nickarte

To digress a little, what they call "espinacas" here is usually more like swiss chard, but one can occasionally find true spinach (like the kind in the US and, I suppose, Europe) as well . The "tipo" spinach works for some dishes but not for others, as it doesn´t "melt" the way "real" spinach does.

Please tell me where we eat the flying ants so I can remember to cover my mouth! ¡Guacalo!

It is available in Mexico, not out of print. But better get it fast! I will check next time I am at Ghandi how many they have....I would be willing to act as go-between if anyone is desperate to get it, ie. buy and send, but the only feasible way to send is DHL or Fedex which doubles the price (regular mail is unsure and almost as expensive).

In modern Mexico we are strangly olive challenged, ie. good fresh olives are scarce. A great business opportunity for someone would be to import them...Unfortunately, in all those wonderful Verzcruzano recipes they usually use awful olives from a can, and even in nice DF restaurantes nasty black olives from a can or bottle are the norm. Good middle eastern or European ones don´t often make it here. And, I hate to say, the olives and oil from Baja California or the Valley of Mexico I have tasted are usually pretty bad: they need some Morocans to come over and teach them how to do it better!

It is for sale at http://www.gandhi.com.mx/ (well, that is to say they list it, but when I checked it said "not available at the moment") I´m not sure if they will ship to the Usa however. They tend to have a bunch of them at Ghandi, then none at all. If you really really want it and are coming to Mexico for only a short time, I would call from there and order it on the phone- assuming you speak Spanish - so that it is there when you arrive. There is a Ghandi accross from the Palacio de Bellas Artes and a huge one in Coyoacán on Miguel Angel de Quevedo, near the metro station of the same name.

Thank you, that must be it! I made an album called "Vietnamese green rice" if you know how to find it, I´m not sure...

I saw what I thought was raw bright green colored rice in the markets in Hanoi, so I bought a half kilo. When I got it home and cooked it, it turned into mush, sort of the consistency of oatmeal, and had little discernable flavor. The raw grains are sort of flat, not like rice at all. What could it be, and how would it be used? PS. I have photos, but am not sure how to post them...

Here is a copy of my D.F. restaurant list...sorry if there are some repeats from above posts: Mexico City Restaurant list Izote Presidente Masaryk no.513 (Polanco) Tel.5280-1671 Famous chef Patricia Quintana’s place- it has been written up everywhere and is really worth it to sample elevated Mexican cuisine. Surprisingly not expensive. You definitely need a reservation Danubio Uruguay no.3 (near eje Cenral Centro Historico) 5512-0912, 5518-1205 Great seafood, old-time place in centro. Try the “camarones al ajillo”! Coox Hanal Isabel la Catolica 83, 2nd floor, near c/Mesones, (Centro Historico) Incredible Yucatecan food- only for lunch. Try: Sopa de Lima, Panuchos, Pan de Cazon, horchata to drink. Very cheap! Fonda del Refugio Liverpool 166 tel. 5525-5352 (Zona Rosa) The old tourist standard, still good though. Contramar Durango 200 tel. 5514-9217 (near Plaza Madrid- colonia Roma/Condesa) Fabulous Mex/California seafood, informal, but you need a reservation, only for Comida (open 1-6 everyday) El Bajio Av. Cuitlahuac 2709 tel. 5234-3763,4(Colonia Azcapotzalco) “family” atmosphere in wierd area north of Polanco, but easy to get to in taxi. Interesting, odd traditional Mexican food. Best weekend afternoon. Mercado de Comidas, Coyoacán A few blocks from central plaza in Coyoacán; there is an outdoor seafood restaurant that is fabulous (look for the long,long tables) but we go for the INCREDIBLE tostada stand inside in the middle- has to be seen to believed-heaping platters of filling- even our friends from Paris were amazed. MP Café Bistro Andrés Bello 10 Col. Polanco Tel. 5531 7100 Fusion Mexican/asian Águila y Sol Molière 42 and Masaryk Col. Polanco Res. Tel. 5281 8354 Alta Cocina Mexicana – high end Tezka Amberes 78, Hotel Royal Zona Rosa Tel. 5228 9918 Supposedly the best in the country, chef is from Arzak in Spain, expensive. Also should be mentioned is: Sanborn’s (in the ‘House of Blue Tiles’) accross from the Palacio de Bellas Artes. The traditional Tourist experience for the last 100 years- good for breakfast. Cafe de Tacuba, Tacuba 28, Centro Historico-pretty, old traditional place- food is OK, but great old ambiance. Chocolateria El Moro Eje Central Lazaro Cardenas, near calle Republica de Uruguay. Old tradicional place for Mexican Chocolate and churros 24 hours a day, down tour blocks from the Torre Latinoamericana. Casa Lamm Alvaro Obregon at the corner of Orizaba, colonia Roma has architecturally interesting chi-chi restaurant, nice cafe, and the best bookstore in Mexico. Bistro Rojo Av. Amsterdam 70, Colonia Condesa always excellent for French bistro food, as is Mosaico Michoacán 10, Condesa. Casa D’Italia, Agustin Melgar no. 6 Condesa tel.5286-2021 Excellent Italian owned by Luigi, a napolitano. Daikoku Michoacán 25, Condesa-good Japonese, open Sunday night a plus. Photo Bistro. Condesa Citlaltépetl 23, entre Amsterdam y Campeche – excellent French bistro. Fiesole Best Italian in the city: Av. del Parque No. 2 -5 Col. San Angel Teléfono: 5663 1913

Can anyone tell me about the Thai desserts, that is, the shaved ice with various beans and squiggly things with coconut milk on top, found at street stalls all over Thailand? What is it called? What is the history of it? How are the squiggly things made?

The Fonda de San Francisco is closed but will probebly appear in guides and lists for the next ten years, as things are slow to be updated here. MP bistro is good but not very "Mexican", more "Asian fusion" with some Mexican ingredients. And I have heard the same mediocre review of El Tajin.

I hate to say we had a HORRIBLE meal at Ligaya! It´s off the list! The Ice cream parlor I think you mean is La Neveria Roxy on Montes de Oca...anything named Roxy has to be good.They offer "malteadas", and, remembering New York in the good old days, I asked if they actually put malt in the malteds, but, like New York of the bad new days, they don´t. Just as well... Although Izote is variable, I still like it. It has off days; also, we all get so worked up about some of these famous places that they are bound to disapoint...

I once told my friend, a vegetarian, that the tameles of cheese were OK...didn´t mention the lard. She LOVED them. I felt a little guilty, but not very... (this same person recently went to my favorite trattoria in Rome- Osteria Ponte Sisto - and broke down and ate sausage, so there you go).

I´ve taken a couple of vegetarians there...as long as they´re not TOO fussy, they´ll find something.

I would say the map is basically correct and will be helpfull for someone who has never been there - the sections aren´t so defined, ie. are somewhat more mixed up than it looks on the map.Also, I beleive there is another metro entrance somewhere near the shoes, which may be helpfull to add, as it makes retracing one´s steps unnecesary. Perhaps someone will expand the map to include the streets around the Merced, an undertaking akin to drawing a correct map of the medina in Fez ...I´M not going to do it!! I suggest to anyone who goes to the Merced that you do it early, ie around 10 as by noon it can get overwhealmingly packed, especially on weekends. Dia de los Muertos stuff is there now and I saw a lady selling turkey eggs the other day!

Thank God they´re not in el DF...I´d replace "the fat guy" in no time! There is a great portuguese panadaria here but it´s safely far away from me in Polanco.

"Low Carb Living" hasn´t hit Mexico, thank God!

Gracias, Butterfly, and everyone else!

And Nick, I agree that El Globo isn't what it usd to be. But here in the provinces I am sometimes glad to get certain things there--we don't have great patisseries. Most of the cake shops in Guanajuato I would not touch. So I'd add to flour girl's question--where to you now recommend in DF? I have to admit that the panederias in Mexico don't make me very excited..."it ain't France" is the mantra that comes to mind... So, I can only recommend the bread and pastries from Mosiaco (the restaurant that also has take-out charcuterie) on c/Michoacán, and that from La Naval, next door. La Gran Via, on Amsterdam near Sonora has incredible (and justly famous) merengues. There is a great Portuguese bakery in Polanco but I´m not sure of the address.

Can someone tell me the best place to buy Moroccan "supplies" (ie. olives, spices etc.) in Madrid? Believe it or not, I will be carrying them back to Mexico (along with everything else).

I'm sure El Globo was once fabulous, and I've seen old photos of the beautiful original one, but in recent years it has become a chain all over Mexico City, and it's wares are not particularly special. So, its 'Bimbo-ization' will probebly not make much difference. It's still distressing, however to see the corporatization of anything. At least Bimbo is a Mexican company....or is it?

Oh, my! Having my taste in food and my culinary knowledge disparaged in one posting deserves a reply. Although I don't eat there, ironically Taco Bell is one place you can get (so-called) Mexican Food without rice and beans. These are instances of my experience with Mexican Food: 1. I've been to Mexico twice. While it's true that not all food is hot, you can never trust that some sneaky hot food won't be lurking among the tame ones. I'm very sensitive to spicy heat, so what seems bland to others can be painful to me. Come to think of it, I object to the flavor of chilies as well as the heat. Pick up any Mexican cookbook, Rick Bayless or whomever, and just count the recipes that include chilies. The majority, I'll bet. 2. My daughter's MIL cooks a lot of Mexican food. She once had a job as a cook for Mexican ranch hands, and presumably cooked to suit them. Rice with chiles and tomatoes, refried beans, enchiladas feature largely. My daughter cooks Mexican food almost weekly. Just this week she made a Mexican beef dish with Mexican spices she bought at a Mexican grocery in Arizona, and had first eaten at the home of native Mexicans. (This was a special celebratory dish the family made in honor of my daughter's visiting family and her in-laws.) They all loved it, I hated it. 3. I've eaten at many Mexican restaurants, from chains to tiny holes-in-the-wall where "everyone who eats there is Mexican" and "it's run by Mexicans who don't speak English". Same old, same old. (I have not been the person who picked the restaurant, ever.) The only upscale Mexican restaurants I've eaten at were in Mexico. The two recipes I brought back with me from there are: Caesar salad, made at tableside, back before it became ubiquitos, and a dessert of ice cream and fruit covered with a sugary meringue and baked in a metal champagne saucer. I'm sure there are some other Mexican dishes I would like, but finding them no longer appeals to me. On the other hand, if you want to persuade me, I'll gladly accept an invitation to dinner. ← Well, if you don't like it, you don't like it, but I'll have to mis-quote the great Duke Ellington when I say "there are only two kinds of food: good food and bad food". If you DO come to Mexico again, try some of the restaurants that we have discussed here, such as Izote...maybe you can be converted!

I got a real kick out of this one. My objection to Mexican food (second to the hotness) is that they serve not TWO starches but THREE at a time: beans, rice and tortillas. But perhaps they don't do this so much in Mexico? ← Sounds like you've been eating at Taco Bell, mi amor.... Most Mexican food is neither "hot" nor is it always necesarily accompanied by "rice, beans and tortillas"...stick with us here and you'll learn about the richness and complexity of Mexican cuisine.

I agree with all of the above! I told my Japanese stepmother about the sushi with cream cheese situation; her first response was "what's that?"...when I told her it is what my father likes on his bagel, she was absolutely HORRIFIED! I think she may never come to Mexico...

Coox Hanal is one and the same place. They moved to a much larger place a couple of years ago, which replaced the old time charm of the old place with ugly new decor, but also eliminated the inevitable wait on the street. And I forgot to mention to order the papadzules.... I would still definitely go to Izote as your splurge, especially as you haven't been there. The other places. Aguila y Sol, MP Bistro etc., are more "international" or "creative" in their menus, whereas Izote is basically presenting traditional Mexican food but gussied up. I think it has set a standard for real appreciation of Mexican cuisine. The ambiente there is less "see and be seen" and more about the FOOD. As for the books, I have PQ's Antojeria Mexicana which is a beautifully designed book with good recipes; there is one about something like foreign cuisines in Mexico, which is bad and seems , with good reason, yo be remaindered everywhere.. There is a new, intriguing one about moles which seems only to be for sale at Izote but I haven't bought it yet. Contramar is very good, but less spectacular and wide-ranging in its menu, which is more like "beach" food- it isn't quite as expensive, ie., we usually spend about $250 per person, whereas Izote is more like $350-500, depending on wine and drinks. El CAGUAMO, its real name, is GREAT and you shouldn't miss it!!!!

Will your last meal be comida or cena? If comida, go to Coox Hanal Isabel la Catolica 83, 2nd floor, near c/Mesones, (Centro Historico) Have Yucatecan food - Sopa de Lima, Panuchos, Pan de cazon and horchata. You will be dreaming about this for years... Or, if you want to have the REAL mole experience, go to a little fonda on calle Delicias, just east of c/Buen Tono, around the corner from the Mercado San Juan. It is VERY FUNKY and small, you can't miss it, trust me, I'm not sending you on a wild goose chase, I'm sorry I don't have the exact address or name, but I think it's Fonda del Buen Tono. They have a sweetish, great, mole poblano served any way you like it, (also in paste form para llevar) and it's only open Monday-Sat. from 1 to 6. Don't be put off by the funkyness. For Last Supper: I'm sure you've already done Izote (?) How about good 'ole Fonda del Refugio? It's still the old time standard, and their mole verde can't be beat. Or, for a great last "low" experience, there's the Mercado de Antojitos in Coyoacán, on calle Higuera, just off the main plaza, open to the street. It is open late, til midnight, and they have GREAT pozole and incredible deep fried quesadillas, which are the ultimate heavenly grease-bomb experience, really good and fresh despite their deep-friedness. And good ambiente. I always felt the way you do, so I ended up moving here and becoming a Mexican citizen: now I NEVER have to leave, but I STILL worry that I havn't eaten everything...