Belated Happy New Year From Oaxaca + Eating
Welcome 2024. On New Year’s Eve, I traveled from Albuquerque to Oaxaca, arriving just in time for a birthday dinner at Quince Letras with my friend Carol. We sat on the rooftop terrace and enjoyed a delicious tomato salad and tlayuda with chapulines (yes, grasshoppers). Left to right: Santi the Snowman, sculpture in front of […]
Bargain Shopping and Cheap Eats in Oaxaca
Is it possible to find and buy high quality textiles in Oaxaca at bargain prices? That was my question yesterday as Chris and I returned to Oaxaca city for her last day here on this visit. She loves to shop at thrift stores and on sale. I do, too, but I’m always on a quest […]
Gastronomy + Gastroenterology: Oaxaca Digest
Those of us who live here are witness to the growing worldwide interest in Oaxaca food. Food festivals are everywhere any time of year. Take your pick from mole to salsa to tacos and tamales, and of course chocolate. We have fusion, small plates, tapas and schnitzel. We even have food trucks — something I […]
India Journal: Visit to Pure Ghee Textile Designs
Ghee, clarified buffalo or cow butter, is the essential cooking and flavoring oil in India. Ghee also has religious significance and is used at life cycle celebrations throughout the country. It is highly nutritious and is part of the ayurvedic system, which forms the basis of spirituality, food, and health. One could say that ghee […]
Soft Landing Oaxaca, and Teotitlan del Valle
It’s a four-and-a-half hour bus ride from Puebla CAPU to Oaxaca ADO bus station. Taxi from Puebla historic center to CAPU is 80 pesos. Bus ticket is about 450 pesos on ADO GL deluxe service. Easy. Scenic. The road dips and rises through mountains studded with mature saguaro and nopal cactus, flowing river beds (it’s […]
Chicago’s New Maxwell Street Market: Little Mexico
When you are in Chicago and if you want a bit of Mexico — with her street food and open air tianguis market culture — make your way to Chicago’s near west side for the New Maxwell Street Market every Saturday. The backdrop is the city’s stunning Loop and Magnificent Mile. Beyond the Loop […]
Lunch at the San Juan Market, Mexico City
San Juan Market is where many of Mexico City’s top chefs shop. It is known for its exotic meats, fish, fruits and vegetables. It’s where I buy vanilla beans for $1.50 USD each to bring back as gifts to the USA. I made my way there from the Palacio de Bellas Artes, past architectural wonders […]
Street Food: Perhaps the Best Tamales in Oaxaca
It was one of those perfectly glorious Oaxaca days. Our walking destination: corner of Calle Armenta y Lopez and Calle Cristobal Colon on the southwest side of the Zocalo. There on the southwest corner, tucked into the shade of the Parisina building protected from the strong Oaxaca sun, is perhaps the best tamale stand in all […]
Eat Like a Mexican: Tasting Mexico City Street Food with Eat Mexico Culinary Tour
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 […]
Crunchy, No-Cook Nopal Cactus Salad with Fruit and Sprouts: Healthy, Fresh, Fast, Easy
My sister Barbara and I were in Puebla, Mexico recently and during our three-day stay we ate at El Mural de los Poblanos Restaurant three times. We can’t get enough of Chef Lizette Galicia’s good food. We each have a favorite salad there. Barbara loves the fresh nopal cactus tossed with tomato, onion, cilantro, queso […]
Macuilxochitl, Tlayuda Capital of the Tlacolula Valley, Oaxaca
What makes Macuilxochitl unique is more than its gorgeous three-domed church that stands proudly in the center of the zocalo, waiting for continuing restoration. This is a village noted for its tlayudas. These are the extra-large sometimes marigold-colored tortillas that are made in the traditional way using masa pressed by hand and then toasted on […]