Guanajuato City, Mexico
Read MoreMEXICO
In my memory, fav tacos I long for are the ones that leave me with a strong memory of the taste and smells whether it be the crispy battered octopus, rare to find lengua(beef tongue), or the beefy flavour of arracherra tacos with all the additions. The setting, a taco stand by the ferries perhaps, is rarely is a consideration to getting my hands on some, except that these tacos reside where I do not, this is a problem, so all I can do is write about them and plot my next trip.
The latest recurring memory of taco trance is of the arracherra tacos sin queso(no cheese) from Brasilia on Salida a Celaya street in San Miguel de Allende. This is the first time I have ever had skirt steak taste so beefy and tender and smell so glorious. And of course it isn’t any fun if you don’t have the 6 garnishes that are set on your table for you to create that personal tacos. At Brasilia they plunk down small bowls of: hot pickled onion, pico de gallo, limes, smoky chilli salsa, green salsa and guacamole. So yummy its enough to make you plan another vacation in that town, or at least a stopover!
Mexico City, Saturday night, we went down to the concierge to ask for restaurant suggestions. The well turned out señor suggested two places within walking distance of our hotel, Hilton Reforma, as it was already closing in on eight o’clock.
Out and to the right we walk, expecting a breath of fresh night air, there is none, its stale. A few crowded blocks later we came to the first suggestion(to all tourists) the Torres Latino Americano Restaurant which offered ‘international’ fare. We were super surprised and kinda horrified at the condition of the building(tallest in Mexico City in 1959?), rundown and through the windows it seemed that all one could see was stuff strewn up against the grubby windows floor after floor. Next…
Next was the task of finding Café Tucuba, local fare and authentic Mexican said Mr concierge. That was really the the one we were aiming for anyhow.
At Tucuba street now and the sight of a crowd and the lure of drumming took us to the gorgeous Museo de Artes where I’d say about 50 dancers were in a dance that seem to be about saluting the four directions, the elements and freedom(of sorts).
A few more blocks and we see Café Tacuba! From the outside it looked like a small bakery, oh the hesitant momentary disappointment, but, when we went thought the doors, delight and sheer awe of the décor and architecture, Mexican/Spanish to the core, what a hidden gem, I love it! Omg, i think this is going to be good.
Our lovely server Margarita in her nursemaid outfit with her perfectly hairsprayed bleached blond hair with giant bow all of 50 years was a pro you could tell. $2.80 Modelos and we are ready to check out the menu. What to have? Appies, special of the house, ensaladas, sopas…we chose: 4 little things(tamale verde, chicken taquito, enchilada?…), Puerco Oaxaca (con guac, frijoles y tortillas), cheesay chiles rellenos in a rojo sauce, and the boys had crazy garlic soup with poached egg in the middle with cheesy toast.
There was a gang of talented mariachis to top off the vibe.
Ok so we had such a lovely experience we went back the next night and I had Tinga(pictured above), it was a delicious pork and stringy cheese delight!
Ahhh! My buddy has gone back to Zihuatanejo, Mexico and I ain’t there! My other buddy is in Sayulita and I ain’t there! I am supposed to be there in the warm place where fond, exciting, sometimes fuzzy, visually stunning memories are made.
Most of my photos are in storage from this trip but I digitized one of this cricky old bridge to nowhere in town.
I want to go back to Zihua to visit people I met there 10 years ago, laugh with them, have a reggae seafood cookout party in the jungle, dare to endure the tequila bar, swim in the blue bay, hang on la ropa and get sunstroke(ok sans sunstroke), find local restos and eat tacos! Actually when you get tired of La Ropa beach, scramble along the coastline to Las Gatas beach(mostly locals) further southwest, snag an umbrella and chairs and yourself a chilled white wine and fresh oysters(tipping gets you awesome service!), after all its a vacation right?
Zihua doesn’t have to be expensive if you can find the right place, I was lucky enough to stay at my friends apt above some stores in town, across from the liquor warehouse, which served to entertain me one night, think it was a heist going down! She had been renting this colourful 2 bdr place with a roof deck with hammock and bougainvilleas for 6 years years at about $150/month, score!
Another place I stayed at was the Hotel Sotavento(formerly Catalina and Sotavento Beach Resorts), well it was cheaper then and I had the good luck to know the owners relies. Clinging to the side of the hill, this old hotel really took you back in time, the rooms are basic, huge, way too big for one girl, and had a breezy front hall, and furnishing were def from the 70′s.
Read More
This is the former monastery now converted to the Cultural Museum of Oaxaca, full of interesting colonial and pre-Columbian art and artifacts. It is adjoined to the Santo Domingo Church (building commenced in 1572 by Dominican friars). Someone there informed me that the monastery was acquired by the military during revolutionary wars and also used as a jail.
Here is a photo of the layout of the church and adjoining monastery
Outside the monastery there is a ethno-botanical garden. Fascinating cactus and plants growing out of the hot sandy soil. Wait, it that the magical tequila plant I see?
My friend Karis and I visited Oaxaca City in 1999, the same year this museum restoration was completed. Looks moody in the photo? Well I think the photo captured my experience very well; as while I was in the Santo Domingo Church part, I started to feel terribly oppressed and anxious. By the time I told my friend that I was leaving the church and got outside I had broken out in hives on both forearms. Eeek!
Well the church is an amazing architectural beauty full of glided artwork, frescos and reliefs. Though there were the token tortured souls figures, the interior is magnificent. Definitely visit. Check out these flickr photos
Read More
The other night, dia de los muertos night at Zocalo Restaurant I heard the familiar music from a memory, el Mariachis! The music and the attire conjure up the images of mariachis my friend and I hung out with in the wistful Oaxaca city zocalo(town square) 10 years ago, before the ‘reno’ of the square and before the intense labour demonstrations.
I love the bigness of music when its live. Its true, its bright, you physically feel the music. Mariachi Los Dorados played loud, played at various tables throughout their set, serenading dinner goers and even had one diner join in to sing a song. Along with the others I swayed from side to side with the music feeling all warm and fuzzy while sipping on some excellent Patron tequila, one of many that proprietor Tanya has to offer from Vancouver’s largest collection.
The food experience is unlike other Mexican restaurants in Vancouver. The dishes are interesting, not the standard burritos or enchiladas, instead they have dishes like Puerco con Chile Ancho – pork, slow cooked in chilies, spices and oranges, served with warm tortillas. I could eat a lot of this. Or Chile en Nougada – Ancho chili stuffed with turkey breast, nuts and sun-dried fruit. Served with pecan crèma.
Another fav is Fish Tacos with habanero mayonnaise. And for some cheesy goodness, Queso Fundido – queso Oaxaca and Monterrey jack, black beans, Mexican chorizo. Served with homemade tortilla chips. You must of course join the most interesting academy and have a Dos Equis.
They use local, in some cases sustainable, ingredients with traditional techniques all made from scratch.
And the Mariachis; I must find out where they play next, got to get another dose of charro outfits and emotional folk songs soon.
Read More
We were strolling down a hot street in the Mexican port city of Mazatlan, tired of looking at churches, sightseeing French influences in architecture and yet-another-museum, the thirst was getting to us, it was 11am. Thoughts of holiday beers in the morning simultaneously pop into our minds, we looked at each other knowingly.
Dean hears a faint sound of music coming through some doors we pass, he stops, calls me back and says do you want to go in here for a beer? I peek in, its all local and say why not, we head in. All male heads turn, checking out us gringos(Asian gringo?), I say male heads because there are no gals there, just the voluptuous waitresses in spandex. This place is lo-cal only. Two coronas please! We pound another two and exit, that was fun we confide, eyes blinking into the bright afternoon outside.
Sometimes you can make surprising discoveries by poking your head in random or interesting doorways.
Best place to hang out in the eve for a bit is old Mazatlan along the water’s lookout where you can see mad cliff divers, devour fresh young coconut with the juice and eat bbq corn on the cob slathered in butter and chilies. Mmm…
Read More
My friends G+G and I got a cheap white rental car(with insurance) in Playa Del Carmen and escaped heading west to Merida. We eat our breakfast pizza pie? from the local bakery pondering on the roots of this culinary wonder, well I guess there are a lot of Italian tourist that go to Playa. We hit the road, I get sleepy as usual and doze of, but not quite, I did crack open my eyes to see Greg swerve just in time! Rest of the drive was uneventful and we arrive in Merida 240 miles, 4 hours later.
So navigating in Merida can be confusing or very easy, you see in the centro the streets are numbered on both cross street, north south is even numbered, east west is odd. Any map will do till you orient yourself. Beyond logical if you ask me.
This city is a colonial beauty that bustles during Mexican peak hours, morning and early evening, lots of people shopping and going about daily business, driving and honking, barbers cutting hair, women selling wears, kiddies going to school in their uniforms and a few tourists here and there in their all terrain shoes. Its awesome, its real, its hot, its got history and its modern, its zocalo has music, its got art.
Ok, so once in a while you can do a tourist tour and not feel bad about it right? We did and we lucked out, having the bus almost all to ourselves. The dbl decker city tour bus that bombs around town has an optional audio guide. Good for an overview of the architecture and layout of the city, hey and there is a nice breeze when riding on the roof deck! But don’t stand up while the bus is moving, you might catch some street wires.The strangest achitecture to me was the victorian mansion stocked with peacocks in yard and the elaborate chinese temple-like home with swooping roof details. Merida also has modern buildings and highrises, so its really a city that has it all.
We also dared to walk the empty afternoon streets to check out public sculptures dodging the sun.
And for the real Mexican experience go to a cantina with the cowboy saloon doors, inside you will find men, men, men, and cheap beer. Try not to look awkward while downing beers quickly. You can try to drink as many as the local dude beside you but you won’t be able to pound 6 1 litre beers that fast. This cantina had a jukebox that was loud as hell, friendly drunks, x-mas decor and coronas, what else could you want? Outside the escape route, otherwise called saloon doors, there was a handy hot corn on the cob vendor. The corn is slathered with gobs of butter, spinkles of chili and fresh lime, its the ultimate combo for corn!
On another night we checked out Alberto’s Continental Lebanese restaurant thinking it would be tasty, we got service like you wouldn’t believe, there were about 6 waiters lurking in the dark background and we were just about the only ones there. There was an anitque shop or sorts there, actually the whole place was a time warp. It would have been better if we ate at a small local joint, bah, damn those guide books! Leave your guide books at home all you travellers! All you need is a map.
Merida has some old colonial homes that have the gringos reaching for their wallets in order to buy, restore and resell. Restoring one of the old colonial homes there or another Mex loc is a great fantasy of mine. Not sure where in Mexico though, maybe Merida, maybe the west coast, one can keep dreaming and scheming. Still so many places to check out in Mex…
Read More
They Said