilman implies in his Good Food Mexico City blog.

A Mexico City Weekend Part 2

The Rosetta Enigma

Saturday, January 29, 2011

The pivotal dining focus of our weekend was the much lauded Rosetta, a northern Italian restaurant located a short walk from our hotel. We'd congratulated ourselves on being able to get a greatly coveted reservation for five (we were joined by our friends Luz Ma and Paco).


The building and its interior are beautiful, and the food is presented simply but attractively. However, our experience was marred by crowded seating and noise in the atrium dining room. The food was good, based on fresh, seasonal offerings, but often very simply and carefully prepared, and with high prices. It was an experience, but not one we'd be likely to repeat soon. The highlights of the meal were, in my opinion, the house baked breads and the coffee. What came between was often enigmatic. I'm not accustomed to paying high prices for such understated food and in such modest portions.

Details inside...

A Mexico City Weekend Part 1

Seven months had passed since we'd last visited Mexico City. While we enjoy the quiet and natural beauty of our home on the rancho, from time to time I need  the stimulation of the vibrant megalopolis of Mexico, D.F.

We especially enjoy the greater variety of restaurants available in the City. So, with our friend, Ron Granich, we planned an extended weekend for the end of January. We traveled the sensible and economical way, on the AutoVías buses, at 50% discounted senior fares, thanks to the generosity of the Mexican government's INAPAM program.

Asador La Hacienda Morelia

(This could have been titled, "Three Little Piggies".)

We recently went to Morelia to shop and dine, riding with our friend, Ron.
I'd read a review on MoreliaConnect by Wayne Brewster owner of the shop, Aquí y Allá, recommending a new restaurant, featuring both Lebanese and  Yucatecan specialities, as well as carnes a la parilla. (Grilled meats.)

Deconstructing Christmas Dinner

or, "What To Do With the Leftovers".

I haven't reported on our very enjoyable Christmas dinner of last week. To sum up briefly, our former neighbor, Larry hosted nine guests at the beautiful house he's presently watching for the absentee owners.

El Camino Real Tzurumutaro

El Camino Real in Februrary, 2004

(Note, please, that I was out and without my camera. So archive photos will have to do.)

Saturday we were in Pátzcuaro, and after much to-ing and fro-ing, decided to have comida at Restaurante El Camino Real. It's the locally famous restaurant, in business for about 40 years, next to the Pemex gas station at Tzurumutaro. It had been a long time since we’d eaten there, as on the previous two visits we felt that the quality had slipped. But on this visit, we are happy to report that it has regained its luster.

Return to Amazonia...

...with swords and no camera*.


Five years had passed since we'd last dined at Morelia's Amazonia, a Brazilian-styled restaurant, where, for a fixed price, you are brought sizzling cuts of meats on "swords", plus a nice variety of side dishes. We'd tried to go here sooner, but the circumstances were never quite right. This time, we celebrated Thanksgiving with our friend, Larry, a devoted carnivore.

Three San Miguel Restaurants: Part 3

Just a week before our departure to San Miguel, I received an email from a friend, Doug Butler, who with his wife, Kathy, had just returned from SMA. The email described a remarkable meal at Dila's Restaurant and Gallery, located at Ancha de San Antonio # 31, Colonia Centro.

Doug wrote, and I excerpt: "The chef is Sri Lankan, trained in Switzerland, and very talented.  TripAdvisor has rated it the best restaurant in SMA."

They enjoyed it so much, that they returned for a second meal: "Sri Lankan food is a lot like Indian food, with their complex and dense use of spices to enhance the flavor. ... two of our best meals ever, and we can't wait to go back."

I was impressed by Doug and Kathy's enthusiasm (He even wrote his first review on TripAdvisor about it) and so planned a visit to Dila's on Tuesday, our last full day in SMA.

Three San Miguel Restaurants: Part 2

On Tuesday morning, after completing our business at the American Consulate, we joined our friend, Larry at El Pegaso.  It's one of his favorite restaurants in San Miguel, and it's a favorite with other folks as well. It's at the corner of Calles Corregidora at Correos in Centro.

Three San Miguel Restaurants: part 1

We returned to San Miguel de Allende for a brief visit in order to pick up our new passports. The whole business took perhaps 15 minutes. Mission accomplished, we turned our attention to a few restaurants, of which at least two had been described in glowing terms by various sources.
The lineup was determined by two restaurants' closed days, which worked out well for us. The three were Mare Nostrum, El Pegaso, and Dila's Restaurant and Gallery. All three had received enthusiastic reviews from various sources. All are worthy, but each had its flaws.

The Savor of the Lamb

Our friend Ron had bought some lamb several months ago from someone in Jalisco. It had been in his freezer since then. He suggested that he grill it on our big charcoal cooker. After some discussion, we agreed that a Moroccan seasoning would be a nice approach. That suggested a Middle Eastern theme.

"Come here, you poor little lambs who've lost their way."

I made some supporting dishes, and our guests, Ron, Shirley and Krina; and Doña Cuevas and I enjoyed a great lamb dinner on Saturday, November 6, 2010.

Bare Knuckles Pan de Muertos

Pan de Muertos, 2004

These days, it seems that at least every other Mexico food blogger has made Pan de Muertos. Here’s my story.

(This project is intended for experienced bakers of yeasted breads.)

Over the years, I’d made fake-o Pan de Muertos, using sweet doughs or bun doughs shaped into the classic skull with crossed bones.

This year, I decided to go all out and use Diana Kennedy’s recipe from “The Art of Mexican Cooking”. I found it workable, but I also discovered some instructions in the recipe with which I respectfully disagree. In all I made two batches, and the second one was greatly superior to the first, although the first wasn’t all that bad. The ingredients varied little neither in type or in proportions. However, timing and fermentation were very different. 

Birria de Chivo Don Rubén, Pátzcuaro

CLOSED!

Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas laces up lower and middle Pátzcuaro, from la Estacíon to the edge of Centro. A short distance above the Glorieta Tangaxuan is the Galería Vicky y Rafael, parent to the former biker bar, the Bar Chopper. The Bar was a raffish neighbor to the Hotel San Felipe, now the Hotel Misíon Pátzcuaro.

A Visit to San Miguel de Allende

Parochial Meringue Architecture

Parochial Meringue Tarts

San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. Cradle of Allende and Independence.
A quintessentially Mexican city of 80.000 Mexicans, but also home to over 11,000 foreign residents, either full or part time. Noted for its Colonial architecture and its galleries and shops. Notably more expensive than many other Mexican cities. There are so many U.S. expats that the State Department has opened a Consular Agency there.

¡Ya Pasta! Spaghetteria Gian Carlo Morelia

I have often emphatically stated that I could see few reasons to order pasta in an Italian restaurant in Mexico. Maybe not in the U.S., either, although I have made several exceptions, I confess.

Why? Because it's cheap and relatively easy to prepare in my own kitchen. Now, I love Italian food, and I won't spurn a side of pasta when it comes as part of my Italian restaurant meal. But in my limited experience*, pasta Italian style is not done that well here. I also cringe at paying $90 MXN for a plate of spaghetti al pesto. One of my motives in dining out is to try some dish I have not made at home. Our one Italian dining experience in Morelia a couple of years ago, at the classy but ultimately unsatisfying Trattoria Bizancio smoldered in my brain.
 Spaghetti? ¡Ya pasta!