It's All About the Food

Okay, I'll be honest. A big reason we travel is because usually where we go the food is so damn good. That's especially true here in Mexico. If you've only eaten Mexican food in the US, then you haven't eaten Mexican food. Yes, there are tacos and enchiladas here (I've never seen a burrito in Mexico), but they are a tiny part of the local cuisine. Since we've been in Puebla we've had many meals that you'd be hard pressed to find in even the best Mexican restaurants in the US.

Today was a perfect example. For breakfast we went into the local mercado. There were all sorts of food stands selling all sorts of the regional foods. Cemitas are big here. These are the local version of the Dagwood sandwich. A fluffy roll, cut in half and piled high with Oaxacan stringy cheese, avocado slices, meats, onions, tomatoes and spicy salsa. These are so popular in one stall that the workers there make the cemitas in an assembly line, many at the same time. But I didn't feel like a cemita, so we looked a little further and found a lady who made consume de carrero.  This is a fantastic soup made with all sorts of sheep parts. Yes, parts.  Better not to ask, just eat. The broth was a beautiful dark red and deliciously spicy and rich.  There were many condiments, including chopped onion, cilantro, spicy red salsa, green salsa and limes.  Oh man, was this good. Amy had tacos made with sliced pieces of sheep meat. Not quite as good, so we dumped the meat in the soup and shared.

Another great regional dish here is Chiles en Nogada. This is a large chile, stuffed with ground meat, raisins, ground nuts, cinnamon and other goodies. The chile is then dipped in a very fluffy egg white batter and deep fried. It is served with a luscious creamy white sauce and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. I read about a restaurant here, La Fonda, that was supposed to make a good one. They've been in business for 60 years and when you walk into the place it looks like it must have looked 60 years ago. Lots of old pictures on the walls, beautiful talavera pots everywhere, and a cook who looks like she's been there awhile. The chile en Nogada was made fresh, dipped in the batter and fried and brought to the table piping hot. Oh man, was it good. I've had this dish before many times, but this one was by far the best. Amy had Chipoltes Navidenos, also a large chile deep fried and stuffed with cheese but this time the chile is chipotle meaning the chile has been smoked to a deep brick red with lots of smoky, and only lightly spicy, flavor.  Served with fresh limes and a fresh avocado lettuce and tomato salad.   This was also really, really good.  It's a Christmas season dish.

As I mentioned in a prior post, Puebla is famous for its mole. We've had mole many times and it's been good in the fancy restaurants and in the market stalls. There was a special dark brown mole up in Cuetzalan that was probably the best. An amazing combination of sweet and spicy and oh so rich!

But the simple food can be great. The other morning in Cholula there was nothing open for breakfast. But a local man pointed us down the street where two brother in laws have a little street stall and serve the best tamales I've ever had. One was wrapped in a banana leaf and had cheese and a spicy red sauce.

Mexico has truly one of the greatest cuisines in the world. But it takes a trip here, especially to cities like Puebla and Oaxaca, to realize it.