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.

El Senor Conejo

 Above a big yellow hutch, in the dining room of the lovely Casa Colonial, where we eat breakfast each morning, and sometimes lunch and dinner too, there is a huge collection of very simply made and roughly fired terra cotta rabbits.  Jane says a tour group from California didn't have room to bring all of them home so they left about twenty or thirty of these rabbits at the Casa.  Lucky us and I'm sure there's a story there.  In the meantime, on many an evening during the tour, you could find a few of us, each with our own bunny, madly drawing these lovely creatures.

And drinking a little

 hot chocolate as well.

Drawing is such a peaceful way to end the day.

A little Time to Relax

 Between all the art making and the touring, we even found a few moments to sit in the garden at the Casa and listen to the birds, follow the flight of a hummingbird amongst the bougainvillea , and watch the clouds.  Oh yes, and listen to the sqwauks of the resident parrot at the Casa.

And here's another parrot that manifested during the trip - a lovely little page that one of my art making companions made.

Casa Colonial's Amazing Art

                                    

              The casa where we stayed is just full of wonderful folk art, sculptures, murals, and more from all over Mexico.  I was especially charmed by this painted mural of Guadalupe, Frida, and Soledad (the patron saint of Oaxaca or Mary in her incarnation as the grieving mother) sitting down for a cup of tea together.  Click here to see more photos of the Casa.

Setting up the Art Room

                                       

We got to christen the new studio room at the Casa.  And it took us no time at all to set up tables and chairs and fill it with paint, and ephemera, and brushes, and laughter, and concentration, and quiet, and all manners of inspiration.

Our Retreat Center

We will be staying at Casa Colonia  (oh she of the beautiful purple door), a second generation bed and breakfast just a short walk away from the hustle and bustle of the downtown Oaxaca City Zocalo.  We'll be close to all the action and yet safely nestled in our art and flower filled sanctuary.  Gracious and old world are words I think best describe the casa.

 The casa is filled and I do mean filled with great folk art (and fine art too) from all over Oaxaca like this great wall of masks.  The space and light will inspire us.

Plus there's a great library filled with books about Mexican culture and history as well as fiction. I had the pleasure of spending several weeks at the Casa and the library, also known as "la sala" was one of my favorite places. We'll have free run of the library and the gardens.

  In addition we'll gather each morning around a big table in the dining room for a delicious breakfast especially prepared for us.  Many a  wonderful conversation has been had over this table.

I don't think of the casa exactly as home away from home, I think of it more like I am going to visit my beloved and eccentric Aunt Jane. And there she is herself, Aunt Jane sporting a Mexican mohawk......Jane Robison (long time owner of the casa, tour guide, and all around fabulous hostess) and her manager Amado will be available for us should we need just about anything. The entire staff at the Casa could not be more gracious and charming.  I can't think of a better place for us to gather.  Click here to go to Casa Colonial's website and click here to find out what people have said about the Casa on trip advisor.