Forbes Magazine says Mexico City is the hottest place for food. They are not talking temperature. Mexico City has it all — from gourmet cheeses and meats found in pricey restaurants to humble street food like tacos and tlacoyos. Today, I focus on eating on the street where people consume complete meals or snacks, sitting on stools or standing at the curb. This is Mexico’s version of fast food and is something I have shied away from. But my secret yearning to sample was finally realized because I want to eat like a Mexican, too! Thanks goes to Lesley Tellez who started an off-the-beaten-path, non-touristy culinary walking tour called Eat Mexico (see below for contact information).
This is real food, homemade by women and men who work at portable cook stoves at street corners or at little stationery stands who continue home-style family traditions. We discover, however, that humble is a misnomer and what we taste rivals any high-end restaurant for quality if not for presentation. Lesley has done her research well. All the food is delicious, and the preparation is safe and clean.
Our guide Natalia and guide-in-training Arturo, meet us at the designated spot, then lead us down a side street to a corner seafood taco stand that has been in business for over forty years. We belly up to the outdoor bar, gaze at the selection of fresh crab, shrimp, lobster, fish, and octopus through the protective clean glass that separated us from the cooks. We choose either the blue crab tostada or a deep fried mixed seafood quesadilla. Luckily, Debbie and I can share so we choose one of each, drizzled with lots fresh lime and Valentina sauce. YUMMY and AMAZING after first bites.
After a block or two, we turn the corner near the San Juan artisans market and come upon a stall that is operated by a third generation cook. Right on this corner, whole turkeys are cut up on the seat of a plastic chair, then deep-fried in a giant cauldron filled with oil until done. The meat is then sliced, layered on a toasted roll (torta), slathered with homemade chipotle chili salsa (another OOOH, AAAAH here), and topped with avocado. We are invited to add a papalo leaf to the ingredients before closing up the sandwich to eat. This is a minty herb with a sharp, flavorful taste unlike anything I’ve ever eaten before. We each get a half-sandwich to sample. What I notice while I inhale this treat is how the plastic plates are wiped with a cloth only used for this purpose. The plate is covered with a clean piece of paper before the sandwich finds its resting place. I have no concerns about sanitation here.
It’s the middle of July and the rainy season in Mexico. As we enter San Juan market, boxes are filled with just-delivered mushrooms, varieties of which I have not seen before. This market offers a gourmet food experience and many top chefs shop here for exotic meats (like ostrich, lion, and kangaroo), fruit and vegetables. We sample fresh rambutan, chico zapote, mango, jackfruit, figs, nectarines. The mamey tastes like a creamy sweet potato and I love it. Eat it solo for dessert or try it as an ice cream.
Coffee, anyone? The barista grinds beans from Veracruz and brews me a cup of Americano from the espresso machine. MMMMM, good.
Next, is a tasting of fruit jams and jellies, tapenades, and honey. I walk away with a jar of jalapeno jelly and rose petal jam. Next door is the cheese purveyor who puts out a sampling plate of world-class varieties like smoked gouda, pistachio infused manchego cheese, brie, and a mozzarella, all made in Mexico. He offers us cups of red wine to sip along with the tasting. Baguettes of fresh, crusty French bread hang from the overhead rack above his stall, ready to take home.
By now, I am full, but we press on. Our guide Natalia explains the history of the market dating from pre-Hispanic Aztec times. Mexico, she says, gave the world three gifts: chocolate, chiles, and vanilla. At the next intersection is the chile vendor where some of us buy mole rojo and vanilla beans at 20 pesos each (that’s about $1.50). Natalia recommends we put a vanilla bean in the sugar jar for a great taste.
At the Oaxaca specialty food stand, we pop chapulines (grasshoppers) into our mouths. No one is reticent. The big ones are the females. The little ones are males. They are roasted with salt and chiles, crunchy and tasty. I say no to another taste of Oaxaca quesillo. No more space in my stomach. Debbie buys a bag of peanuts roasted with chile, salt and lime juice. I watch her pop a few!
We move out onto the street in the direction of the common people’s market Arcos de Belen. On the way, we stop at a molina to see how the corn is ground. Next door is the tortilleria where the masa dough is formed and cooked by machine. (In Teotitlan del Valle, we can still get handmade tortillas!) Natalia gives us a history of corn as part of the cultural identity of Mexico, where it was first hybridized eight thousand years ago in the Oaxaca valley close to where I live.
After we tour the market food courts, we all pass on a taste at the fresh juice bar (estoy lleno–I am full) and move on to the corner where a woman sits making blue corn tlacoyos.
The finish is at the pulque bar, where the double swinging doors look like a saloon entrance. The décor is decidedly neo-Aztec with bright figures painted on walls and ceilings. We cozy up to a side bar where the owner brings us a sampler tray of flavored pulques – pineapple, celery, coconut, oatmeal, guayaba plus au natural (a viscous, sour taste). The sweetness helps mask the milkiness. Natalia tells us the Aztec history of the drink and explains that it is fermented, not distilled, from the agave plant and must be served fresh. It is cheap, gives a nice buzz, and is favored by university students who represent most of the clientele this day. I take a liking to the celery and pineapple.
University students at the pulqueria
We say our goodbyes at the next street corner. What a great adventure, very fun, educational, and gastronomically delightful. I have a map but I’m not going to share it with you!
I recommend you sign up for Eat Mexico Culinary Tours and discover this great food experience for yourself!
P.S. The cost of $85 per person includes guide services, map, a bottle of water, and all food and drink along the way. We sign up in advance and pay online. Very easy. Eat Mexico sends lots of email communication to tell us where to meet, what to wear that would be comfortable, and a little bit about our guide so we recognize her. Be sure to check out Lesley Tellez’ The Mija Chronicles blog, too.
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Why Visit Girona, Spain?
It has the best preserved medieval Jewish neighborhood in Europe dating from the 8th century with an outstanding museum atop an archeological dig that contains a mikvah. There is an investment by the Spanish government now in historical Jewish tourism. Spain is offering dual citizenship to Sefardim who want to reclaim their past.
Until the pogroms of 1391, Girona was a center of Jewish intellectual life in Spain where Kabbalah Jewish spirituality fully developed from its roots in southern France.
By 1492, with the Expulsion Decree and the start of the official Inquisition, Jews had either converted to Catholicism or left for France, Amsterdam, Turkey, North Africa, towns along the Adriatic Sea and the New World. No Jews remained in Spain.
According to our expert Barcelona guide Dominique of Urban Cultours, the Spanish Jewish community there was mostly decimated in 1391. Surviving in Girona are tombstone fragments from Montjuic cemetery and artifacts of Jewish ritual and daily life. In Barcelona, cemetery stones were used for foundation construction of 15th century church and government buildings.
Girona boasts an amazing gothic cathedral dating from 1038 A.D. with an impressive, wide nave, second only to Saint Peter’s in Rome.
The stained glass windows spill colored light into an otherwise dark, stony and austere interior. It speaks of early European Catholicism where the so-called chair of Charlemagne commands attention.
From the top of the cathedral steps, you look down onto a lovely square, perfect for resting, sipping a glass of Estrella beer with tapas appetizers.
During the Spanish civil war, 1936-1939, the figures of the twelve apostles that flanked the side entrance to the cathedral were destroyed. Their intricate crowns are still intact, and one can imagine …
Girona’s old town flanks both sides of the beautiful Onyar River, connected by bridges. It is walkable, accessible, filled with narrow alleyways, hillside steps, ancient porticos, smart shops filled with designer clothes and accessories, excellent patio cafes and Catalunya flags flying everywhere.
The sentiment for an independent Catalan state is strong. It feels and smells old world.
Two days here are not long enough!
Compared with Barcelona there is not the crush of tourists although there are plenty of European visitors. We heard French, Italian, Czech, German and Russian, plenty of Catalan and Spanish. Not much English!
We had an amazing dinner at Massana, a one-star Michelin restaurant, our best in Spain. We saw the restaurant sign and rang the doorbell to what we discovered was a private dining room. Chef-owner Pere Massana emerged in his kitchen whites to personally guide us to the actual entrance.
Our welcome was warm, service outstanding and engaging. Food spectacular. We opted out of the tasting menu — too much food late at night (most restaurants don’t open until 8:30 p.m.) and instead ordered an entree and dessert. Otherwise, we would have lingered until well beyond midnight!
The meal was preceded by three taste treats to whet our appetite: fresh goat cheese topped with rosemary, mussels marinated in orange vinaigrette and a fois gras yogurt topped with crunchy flashed dried ground corn. This sure beat the chocolate coated fois gras popsicle we had in Granada at overrated La Fabula that was part of an over-the-top tasting menu.
We were astounded that Chef Massana followed us out to the street to personally thank us for coming, asking how we enjoyed the meal! Memorable. Sincere.
After a good night’s rest at Hotel Nord 1901 we took the afternoon train to Figueres, rented a car and drove to a 15th century village where we stayed overnight in a converted farmhouse. Then, on to the Dali Museum where I will post about his surrealist jewelry designs next.
Today, we are resting in the Mediterranean seacoast town of Cadaques, Spain. But, I can’t get magical Girona off my mind.
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Photography, Travel & Tourism
Tagged archeology, Catalonia, Catalunya, Cathedral, diaspora, dining, dispersion, eat, expulsion, food, Girona, history, Inquisition, Jewish, Jewish quarter, Kabbalah, Massana, Michelin, restaurant, Spain, The Call