mmm-yoso!!!

Mexico City - Museo Nacional de Antropología and Lunch at El Hidalguense

After making our way thru La Condesa we crossed super busy Avenida Chapultepec into the land of skyscrapers. I've heard Polanco described as the "Beverly Hills" of Mexico City. This is supposedly where the wealthy live and play. It's also where Pujol is located....hopefully we'll be able to get reservations next time.

We'd only be visiting the district. There were only two items on the Missus's itinerary for this short trip. ne of them was checking out the Museo Nacional de Antropología (National Museum of Anthropology) located in the huge Bosque de Chapultepec, which is the second largest park in Latin America.

There's much to see in the area; from the somewhat maligned Estela de Luz, also known as the "Monument to Corruption" because of alleged corruption which inflated the cost to three times what was estimated.

Instead of heading up Paseo de la Reforma, we instead headed into the park, which is a wonderful green space.

Where the Missus could practice taking photos with Her brand new camera.

We headed up to Monumento a los Niños Héroes.

Where the Missus took a good amount of time with Her camera. Then turning right and walking down Calzada Mahamta Gandhi; yep, Mahatma Gandhi, in CDMX. Apparently Gandhi is very popular in Mexico; in fact one of the largest bookstore chains in Mexico is......you got it Gandhi.

And we got to see more squirrels doing their "tightrope act" along the way.

We got back onto Paseo de la Reforma and soon enough found ourselves at the Monolith of Tlaloc, which marks the street to the entrance of the museum.

This sculpture was found Coatlinchan which has quite a story behind it.

We got past security, bought our tickets....man, at 75 $MXN (under $4/US) this is a major bargain. We got a map at the information booth and the really nice women there marked off the "must see" places for us. The museum has 23 halls and is spread over 20 acres!

Once thru the entrance into the wide open courtyard area, you see a huge towering fountain, named "El Paragas" ("The Umbrella").

I don't want to create another monster 1500 word post; so I'll keep my verbiage to a minimum from here on. Let me just say that we loved the museum; there was so much to see. We found the history of pre-Colombian and modern day Mexico to be so interesting. It's one of our favorite museums and we'll definitely be back. The galleries are set-up wonderfully, things are spaced out well.

And it was interesting to see items from places we had been to before.

There are dramatic entrances to galleries.

This is "El Creador".

The Corazon de Tula.

Rings and a ball used for the Aztec ball game Ullamaliztli.

Kinda scary statue of the Goddess Cōātlīcue.

Xōchipilli, the "Prince of Flowers", god of art, beauty, dance, and flowers. According to Atlas Obscura, the base of the statue has symbols of hallucinogenic plants carved into it.

The Disk of Mictlāntēcutli, the god of the dead. This disk was found at the foot of the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan.

And of course the Aztec Sun Stone.

Whew; at the end we needed a break.

Like I said earlier; there's so much to see. We only visited the ground floor. We'll definitely return.

Museo Nacional de Antropologia
Avenida Paseo de la Reforma y Calzada Gandhi s/n
Chapultepec, Mexico City 11560, Mexico

Of course by the time we finished things up, we were starting to get hungry. The Missus was still up for a walk and I'd heard so much about Mercado Roma; so we walked the over two miles back across La Condesa to Roma. The Missus though; wasn't impressed with the hipsterish set-up and available food. So, I decided to check out another place I had on my "list". Just a ten minute walk away was a place that is only open from Friday to Sunday. The place serves Barbacoa; the Missus (who loves Aqui es Texcoco) was instantly sold.

We were warmly welcomed when we arrived and in spite of the place being pretty busy, they found a table for us. The host/server, Juan was so amazingly warm and friendly.

We looked over the menu and decided on two items. After ordering, Juan noticed the Missus trying out Her camera. He asked Her if She'd like to "see the Barbacoa"....of course the answer was "yes". He quickly called over one of the "chefs" and the Missus got Her photo! Check out the barbacoa and the big smile on the chef's face! You gotta love CDMX!

The folks here are so nice.....

And the Missus loved the salsas.

The Blue Corn Tortillas were excellent, warm, full of corn flavor, pliable, but sturdy enough to handle "the goods".....

First up was the Plato Hidalguense (140 $MX - about $7.25/US).

I'd been wanting to have nopales and thought this would work out well. The Missus and I loved the papalo, something we don't see much of here in San Diego. The powerful peppery-citrusy-tannic flavor might not be for everyone, but it's definitely for us. The Missus absolutely adored the avocado, which looked quite firm and under-ripe; it was however, just perfect, super buttery, and really good.

And of course, the nopales.

Easily the best I've ever had. Look how bright and vibrant these cactus pads are! There was just a nice mild crunch to these; the clean green bean-asparagus like flavor came through so cleanly; and as a bonus the slices of tomatoes were perfectly ripe. Talk about delici-yoso!!!

I'd ordered the Mixiote (155 $MX - about $8/US)….though had I seen the barbacoa before ordering; I'd probably gone for that.

The meat was fairly tender, the seasoning was on the mild side, and the meat itself was mildly gamey. A nice dish. Which led us to believe that Aqui es Texcoco does a pretty darn good job with their mixiote.

It was quite a spread!

With a couple of Ciel this cost us less than twenty bucks without tip! And I did learn the phrase "agrega veinte por ciento por favor"...….which I used liberally during this trip.

Juan was an amazing host; the service excellent and welcoming, the food was delicious, the vibe relaxed and laid back. We can't wait to return.

El Hidalguense
Campeche 155
Roma Sur, 06760 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Hours:
Fri - Sun 7am - 6pm

We decided to take a Uber back to our hotel - Uber is so inexpensive in CDMX, we just used UberX. Our trip cost us 39.90 $MX (with 10% tip) - think two bucks...….sheesh

We decided to take a short break, then head on back out to explore Roma.

Stay tuned!

 

Mexico City - Taqueria Orinoco and Morning in La Condesa

As we were finishing up dinner at Maximo Bistrot; I asked the Missus if She wanted dessert. She said "yes", but not from Maximo. The Missus had something else in mind for "dessert". As we walked out of the restaurant, She told me, "I want tacos for dessert"! Tacos? Well, ok then, I had a place just a few blocks away that was still open in mind. Taqueria Orinoco.

There was already a line forming when we arrived at the taco shop right on busy Avenida Insurgentes.

The line moved fairly quickly and we got up to the counter to order in like 15 minutes or so.

From here, you place your order, are given a number if you are eating in, and if the place is buzzing like on this evening, you wait until a table is ready.

And the place was definitely hopping on this evening.

The tacos here are Monterrey style; that would be Northern....so "trompo" is similar to Al Pastor. We ordered one each of the three on the menu. I think what the Missus enjoyed the most were the salsas; ranging from mild to a really nice and tangy cilantro, to a totally scalding Piquin, which I first ran into during my trip to Paredoncito. The Missus really loved it; but paid the price!

The tres tacos came on a metal tray with griddled onions and really good "smashed" potatoes, basically cooked twice.....my favorite part of the meal.

Our favorite taco was the chicharron, slightly crunchy outside, really fatty, though perhaps a bit on the dry side. The res was dry, chewy, and pretty bland. The trompo, was like Al Pastor, but not nearly as sweet. The tortillas were really good, pliable, but up to the task of enrobing the fillings without breaking. The corn flavor was good and straight-forward.

And while these are considered to be on the expensive side, with water this still came out to just over five bucks US.

As we left there was a line to the end of the block...….

Taqueria Orinoco
Avenida Insurgentes Sur 253, Roma Norte
06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Hours
Sun - Wed  Noon - 1am
Thurs          Noon - 3am
Fri - Sat      Noon - 5am

Needless to say; we were pretty stuffed, and we rolled on back to where we were staying. I slept like a baby, at least until the birds started chirping in the morning. Still, we both fell back asleep after that.

There really wasn't any reason to get up early, the Missus had only one thing on the agenda for the day. We finally rose around 8 and left the hotel soon thereafter.

La Condesa is quite charming. I wish I took more photos. The area is known for murals; like this one across the street from where we were staying.

The neighborhood is quite charming.

And along with "people watching"; there were two things we especially loved checking out.

The squirrels doing the "tightrope walk" on powerlines to get from tree to tree.

And the dogs.....and some of the dog walkers who did a pretty amazing job.

We were really enjoying ourselves...….

Thanks for stopping by!

Mexico City - Chiquitito Café and Maximo Bistrot

*** Warning - this a is a fairly long and wordy post. 

A few weeks before leaving for Budapest, I was already planning our fall/winter trip....the Missus made a request; She wanted something "in between". Waiting those 4-5 months just wasn't going to cut it for Her. So, I went ahead and made plans for two "long weekend" trips.

We'd been trying to make time for CDMX for a couple of years, but could just never find the time. The time was right to finally make that trip. The planning was quick, since it was a mere two months in advance, we weren't able to make reservations for Pujol, but with the help of one of Frankie's favorite Aunties "Alle", who has family in CDMX and usually goes every year, we got some good info.

We decided to fly out of Tijuana Airport using CBX. There were direct flights to Mexico City and business class was about half the price as flying out of San Diego or LAX. Alle, who took care of Frankie, dropped us off at the CBX facility. For some reason I wasn't able to buy the CBX tickets online in advance; though I did complete our FMM forms ahead of time, which did save us a few minutes. Purchasing the round-trip Cross Border Express tickets only took ten minutes. The rest of it....well, it took us nearly 90 minutes to get through Immigration! Crazy. Still, we'd budgeted more than enough time and easily made our flight. We had airport transfer set-up so we basically exited the plane, walked right out to the terminal, to our waiting car, and straight into Mexico City traffic. Yeeesh…..  Our guesthouse was but 8 miles from the airport, but it took 45 minutes to get there!

Alle had recommended that we stay in La Condesa, which turned out to be the perfect place after a busy day of checking out the city. The tree lined streets, restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, and relaxed vibe, along with the really warm and friendly folks made our stay wonderful. The location was excellent; close to where the Missus wanted to visit on our first day, and since we do walk a bit; an easy enough walk to the Centro Historical.....also, when we got tired; Uber in CDMX is super cheap, safe, reliable, and all the drivers we had were very friendly.

We stayed at the Casa Condesa Amatlan 84, a very discreet, comfortable, location. The service was wonderful.

We arrived at the hotel, freshened up a bit. Casa Condesa was really good about making sure you always had drinking water and the folks working there we so very helpful and friendly.

We headed out just to walk around the area. We were a bit out of sorts at first since the streets aren't quite in a grid, there are diagonals, parallel street with different names, roundabouts, and all kinds of stuff. The streetlights are often hard to see; there aren't cross signals at many intersections; so you kind of have to check the lights in the middle of the intersection; and just kinda go with the flow.

In need of a break; it was also a bit humid and warm, we found a little café named Chiquitito Café on Alfonso Reyes and decided to take a break for a couple of cold brews. Which ran us 45 Pesos; think about $2.35 US!

It was a bit on the weak side; but the guys working here ere very friendly and actually spoke English to us, and the coffee was nice and chilled. And it was a nice little break.

It was also fun watching the guy selling cell phone cases come on over and two of the guys working in the coffee shop come on out to shop!

In fact, one of the guys actually bought a case! Go figure.

While we weren't particularly impressed with the cold brew; this was a nice introduction to the friendliness of the folks in CDMX and how wonderfully social they are.

Chiquitito Café
Alfonso Reyes 232
06100 Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, Mexico

I had managed to make dinner reservations at the highly regarded Maximo Bistrot Local, considered to be one of the top restaurants in CDMX and Latin America. We had intended to walk; after all it was only a mile-and-a-quarter away, a nice easy walk, but as we were halfway down Vicente Suarez, the lightning and thunder started, then it came down in buckets. It was an amazing, and from what I got to understand from the locals, very typical summer thunder storm. Our umbrellas were not up to the task, so we sought cover and I requested an Uber which promptly cancelled when it was five minutes away. I then called the restaurant who promised to hold our table until 730; our reservations were for 7pm, and it was nearly 650 by now. Our next Uber arrived a few minutes later and we were on our way; only to get to basically a standstill about a quarter mile away from the restaurant. We'd basically gone less than a mile in 20 minutes! By now the storm had passed and the skies were clear. We thanked our driver and walked the last quarter mile. Getting to Maximo right at 730pm! Crazy....

Anyway, we were seated outside; things were really nice and pleasant after the deluge. It was time for dinner...but first, a well earned cocktail!

I went with the Mescalina de Fresca y Chile de Arbol.

This was pretty mild in the Mezcal department; but the combination of salty-heat, and orange made this quite refreshing.

The Missus got the Julep 16.

Which was also on the mild side.

While we were looking over the menus, a party of two gentlemen left. One of them, by the name of Jorge came on over, and very nicely made some recommendations! Apparently, he's a regular. He'd tell us what not to order ("this is not very good.....but don't tell the chef, ok?") and what his favorites on the menu were. We'd have folks engaging us this way during our entire trip. It just made things so much more fun!

I'll try to include prices as I remember them. To figure out the conversion to US $ at this moment in time; divide by twenty - i.e. $1.04/US = 20$ MXN.

Things started out with an Eggplant dip, smokey, perhaps a bit too salty, with an amazing bread. Perhaps among the best I've had; the crust so crusty and crunchy, the interior soft and fluffly, with just the perfect "chew".

We started with the Pacific Scallops (290 $MXN); which were served on a tostada.

We loved the herbs on this; the scallops weren't as sweet as I expected though it was texturally perfect. The sauce was apparently made with Chicatanas, flying ants, which seemed to add a bit of earthiness to the dish according to my tastebuds. The crunch of the tostada completed the dish.

Next up, the Octopus Ceviche (230 $MXN).

The octopus was  amazingly tender; I'm thinking sous vide? The liquid provided had a combination of lime and tomato and was a bit too acidic for us....and you're talking to folks who love Peruvian Cebiche! The liquid kind of over-powered all the flavors and the wonderfully smooth avocado cream was overwhelmed. The blue corn tostadas had a wonderful corn flavor and texture to them.

Things started getting from decent to great when the next item arrived. We'd ordered the Porcini Mushroom Soup (175 $ MXN). I made Porcini Mushroom Soup at least two dozen times this winter so I wanted to see how this compared to what I make.

While a bit milder in overall mushroom flavor; you couldn't beat the velvet texture of this soup, which was amazing. I also loved (and learned) the toasted breadcrumbs which added a wonderful crunchy-nutty contrast to the dish. It's something I'm going to incorporate into my soup when I start making it during the fall! Very nice.

Undoubtedly, the best dish of the night, and one of the top three of the trip, was the Roasted Quail stuffed with Veal and Foie Gras (450 $MXN).

This was definitely an OH-EM-GEE dish. The quail was perhaps the most tender and moist I've ever had. Even the usual rubbery legs were so very soft and juicy. Paired with a moist, rich, and decadent veal and foie gras pate, this was simply heaven. Mild rich sweet-liveriness just went so well with the mildly gamey quail. And that texture...….

Jorge had recommended the quail and also the Flat Iron Steak (450 $MXN), something that I'd usually not order.

The beef was fork tender, cooked a perfectly medium rare, and had that wonderful, complex, mild gamey-pasture flavor to it. The "mole de olla" sauce had a pleasant, complex, mild sweetness to it. And the spinach and cheese sauce was so delicious as well.

The pacing was a bit off; the service professional, but a bit stiff and the least friendly of all of our meals in CDMX.

We enjoyed sitting outside. After the storm passed it became a beautiful night.

I'm not sure we'd dine here again....but man; perhaps that quail will call us back?

Maximo Bistrot Local
Tonalá 133, Roma
06700 Cuauhtemoc, CDMX, Mexico

Funny thing, when I asked he Missus about dessert, She said "no, there's something else I want....."

Stay Tuned!

Where in the world were we?

Even though we'd been back "home" from our last trip for just a few weeks....that "bug", that desire....the wanderlust hit us. We decided to take a trip over the weekend to a place we'd had on our "list" for a while. And enjoyed it more than we'd thought we would.

From the history and sights....

From the rather Bohemian neighborhoods to the grand wide streets....

And the history......

The colors.....

It was all amazing.

As was just taking a step back.....and looking at what was happening around you.

And of course the food.....

From the upscale.....

To the "classic".....

To the everyday.....

There was nothing that we thought of as mediocre....a very amazing thing; at least for us.

To say we ate well is an understatement.

And yet, even beyond the food, the one thing that stays with us is the warmth and kindness of the people.....

I realize that I'm soooooo way behind on our travel posts, while trying to keep up here at home. I do appreciate your visits!

Thanks for stopping by!

Amazing Camarones (shrimp) in Paredoncito (Benito Juarez, Sonora)

After a recuperative breakfast at Taquería Jiménez, we headed out with "D" and did some errands.....like hit the mall and stuff. By the time we returned to the hotel, Samuelo had recovered, and soon enough "D" Dad picked us up and we headed to the family compound in an small fishing village named Paredoncito, located at an estuary on the Gulf of California.

Walk to the back of the compound and this is what you see.....an amazing sight.

Horse drawn carts were ferrying people and shellfish back and forth from the boats. I think they must have a clam factory next door...... Mainly because I was literally standing on a mountain of clam shells!

And this had just been brought over......

Those had actually been prepped for one of the dishes.

The first thing that came out was this.......

This has got to be some of the best shrimp I've ever had! Samuelo was totally in heaven.....Sweet, so tender, so full of flavor.

They also wanted us to try the local chile peppers which were piquins....these tiny peppers are hot, but not unbearable.

The aguachile that came out next was just plain amazing....

They really didn't mess around with this, it was simple, lime juice, salt, onion, and some hot sauce......man this was good. Probably the best I've ever had. I'll never look at aguachile the same again.

After stuffing our selves silly with shrimp, tostadas, etc, etc.....

I headed out back.

There was something mesmerizing about watching the boats come in and go back out....then things slowed down as the sun began to set. It was very beautiful in its own way.

Soon enough, "D"'s Dad said the magic words..."vamos"!

It was time for us to pack up and head back to Ciudad Obregon......

For....would you believe it....dinner????

Ciudad Obregon: Taquería Jiménez

I recently managed to catch up with Akira and his beautiful Missus on one of their trips down to San Diego; which reminded me, I had promised some follow-up posts after our quick trip to Ciudad Obregon, but never followed up....sigh...what a tease!

So here's quick post for a Saturday night.

So what happens after you attend an epic wedding in Ciudad Obregon which ends with shot of tequila watching the bride and Q-nito do Gagnam style in the middle of the street at 4am?

Well. you wake at 8am and have Akira and his now wife take you to get birria! Well at least Q-nito and I.......Samuelo was incommunicado, must have been tough challenging the band's singers to a dance-off, huh?

"D" drove us down a couple of streets to the just the perfect place for me. A streetside stand by the name of Taquería Jiménez. The specialty, birria de chivo. By now, "D" had concluded that we weren't after "gringo food", we wanted the real deal and this place was, without a doubt, just the perfect remedy after an epic evening.

You know, whether it's Sapa, Hanoi, Luang Prabang, Cusco, or heck, even Chula Vista, I've found some of the most soulful, hearty, and honest food at places like this. Taquería Jiménez was no exception.

Rich, belly coating, hearty food, with the right amount of carbs somehow revitalizes you....or at least just makes you right mentally.

I don't think I need to add much more.

Though I'll leave you with this little tidbit. I did a search looking for an address. I finally found it on one of the those "food sites"....well actually let's give it up for foursquare.

For some reason, I was interested in the comments on this place. I went and did a translation of the first one which said, ""Tacos to revive after a long night of partying"......how true!

Taquería Jiménez
California 720 (e/ Jesús García Corona y 6 de Abril)
Ciudad Obregón, Sonora 

They just do it right in Ciudad Obregon

This past weekend, I did a world-wind weekend in Ciudad Obregon. I wouldn't blame you if you've never heard of C. Obregon, I hadn't. But I'll tell you this much, if you asked me to return tomorrow, I'd be on a plane in the blink of an eye. Two of my good buddies...we'll call them Samuelo and Q-nito came with me to attend the wedding of our good friend Akira, who I've mentioned in previous posts.... How a young man from Sendai ended up marrying a wonderful young lady from Ciudad Obregon, well that's a story for another day. In fact, I'll leave it up to you to tell me if you'd be interested in posts about this trip; which included flying out of Tijuana Airport....getting to the airport was an adventure in itself. Oh, and if you've never heard of Aereo Calafia before; neither had I, and we travel all the time!

They really know how to do it up here.... It was quite amazing to go from the formality of the wedding.....

To the reception....which went on until 2 in the morning! The band was amazing......

Then there was Q-nito, who just couldn't stop dancing....though it was Samuelo who challenged the various musicians to a "dance off".....

Which is how we three earned our reputations....Samuelo talks to anybody, Q-nito dances with everybody....and me? Well, I was pretty much sidelined with a little injury.....

So of course....I drank everything!

Then there was the after-party.......the highlite of which was watching the bride and Q-nito do Gangnam style in the middle of the street at 4am.

Two hours of sleep later found us having Birria de Chivo for breakfast at a roadside stand.

Then it was off to buy gifts, followed by a road trip to the sea side village of Paredoncito in the municipality of Benito Juarez, Sonora.

the horse drawn carts ferried people and products back and forth from the boats....it is shrimp season here.....I had some of the best shrimp ever.

After sunset we headed back to Ciudad Obregon....to the bride's house, for what else, well dinner of course! While the local carne asada (it's cattle country) was grilling over the mesquite.....

The bride's father waved us to the front of the house...where we were greeted with a Mariachi Band!

Q-nito and I ended our meals in Ciudad Obregon with adobado from a stand in the back of the hotel for breakfast. I went with the dorados.

And a double helping of what the owner of the place calls "power".....

We loved our time in Ciudad Obregon; the bride, her warm and generous parents, and friends were wonderful hosts. We can't wait to return the favor....or even, return to Ciudad Obregon! The only thing hotter than the triple digit weather was the warmth we felt as guests...three Asians in Obregon!

So there you go.......I'll let you decide if I should write more detailed posts about our trip. I've got a ton of stories....and heck, there's even an appearance by this guy......

And maybe even this.......

Hope you're having a great week!