nychilanga's Profile
Mexican Pizza?
at a bus stop along the coast of Guerrero, I found vendors offering "mexican pizza" and they were sopes!
Until recently most pizzas outside of the coastal Italian resorts ( vallarta, escondido, huatulco) were from Domino's or Pizza Hut...they offer jalapenos and chorizo as toppings...and pizza in Mexico is eaten with ketchup, hot sauce & salsa maggi.
I did go to the pizzeria in Puebla that has chicken mole pizza & huitlacoche pizza...let's start that trend in nyc!
Turkish Ingredients
Actually last night I stopped into YUVAM Turkish Market at 805 60th St, next to Faith Mosque. This shop was full of goodies- harissas, rose petal jams, dried figs, a variety of cheeses & asst'd dairy, some breads, dried goods...Jeb, behind the butcher/deli counter was very informative about preparing different dishes- including a special dry fried veal that he said made up a special breakfast in his country. He also gave a sample of his world famous rice pudding & it was amazing!
Look for the blue & white tiled exterior- it's very close to the corner of 8th Ave.
kopparberg swedish hard cider
I just picked it up at my local Food Bazaar- on the corner of Manhattan Ave & Broadway in Williamsburg.
I bought the strawberry lime but they had pear and a couple of others.
Tilapia- Why?
Traveling in Central America, I saw some tilapia farming project in Omoa, Honduras, off the Northern Coast. Some of these areas have a shortage of proteins in their diets, so the farms make sense for local consumption.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nychilanga/2272558401/in/set-72157625687217460/
Where to eat in Mexico City
I ate at the El Cardenal on Paseo de Palmas this week and the pan dulce y las natas y el chocolate were outstanding! the rest of the breakfast tortilla de lisa, huevoss con longaniza, y enchiladas michoacanas were eh...not great at all. And this was a VERY expensive almuerzo- around $550 pesos for 3.
After eating at the original location en el centro historico, I thought that in the future I would stick to the pan y maybe get a fruit plate or something...and now I recommend that that is the way to go!
I agree with Ruth on the people watching...on Wednesday am around 11am it was 100% ladies who brunch! I def. needed to be wearing more make-up!
Korean Restaurantes, Mexico, D.F.
yeah...there are tons of new places along londres or liverpool and florencia... in my experience these restaurants are not geared to mexicans AT ALL. no signs or menus in spanish. If you're lucky there'll be a mexican waiter or son who can help you... I'll post back with the places I've been to.
the korean community is really booming now. there's a lot of new korean beauty shops, too.
Disappointed by Pujol
I am so sorry that you had that experience.
When I first started coming down here 5 years I ago, I used to occasionally splurge at the high end restaurants discussed on this board. After several experiences similar to the one you described at Pujol, I have given up on the expense account places. I would much rather be wowed at a fondita, taqueria, or cantina than feel totally ripped off spending half a month's rent on a restaurant meal.
The idea that good service does not exist in Mexico is ludicrous! Next time treat yourself to a meal at one of DF's classic cantinas or family restaurants. In my experiences, waiters at cantinas are masters of excellent service- non obtrusive if that's what you want, jokey & friendly if you are, & always ready with the next drink or botana.
I honestly think that the staff at these big money places think that you are a sucker for spending so much. Not you personally, of course, but wealthy patrons in general who frequent certain restaurants or bars for status and to isolate themselves from the mainstream.
i bought nopales - now what do I do?
chop up the paddles & saute with onion, garlic & chile...I think they are tastier sauteed- boiling takes away too much of the color, texture & flavor.
you have to cook them for a while to cook off the slime. My favorite preparation is to simply scramble the nopales with eggs & eat with warm corn tortillas. We also make a nopal salad with jicama & citrus fruit.
Great chiles en nogada in D.F.?
at my house! jajaja!
there are restaurants that do chiles en nogada all year round. you can get granadas year round now. .. and places use wal-mart fruit instead of the local peaches, apples or pears. The problem is the young pecans for the sauce that tops the chiles- it really pops with the young fresh nuts.
I made chiles en nogada on 15 de sept- market day in my neighborhood-and was able to buy all the fresh local ingredients and this incredible goat cheese queso fresco...it was so much better than any that I've had before & my suegra makes really good chiles!
Before, When I am craved chiles en nogada, I went to a restaurant in guillermo prieto close the corner of miguel schultz ( just off the metrobus revolucion stop on insurgentes) in col. san rafael. But share one chile- they are super rich! Go at lunch time between 2 and 5.
I didn't really care for host. santo domingo. El Cardenal may have chiles en nogada on their menu year round, or other big restaurants in that style
Mexico City Mercados & Tianguis (Street Markets) - Schedules
just remember that mexico is not well ordered switzerland and that this database is not 100%
in many cases better to ask a local or a market vendor for their other locations. I looked at this for del. cuauhtemoc over the summer and fund several discrepancies. still a great start!
Mexico City: chow, destinations, events
the holidays is a fantastic time to be in the city because it fills with micro markets. I feel like it really started this weekend in a major way. I was out sunday and I swear I was the only person with out christmas decorations or enormous shopping bags! there are way more christmas tree market than in years past, but I am more fascinated by the mom & pops selling homemade ornaments, breads, toys or ponche on the street (AY the city nights smell like ponche- a hot fruity drink that feature perfumy guavas- this month!)
Nochebuenas (poinsettias & the only this time of year CERVEZA) are everywhere as are lots of parties!
are you staying in colonia cuauhtemoc? if so there is a general market 5 times a week on sullivan street, and a gem of a little st. market in tabacalera saturdays...lots of good fonda eats in san rafael, a great enclosed market in santa maria la ribera...i would skip many of the high end places if want more of the city & seasonal flavor...all the old school turkey & roast pork places busted out the bacalo recently. check out casa del pavo & las ramblas on motolina en el centro. go to col. portales one day for the flea market & dona tila's AMAZING oaxacan.
also recommend:
eating at the market in plaza garabaldi ( you have to be at least a little bit borracho)
Cantina La polar
visit mercado jamaica- the big flower market
hang out at the brand new GIANT ice skating rink in the zocalo!!
look up the calendar for centro cultural de espana
la canta de sirenas seafood instead of contramar
cafe gran premio for black & whites
...sorry I'm rambling, but I think the upscale places get way too much attention on this board! who has $500- 1000 pesos to spend on a lunch these days?
Tours of Mercado de la Merced - DF
hi,
I would love to visit the merced with you. i live in mexico city & have visited there many times. I am from NYC & toying with the idea of launching some small culinary strolls of d.f. including markets, cantinas, & off the beaten track neighborhoods.
La Merced is an incredible sight. Right now I am also into some markets on the edge of the city that have an interesting urban/rural character.
nychilanga@yahoo.com
The Oldest Taqueria in Mexico City closes
Is it def. closed for good? Or maybe just during the construction of uruguay? I passed the other day and it was closed, but it was late on a saturday afternoon...
Mexico City - Centro Historico
there are lots of new cafes! with good coffee at every turn!
my favorite breakfast spot is a cafe called el generalito on Filomeno Mata No. 18-G. I love that it's on a pedestrian street, so eating outside is fun. complete breakfasts are around 27-30 pesos!
for views i recommend getting a drink at the centro cultural de espana's roof top cafe behind the cathedral. i don't think they do breakfast. pricey spanish food, which i have never tried...
you should check out tacos beatriz on uruguay early in the day.
my favorite torta is from casa del pavo on motolina.
tacos arabes are found in df. I'm pretty sure that the taqueria on the corner of 5 de mayo & palmas has them. there's a place by me that has good tacos arabes- la perica or something similar- on antonio caso in san rafael. there's also a couple of lebanese places in the centro- they are expensive.
http://www.viveelcentro.org.mx/docs/index.php
Moderate in DF (Mexico City)?
i have 2 different suggestions for you.
the other night a taxi driver told me about a fabulous seafood place near me. Its called El canto de las sirenas... a marisqueria that evolved from a little puesto to several spaces that take up of most of the block. I went there saturday afternoon- ohmigod! lively family place with the freshest oysters on the half shell, excellent coctal de camarones, a beer michelada with oysters!! the soups & langostino looked amazing, too. Its located right off the circuito interior- practically around the corner from marina nacional...and nobody will turn down a seafood outing...
El Canto de las Sirenas
Circuito Interior / Av. México-Tacuba Atzayacatl #85,
Col. Tlaxpana, entre Melchor Ocampo y Quetzalcóatl
Tel. 5546-6115
Tipo: Pescados y Mariscos
Precio: hasta $100
L a D de 7 a 21 hrs.
the other suggestion (maybe they are fresita) is to check out the asian buffet at the hotel nikko. i went for a birthday once & the food was amazing- higher quality than much of what we get in nyc. Cena was around $200 peso per person & well worth it. A wonderful variety of asian foods & excellent service...
help finding fresh dairy products in d.f.
ooh! tell me more! I´m staying in cuautitlan izcalli while looking for an apartment en el centro...will travel to visit small producers en el estado y surrounding areas!
help finding fresh dairy products in d.f.
i´ve just moved to mexico city and while i am looking for a cocina to call my own i am cooking a bit & helping out with the marketing here in the casa de mi suegra out in the burbs of the estado de mexico. The other night a trip to the local MEGA for milk, we picked up a carton of lala or alpura that contained grasa vegetal. Í´ve noticed grasa vegetal so in a lot of ice creams (holanda) & butters...even the ones that are¨"mantequilla de vaca" My guess is that it has something to do with extending the shelf life of the dairy products. I hate the taste though...it even comes through on some baked goods.
Any recommendations for cleaner tasting dairy products in mexico city? so often all that´s around is lala y alpura... the crema del rancho that we buy at the mercado tastes much better, but where do you find good butter or heavy cream?
Also I noticed a new bioorganic milk also ultra pastuerized, but the first "organic" I´ve seen here.. anyone familiar with this? it cost 16 pesos so i didn´t buy it...
gracias
organic or local bird in worcester, ma
Where can i get an organic or fresh local turkey for thanksgiving? I live in brooklyn so I'm not familiar with the grocery options around worcester. I'm trying to stay away from whole paycheck. thanks.
bakeries in williamsburg?
the shady looking place at the corner of grand & Bedford is La Villita a decent carrib-mex bakery. Try the conchas, the pan de zanhoria, the egg & cheese...a dominican bakery on broadwy & marcy has decent guayaba sweets & empanadas...
Fabiane's down the street has amazing sweets & good croissants. Hope & Union has great baked goods no bread (get there early)
Many of the Italian bakeries have closed in the last few years, but I 2nd the place on Metropolitan.
For the best bakeries, Hop on your bike and roll down bedford to greenpoint for many knock your socks off polish bakeries. There are a couple of bakeries in this part of the neighborhood- so many stores sell really fresh polish breads including some killer sunflower seed health breads, ryes, sourdoughs, and Babkas!
Bramble?
in NYC, ROYAL OAK offers blackberry brambles. They are delicious when made with care using a blackberry brandy & muddled berries & gin!
royal oak is on union b/n mccarren park & the BQE
Most Unusual Pizza Ingredient?
in Puebla, above the zocalo there's a pizza place that does a chicken mole pizza. Its actually quite good the mole is the sauce, then topped with shredded chicken and cotija. The biscuit-y crust was so-so compared to a NYC pizza, but delicious in mexico. We also tried a huitlacoche pizza with bits of corn & cheese. These pizzas were def better than some of the other mexicana toppings I've seen on pizzas in mexico city -ie jalapenos, chorizo, & refried beans, etc...
Tiny dried shrimp and fish in Mexican markets - how are they used?
Mexican food still has an amazing diversity of foodstuff. the mexica (later aztecs) who settled mexico city ate everything from the lake: fish, frogs, their eggs, mosquito larvae, worms, snails, algaes, everything. They had to get their protein from a variety of sources before the spanish arrived with pigs, cows, dogs, chickens, and goats.
small dried fish are common regional snacks. in Michoacan they are charales- the most common name in central mexico I believe- for the small fried fish. they are eaten as a snack maybe with beers. I saw a lot of people selling them at the docks for isla janitzio outside of patzcuaro during dia de los muertos. (Cristina, if she's around can better describe the delicacies of this region)
also, we were served little fried dried fish in tacos under another name, topotes, in catemaco, southern veracruz. my chilango boyfriend was surpised to recieve this as an entree, but ate them with a smile.
the dried shrimp sold whole & in powder are VERY important to mexican cuisine both for the romeritos (a crazy dish of shrimp tortitas & romerito herb in mole) that are mandatory at christmas & lent AND for the famosa caldo de cameron ubiquitos at cantinas coast to coast- providing drinkers (like the aforementioned chilango boyfriend) sustenance for marathon drinking sessions & the subsequent hangovers!
there are many caldos de cameron, but in cantinas they are always spicy & salty
also in the mountains of guatemala these fresh water fish are common as one of precious proteins in the indigenous diet.
fyi: more on insect eating in mexico: http://www.insectariumvirtual.com/reportajes/idolina/htm/entomofagiaidolina.htm
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/08/03/a10n1gas.php
Merguez in Brooklyn
maison de couscous or any number of restaurants in the vicinity. the last time I was there we had a tagine, but every one else was getting these really fragrant merguez sandwiches. I believe they open around 6pm & stay open late.
What do you know about longaniza?
in central mexico longaniza & chorizo are used practically interchangeably to describe a spicy pork sausage. At the mexican restaurant that I used to work one Poblana cook ground pork, then sauteed chile roja, onion, and chunks of potato. Potato is the perfect balance to the fatty, salty sausage.
I buy chorizo/longaniza from my local markets to saute with onion & potato, then serve scrambled into eggs with corn tortillas on the side- one of the best hangver cures known to man. You could also use it to top chilaquiles (speaking of hangover cures), to fill taquitos, top sopes, or in quesadillas.
Quality of chorizo varies here in the states, but if smells fresh & appears to be made locally- especially those that come in a ziploc bag-a sign that it's made by a home cook, I'll buy it. I've also bought phillipino chicken chorizos from asian markets & used the mexican way.
Bringing your own eating utensils ...
i have a friend who's carried her own chopsticks around for years. It's about saving the trees. I think that's cool.
..bringing your own flatware b/c you're a germaphobe would be weird though
homemade tortillas if you order right
tlacoyos usually are formed into little ovals & have a filling inside them- requeson, white bean, & chicharron are common. then they are heated up and topped with a little queso, salsa...yeah like a pupusa but in a different shape.
and antojito means something tastly- literally little whim. .
homemade tortillas if you order right
what are you talking about? handmade torillas or other antojitos? please clarify
