Mole in the Mountains

Published on Thursday, July 26, 2007, by Mick Vann / Edit Post

Mole in the Mountains

A gastronomic adventure in Xalapa, Mexico / Veracruz

You will probably be staying in this sprawling, industrial port city one night at the most, en route to Xalapa. It’s not a total drag: Veracruz has a charming and lively downtown, especially the main square, where musicians serenade every night and the locals dance. But it is hot, dusty, and steamy, and considered by most to be simply a waypoint. Eat in Boca del Río, the bustling restaurant, club, and hotel zone just south of Veracruz proper, near the mouth of the Río Jamapa, then hang out at one of the cafés on the Plaza de Armas (corner of Av. Independencia and M. Lerdo). Get up early for café lechero (coffee with milk) and the omelet in turkey broth at Gran Café de La Parroquia (Av. Gómez Farías No. 34, 229-932-2584), hit the big food market Mercado Hidalgo (corner of Hidalgo and H. Cortés) early for a viewing before it gets too hot, and hightail it for Xalapa.

Restaurants

Any cabbie, or someone at your hotel desk for that matter, will know where these restaurants are. All three serve excellent seafood—to come to Veracruz and not feast on local fresh seafood would be a serious mistake.

El Negro de Estero

Carr. Anton Lizardo Boulevard Isla del Amor s/n Pasando del Puente del Estero
229-933-0967

Reliably fun, with great drinks and freshly caught seafood.

El Varadero

Corner of Zamora and Orizaba, Boca del Río
229-986-1787

This is the place to order arroz a la tumbada (seafood and rice).

Las Brisas del Mar

Juárez Boca del Río
229-986-2171

The best of the lot, with a huge selection of seafood in a dizzying number of dishes.

Lodging

Hotel Lois

Boulevard A. Ruíz Cortínez No. 10, Boca del Río
229-937-8290
website
Snazzy and modern architecture with a quasi-minimalist décor, in the heart of the Boca del Río area; 124 rooms; $80-plus.

Photograph of Veracruz by Lin Mei
ALLTravel
POST A COMMENT |13 Comments

COMMENT

  • Just found a cool site with some great pictures of Xico for anybody interested...
    http://www.anthonysloan.com/Xico.html

  • Your article briefly epitomizes the essence of Xalapa. I am a traveller that currently lives in Xalapa. An article was posted by Boris Fishman in the New York Times regarding attractions and food scene of Xalapa. The article was posted last October 18th and you might read it in the following link: http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/travel/tmagazine/14talk-xalapa-t.html
    You might want to check...+READ

    Your article briefly epitomizes the essence of Xalapa. I am a traveller that currently lives in Xalapa. An article was posted by Boris Fishman in the New York Times regarding attractions and food scene of Xalapa. The article was posted last October 18th and you might read it in the following link: http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/travel/tmagazine/14talk-xalapa-t.html
    You might want to check on a small restaurant that specializes on world cuisine which is also mentioned in this article. The place is called Kukiaio and food might be of a single lonely style you might not find even in larger cities, a preview of their menu is on their website: www.kukiaio.com
    These types of restaurants are being located in small walking alleys similar to Plaka in Athens.-COLLAPSE

  • Ok so i have a wonderful place for Tacos Arabe. It is called El Beduino, which means traveler in arabic. It is located on callejon diamante. It is a small family owned restaurants that has been there for about 11 years. It serves Jocoque which is a yougurt dish served with spices and olive oil. It can be served seco or vaso. you can have a drink or a dip with pan arabe. This place is such a great...+READ

    Ok so i have a wonderful place for Tacos Arabe. It is called El Beduino, which means traveler in arabic. It is located on callejon diamante. It is a small family owned restaurants that has been there for about 11 years. It serves Jocoque which is a yougurt dish served with spices and olive oil. It can be served seco or vaso. you can have a drink or a dip with pan arabe. This place is such a great little find in the middle of the busseling alley of merchants and restaurants. I met the owner who is this tiny itty bitty woman named marcela. The food is great but not much to select from. I personally love the Odalisca, which is the meat and manchego cheese melted on pita break served with limon and salsa.....it is a great place for lunch. I recommend the falafel, it is served with white and reb beet salad topped with tajini. This is the best dish of the restaurant in my opinion....-COLLAPSE

  • Great report on my list of places to visit soon...

  • Anonimo
    Thanks for the information -- I'll have to be more careful about those periods in the future. Glad you are enjoying my blog.

  • librehombre; the link to your blog didn't work when clicked, but it turns out that the "dot" at the end of the URL was the culprit.
    I got http://freeend.blogspot.com working now, and I'm looking forward to reading it with pleasure.

  • Mick, I hope you will continue adding content to the Xalapa pages. I am a retiree living in Xalapa and this week I published my blog http://freeend.blogspot.com, which is now syndicated by Feedburner. I wrote an entry about Chow that features your article Mole in the Mountains. I am pleased that you used my panoramic photo and if you send me your email I have a great web site to share with you...+READ

    Mick, I hope you will continue adding content to the Xalapa pages. I am a retiree living in Xalapa and this week I published my blog http://freeend.blogspot.com, which is now syndicated by Feedburner. I wrote an entry about Chow that features your article Mole in the Mountains. I am pleased that you used my panoramic photo and if you send me your email I have a great web site to share with you that provides free top qualify photos and graphics.
    Richard Collins
    Xalapa-COLLAPSE

  • Xico is home to one of the tastiest moles around. I just LOVE their sweet "Mole de Xico".

  • kenito799:
    Good call, but the municipal fish market has been forceably moved to newer (less convenient) digs, now at the edge of the historico district, very near the Pemex petrol tank farm. All of those amazing seafood vendors that used to be up on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the old seafood market, or at least a lot of them, moved to El Mercado de la Concordia, which is spanking clean, and...+READ

    kenito799:
    Good call, but the municipal fish market has been forceably moved to newer (less convenient) digs, now at the edge of the historico district, very near the Pemex petrol tank farm. All of those amazing seafood vendors that used to be up on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the old seafood market, or at least a lot of them, moved to El Mercado de la Concordia, which is spanking clean, and across from the Post Office and the train station, near the Port. New spot, same great stuff! chowmick-COLLAPSE

  • I can't believe I've overlooked this place for so many years, opting instead for the mountains of Michoacan. Now Jalapa is at the top of my list for places to visit in Mexico. Thanks for the lengthy, informative piece. My mouth is watering already!
    Jalapeños, look out, sambamaster is headed your way!

    How do you say yum-boy en español???

  • Another Veracruz City option:

    Calle Landero y Coss is close to the fish market in the centro historico (near the zocalo) and has wonderful tiny seafood restaurants (more like small open kitchens with a few tables). I had mojarra enchipotlada (I saw someone run to the market to pick up my fish) served with freshly made tortillas (everywhere I went in Veracruz they make their own tortillas)....+READ

    Another Veracruz City option:

    Calle Landero y Coss is close to the fish market in the centro historico (near the zocalo) and has wonderful tiny seafood restaurants (more like small open kitchens with a few tables). I had mojarra enchipotlada (I saw someone run to the market to pick up my fish) served with freshly made tortillas (everywhere I went in Veracruz they make their own tortillas). They also serve cocteles, Mexican-style ceviche made with shrimp or oysters.-COLLAPSE

  • What a God-send. Finally a writer who doesn't just go to the typical American resorts. Great details and wonderfully descriptive writing.

  • Thanks for an excellent story. Although we were in Xalapa years ago, we were much less aware of its culinary potential. This makes me want to visit, but this time, in our own car.