Homemade charcoal in Oaxaca

Here's something beautiful I happened upon at the Ocotlan market - do you see what I see? It's a big old beautiful bag handmade from, I think, commercial rope using a knotless netting technique. The bag is full of homemade charcoal, probably on its way to a mezcal operation somewhere in the hinterlands or maybe for cooking up in the mountains. It's always seemed counter intuitive to me that one would desire wood that's already halfway burned but charcoal burns hotter and cleaner than wood.  Bonus points it's much lighter and thus easier to transport too. So yeah it's not all briquettes for your barbecue.  The art and science of making charcoal is alive and well somewhere deep in Oaxaca.  Here's a link if you'd like to learn more about making charcoal. https://primitivetechnology.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/making-charcoal/

The Number One Grain in All of the World

The roots of corn run deep in Oaxaca.  One of the first known cobs of corn was found in a cave less than an hour east of the city. Some say this is the first known cultivation of corn but my research would lead me to conclude that there may have been at least one other hybridization, which has given us what we now know as zea mays, happening concurrently  in the American Southwest. Still I always like to pay homage and take a deep internal bow to that little cave when we drive past on our way to Mitla.

 Indeed corn runs deep in all of Mexico as evidenced by the saying, "sin maiz, no hay paiz" (without corn we have no country). You find it used for everything from food and drink to weaving (as a starch to stiffen string) to children's toys (think corn husk dolls), to used as tools for pottery and, my personal favorite, a cork to hold whatever brew your gourd drinking container might hold. And please remember, that the sweet corn you might eat on fourth of July in the States is completely different from most of what you find in Mexico where the harder and starchier corns reign supreme and are used for tortillas, tamale masa, atole drinks and a host of local food variations.  Also the elote, found on menus of many American hipster restaurants, is NOT what you'll get in Mexico. Elote refers to the time of the year when the dent/meal corn is still very soft and milky. There's a zillion ways to use it from tea, to meal, to ice cream and more.  It's considered a special delicacy by those in the know.

Corn is the most harvested grain in the world and definitely one of the greatest gifts Mexico has given us. As you can imagine, the anti GMO movement is alive and well in Oaxaca.  My postcard image above came from a whole Anti GMO series produced by Franciso Toledo. In Mexico, being anti GMO is considered patriotic.

The Ghost of Frida Past

It's always fun to see Frida at her fonda in the Ocotlan market on Fridays.  She's either posing for pictures or busting out the food and her stall - it's almost always busy and with some great live music.

Mocktail in Oaxaca

One thing I love about running a tour in Oaxaca is I can go to a restaurant and ask them to design a tasting menu just for us.  You'd be surprised how many say yes. And so it was at El Destilado who started me off with this lime/cucumber mocktail. We had a magnificent rooftop meal and then all ran inside just as dessert was served (some kind of burned cacao and strange uber ripened fruits) and a rainstorm approached.  Read a little bit more about El Destilado by clicking here.

Some Good Eats in Oaxaca

Well lookee here, from NYT 36 Hours in Oaxaca published in March of 2018 - a  photo featuring the most wonderful shrimp broth soup, a lovely part of my two and a half hour Saturday lunch that I enjoyed at Cabuche on one of my last days in Oaxaca.  Nothing like a LONG, leisurely meal over good conversation to get you into the Latin swing of la vida buena. It's appropriately called Raising the Dead, as this was my first substantial meal post some serious stomach upset. It felt extremely nourishing.  Highest recommend. And I liked the writer's take on a Sunday spending it mostly in the  ex-Marquesado neighborhood which is our hood at the fabulous Casa Colonial. 

(photo courtesy NYT - 36 Hours in Oaxaca)

Chile de Agua in Ocotlan Market

Interrupting all things Art tour to bring you this foodie announcement.  There's a new chile in town called chile de aqua, unless you live in Oaxaca where it's been raised for hundreds of years.  I've read about it and I know there's a farm in Eugene growing them because one of their Oaxacan workers brought the seeds up so he could grow his favorite pepper.  So I was thrilled to actually see them for sale in the Ocotlan market.  Read about this heirloom chile and how it came to the American market.

Where to Eat in Oaxaca

Here's a link to a fun article about the restaurant scene in Oaxaca - People were raving about the restaurant El Destilado last time I was there. It's definitely on the must go to list.  Ah Oaxaca, so many restaurants, so little time.

http://www.newworlder.com/article/9762/exploring-the-explosion-of-modern-mexican-cooking-in-oaxaca

I'd Never Seen this Before

They told me it was a kind of mezcal. But I'd never seen mezcal quite like that.  Looked more like hair conditioner with it's greys, and yellows, and lavender colored bottles.  Apparently they call them "cremas" and it is some kind of local village thing, more or less derided by serious mezcal aficionandos. 

Natural Dyes with Pomegranates

Itty bitty baby pomegranates just at the stage where they are going from flower to fruit.  They are called granada in Spanish.  They;re not native to Mexico but you see them growing in lots of home gardens.

 

 Mostly I've seen them in Teotitlan where they use the bark to make a natural dye that produces various shades of brown. More and more, like everywhere in the world, you are seeing the resurging interest in natural dyes. Cochineal, indigo, and caracol are at the top of the pyramid historically when it comes to natural dyes in Oaxaca for their brilliant reds, pink, purples, and blues respectively but there are lots of other plants people are using

Here's a link to an en Via story about natural dyes in Teotitlan 

And here's a link to find out more about taking natural dying workshops in Oaxaca.

(And sorry for the big white arrows on the photos. These aren't videos.)

Eating Our Way Through Oaxaca - One Tamale at a Time

 Instead of showing you pictures of food, I thought I'd show you pictures of us after some of my favorite meals on the tour and let you be the judge on how enjoyable the meal was. You know, food is important to me. And we're in Oaxaca, rightly considered a foodie capital of the world. and we're making art and expending a lot of mind energy so we need to be well nourished. I always aim for nothing short of spectacular food experiences. This trip did not disappoint.

 Above, here some of us are outside Luz de Luna in Huayapam. This was one of my favorite meals of the trip. It started with the traditional, thirst quenching, cacao based drink native to this village called tejate.  After that they brought us out four different kinds of tamales ones by one. They started with the most subtle flavored one, a corn masa with the herb chepil and gradually progressed to the hottest and most intense, a corn masa with red mole and chilis. Some tamales were wrapped with corn husk and others with banana leaf, each tied a different way. The whole meal was then finished with the indigenous beverage made from the chilacayote squash. So good. I was going to send you to the trip advisor reviews for this little hidden gem of a restaurant but it's all in spanish which i guess tells  you it's a  more of a local secret. 

Here we are having just finished up our open air,  terrace covered, candlelit, bunnies hopping through the restaurant, dinner at El Criollo. This place had only opened in the last 6 months and lucky for us is just a block away from our B and B. It features a seven course tasting menu and was one of the best meals I have had in a very long time. I thought it was going to be super edgy food but it was comfort food Mexican style with a twist.  The last course was a divine mezcal soaked watermelon.  But don't take my word for it, click here to read what the NYT had to say about it. Highest recommendation. Also by far and away the highest price I've ever paid in Oaxaca.  Can't wait to try their weekend brunch.

Here we're having a little spontaneous, let's pop into this hole in the wall mezcal bar and have a taste of flights late in the afternoon kind of experience.  ( At In Situ near the Tamayo museum) The bartenders were amused. And so were we.

 And finally, and, as always some of the best food of the trip is always the home cooking at Casa Colonial, our very special B and B. Taking lots of our meals here is so much easier than having to travel and take every meal on the go.  Here we are on our last night at the end of our Farewell Fiesta when the Casa goes all out and we have a big barbeque out in the garden and this tim/e live music!!

Thanks so much Casa Colonial for gifting us with the mariachi band. They were almost as delicious as the food!

And click here should you like to read my Thanksgiving post in which I pay homage to my top 10 Oaxacan food experiences.

My Top 10 Favorite Food Experiences in Oaxaca

I thought Turkey day in America, a day devoted to food would be an excellent time to do a post on eating out in Oaxaca.  People always ask me about where to eat and so here it is in condensed form, my top 10 list. It's by no means exhaustive and I guarantee I have left out some gems because I can't eat everywhere. And these are mostly bona fide restaurants not street stalls. I would describe myself as someone who likes good food but I don't consider myself a particularly adventurous eater.  Also, I've covered high and low budget since variety is the spice of life. My focus is less on fine dining and more on everyday places. Please note you'll have to look up address and times open as these are constantly changing. I welcome comments of your favorite places to eat. And the best tip anyone ever gave me was to ask the locals where they like to eat. Buen  Provecho!

1) At  La Pez, my newly discovered favorite hole in the wall, there are three (OK maybe five) things on this menu which is  devoted to fish plus a great condiment bar. The fish tacos are the simplest of  fresh fish, perfectly cooked for something less than $3.  Plus I had this unbelievably thirst quenching basil, lime, cucumber drink.  I think they're using finely ground lime zest to give it such sublime flavor. Find it east of Santa Domingo on Pino Suarez.

2)  La Jicara is Oaxaca's leftist,feminist, revolutionary bookstore.  You know the kind.  Every left leaning town has one.  Luckily for us, La Jicara (referring to the ubiquitous gourd bowls made from the calabash tree and seen everywhere in Oaxaca), also has a coffeehouse and a tiny restaurant. I had a mashed/whipped sweet potato dish there that I've never been able to stop thinking about it was that delicious.  Their comida coridas (lunch special) can be a bargain.

3) Itanoni is a restaurant with a mission and that is to save and serve heritage corn varieties.  Another hole in the wall with plastic chairs and tables up in Colonia Reforma. You can watch women with their hospital masks on grind, press, and cook tortillas over open flames.  Alice Waters said she had the best tortilla of her life here.  And, aside from being offered a place at the table in someone's village home, this is probably one of the few places you can taste a true freshly ground corn homemade tortilla. Delicious. Plus try the green drink made from hierba santa.

                                                               (Nieves flavors)

4) The  Las Nieves stands just outside the walls of  La Basilica de la Soledad, serve up some mighty fine flavors of homemade iced sherberts.  Originally started by Oaxaquenos from the north who brought snow wrapped in palm leaves to town, you'll find about nine or ten stalls serving well known flavors like chocolate and strawberry but then they veer off into chile and tamarind and a fruit or two you've never even heard of. Plus, don't worry, the tuna isn't a fish ice cream (yuck), it's a lovely raspberry colored sherbert made from cactus fruits. There's dozens of flavors and they're happy to offer samples. A great way to relax and soak up some Oaxaqueno street flavor. The music school is close by so sometimes you'll be lucky enough to catch a serenade or two.

5) La Popular - no list would be complete without mention of a local coffeshop/hangout/bar and La Popular seems to be the hipster coffeeshop of the hour. Plus lots more than coffee including craft beers, house mezcal, and a decent menu.  And what's not to love when the restaurant's logo could be mistaken for street art?

                                                         (Street art or store logo?)

6) Caldo de Piedra (Stone Soup in Spanish) is about 20 minutes out of town in the town of El Tule and worth the drive for this only in Oaxaca experience. A family run operation, the Chinanteco owners serve this traditional fish broth soup cooked by placing hot rocks into a gourd bowl. It's a little bit like cooking as theatre, watching the grandmother cook the tortillas and her tattoo covered grandson maneuver the hot rocks and the flames while another one lines up the gourd bowls. I would imagine it's filled with tourists but whenever I have been there it seems to always be locals.  Pro tip -  it's a strictly BYOB operation.

                                                              (Caldo de Piedra)

7)  La Hacienda Marta  is probably the most gimmicky place on my list but it's almost exclusively geared towards Mexicans.  Near El Mogote, on the road to Etla, Hacienda Marta is Oaxaca's biggest buffet.  It's the King's Table of Oaxaca which is to say the food may not be super memorable but the sheer quantity makes a huge impression - from gelatin deserts to pig's feet stew it's a real overview of Mexicana cooking.  Plus a Oaxaca style amusement park for kids with some ancient airplane to climb adds to the vaguely surreal feeling.  Come for Sunday brunch and see why food and family go together in Mexico.

                                                           (Hacienda Santa Marta)

8) La Biznaga is my favorite place for a casual but hip lunch or dinner with a refreshing, urban kind of feel.  The open courtyard is filled with locals and tourists. Names of pulques  mezcals, and wines from Chile, and a music playlist dominate the chalkboard on one side of the room.  The menu feels a little familiar.  The blue cheese soup is rich and delicious. The service is good. My fall back, go to place.

                                                                    (Biznaga)

9) Switching gears to more formal fine dining, I can't say enough good things about La Catedral just a block or two north of the Zocalo.  This is where a local might go for a business lunch or their spouse's birthday.  Sophisticated, understated, and very, very tasty, the menu focuses on traditional Oaxacan ingredients with a contemporary cooking twist.  They always start with a delightful amuse bouche and take it from there.  Plus cloth napkins and live guitar melodies complete the ambiance. Sunday brunch starts at two and is well worth the price and the people watching is always excellent.

                                                                  (La Catedral)


10) And finally El Criollo, technically should not be on the list as I've never eaten there but it  seems worth mentioning as it's the latest brainchild of Mexican chef Enrique Olvera, considered one of the finest chefs in all of  Mexico. You can eat at his Mexico City restaurant Pujol for four times the price or find his recently opened El Criollo ( in this case meaning heirloom or native) west of Soledad and past the Soriana grocery store.  It's on a large,  minimally restored piece of property where a state of the art kitchen cohabits with an open air/wood burning comal. Can't wait to try their five course tasting menu which, I believe is the entire sum of their menu which means  that everyone eats the same thing. Can not wait. 

 

 (El Criollo at night)

11)  I get to add an extra favorite because it would be wrong to leave such a singular restaurant as La Teca off the list.  Way off the beaten track, up in Reforma, it's a place where the lines between the owners home and her restaurant seem blurred. Are we in her living room full of family photos and lined with artwork traded for food?  Or is this where we sit?  Actually I choose dining out in the plant filled patio/garden.  And I recommend the tasting menu.  Oh big yummy. They serve up all traditional dishes from the Tehunatepec region and one is more delicious than the next. Over and over people say it's the best meal they had in Oaxaca.  Plus the chef is a woman, :)

 (The proprietress of La Teca)

So that's it for this years top 10 (well actually 11).  Remember I left off many of the better known places like Casa Oaxaca, Los Danzantes, Origen, Pitanoni, & La Olla in favor of places you might have a harder time hearing about. And still there's no street food stalls,market fondas or mezcal bars on the list either. So much food, so little time.

(All photos from Google images)

Some Places we Like to Eat in Oaxaca

Did I mention that part where we always find time to go out for an enchanting meal or two?

Because, Hello, we are in Oaxaca. And we are artists. And we must fuel ourselves to make the good art. Here's an all time fave especially for late night drink or desert - Mexico city based Los Danzantes.