shelora

Zihuatanejo has come and gone far too quickly. After only a few hours, the hot sun reduces my speed ten fold - a most powerful sedative.I recommend staying at Zihua, the week before everyone goes on vacation - most everything was filled with only a handfull of tourists. The Sotovento was quiet and every one had a floor to themselves. And what a glorious view. The Food. La Perla, on Playa Ropa beach. Super super clean and efficient service. Very fresh seafood and they practice safe salad, so it is a sure bet for those craving greens. The best value is the tuna steak NOT the filet. For 95 pesos, a giant thick cut piece of tuna is brought to your table. I recommend the mojo de ajo, a healthy dose of ground fried garlic and oil or even the al ajillo, a blend of garlic and slivers of guajillo chile. Ricomar In an alley way around the corner from the Viva Mexico on Nicolas Bravo No.3. Here you find the best pozole and we were finally on time for Thursday`s pozole verde. A broth of tomatillos and pumpkin seeds with hominy corn. Side accompaniements are chicharones, radish, avacado, lime, chopped white onion and green chilies. A substantial meal for only 16 pesos. El Mercado The open market is happening in the early morning before it gets too hot to handle. Comedor Delia is place I like to frequent. Delia and her team of cooks, make the best tortitas de papas (potato cakes), giant chile rellenos, a simple fried fish or caldo de chivo (goat) or caldo de pancita (tripe). All priced between 30 and 40 pesos, the plates are served with rice and beans and radish garnish and all the fresh made tortillas you can eat. For those still hesitant about eating in the market, I can´t stress enough, the food prepared is absolutely fresh, bought that morning, fish caught that morning, do give it a chance. For an elegant stop, we found the latest and greatest right beside the Sotovento. Welcome the club/resort of Club Interwest, a drop dead gorgeous complex just opened. The lofty bar overlooks the water, the sunset and two pools of the club that shimmer from purple, red and green. Welcome too, the menu from Vancouver`s own, Glenn Monk. Acting as executive chef of the complex, Monk has got the right attitude toward bringing Mexican food out of the '70's style of most beach resorts. The menu gives provenance to ingredients of the area, goat cheese from neighbouring Petatlan, organic honey from Maria Aguilar, organic coffee and organic ginger from local El Corral del Diablo. For dinner we began with the local goat cheese served with a tart salad of purslane (acelgas) further tarted up by a caper-lime tapenade and roasted chile arbol oil. Next was the hearts of romaine and butter lettuce, his take on the classic caesar with an achiote infused Caesar dressing, parmesean crisps and pickled red onion. Then there was the Zihua coast ciopino a spiced tomato, fennel and local saffron broth with a mixture of local shellfish and seafood. Flavours balanced and sweet. The special of the evening was a chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese and topped with basil and tomatoes, wrapped in banana leaves and baked. The star accompaniement was a reduced sauce of jamaica (hybiscus) that was reminscent of cranberries. Dessert offered a perfect cafe/Kahlua souffle finished with the pouring on of an espresso creme Anglaise. Oh yes, and a guava sorbet that refreshed the palate. The wine list is a fitting tribute to the award winning wines of the Baja and Ensenada. The Vina de Camou Chardonnay and their Fume Blanc (both 1998) were both stellar, although we found the Fume too heavy on oak. Most wines are priced at 200 pesos (around $20.), making this an affordable affairand chance to stretch your mind around the fact that vines have been growing in the Baja region since the 1500`s. The restaurant is also pairing specials of the evening with wines and are priced with or without. We visited them on only their 3rd day of opening and the service was caring and enthusiastic. Highly recommended. THE SALT Last but not least, I am returning home with 10 kilos of the local sea salt. It is unbelievable in taste and can be purchased in the market for an unbelievable 3 pesos a kilo. That is like 30 cents. This is how some families make a living!!!!! Over and out. S

Hola queridas, Writing from Oaxaca at present. I recommend trying anything pibil style - pit cooked, slathered in achiote and wrapped in banana leaves. Also treat yourself to some recados -spice pastes reknowned in the Yucatan, look for the homemade ones in the market. The green one especially is fab, lots of herbs. Don´t forget to try the habanero salsas - if you can get past the blow-your-head-off heat, habaneros taste very apricoty. Have a great trip. shelora

WOW!!!!!!!! That looks incredible, Spaghettti!!!!!! Please, can you offer a detailed tour of the platter? S

Has anyone seen the Jim Jarmusch film, Coffee and Cigarettes? One of the pieces on the features shows all of the tabletops from the film filled with coffee cups and paraphenalia and is suitably beautiful for this topic. Just had to tell you about it. S

Elixir - if they still have the duck confit hash on the breakfast menu, its divine.

I'm with you Moosh. On a hot summer's day, a Vietnamese ice coffee can't be beat. Part of it, for me, is the littlle bit of foreplay involved. The waiting for the coffee to finish dripping into the glass, the mixing together of the condensed milk with the long spoon, pouring the mixture over ice and then finally, the reward - a strong sweet highly satisfying beverage that Starbucks could never ever duplicate. I don't know what kind of coffee they use for the iced coffee, but in this case, I could care less. On the other hand, high end hotels and restaurants should be serving excellent quality coffee and I'll be the first to complain if they don't. s

Well, there it is. I was looking at her older books. I'm glad you are going to try it a second time. Let me know how it turns out. You know, with all due respect to D.K., I would be tempted to cook off that sauce a wee bit longer if need be, to mellow out the ancho. Taste as you go and see what you think. s

Thanks Juiceman, the Inn at Manzanillo Bay does sound intriguing. Everywhere I go, I go for the food. And its going to be good. Especially when I get myself some of that INCREDIBLE sea salt they harvest on the coast. And thanks to Mr. Talent for the heads up on the honeymoon bungalow at the Sotovento - man. that's funny! s

I was looking through D.K.'s books yesterday and did not find a recipe for a sopa seca using anchos, but there is one using chipotles en adobo - Mexican Regional Cooking, pg.35. Maybe it is the same one you found. It also has tomatoes in it. The pasta is cooked separately and drained of the oil, then, the sauce which is blended is fried and scraped, reducing and then broth or water is added until it is the right consistency, then the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce. Makes more sense. Anchos are an essential chile in Mexican cuisine. If I'm not making a mole, I love using anchos for chilies rellenos (stuffed with cheese, dipped in batter and fried) or stuffing them with a picadillo - lately, my favourite dish to make. You just hydrate the chilie in hot water, remove seeds and veins, pat dry and stuff away. Don't let that one dish turn you away from the ancho. Check out the Mexico forum from time to time, a great place to pose a question about chilies. There are some very experienced Mexican cooks and food scholars on board. Cheers, Shelora

A few seeds never hurt. I would definitely say that, that is a sopa seca recipe. And an odd one at that. Chile Ancho in that raw state is bitter or tannic, like strong black tea. Only with frying and simmering, reducing, then adding stock or water, does it take on a smoother flavour and picks up the other components of cloves, cumin and garlic. Don't forget the salt. Of course, you did fry the sauce for a bit when you poured it into the 1/4 cup of oil and pasta. This is an important step, but you wouldn't be able to fry it long before the angel hair pasta was cooked. If you are motivated to try it again, I would first blend the sauce with only enough stock to loosen the blades and make the whole thing smooth. Then cook the sauce, frying, reducing, then adding the rest of the stock until it is right. Then add the pasta. My deduction is that the recipe has been edited for the magazine and possibly for the website. Something is missing. D.K's style is for lots of details. For example, what size anchos or approx. weight and more descriptives on the soaking method of the chiles - like, soak until soft but not falling apart. The recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups of stock or water but the procedure text only asks for "one more cup of the stock". Where did the rest go? The addition of the lime, cheese and avacado at the end would help counterbalance bitterness. Hope this helps a bit. S

"miguel ravago at fonda san miguel in austin might fit the bill" I second the motion on Miguel Ravago at Fonda. Ravago and of note, his Mexicano kitchen team who have all been there from day one. They all rock! Also, an ex from Fonda, is Roberto Santibanez who is running the show at Rosa Mexicano in New York. He is a gifted chef and excellent teacher. Salud, Shelora

I have cooked extensively with the books of Diane Kennedy and have studied Mexican cooking for many years. Which means I know a liittle more than very little - the cuisine, like D.K. says, would take an entire lifetime to learn. Actually, for me, even longer. For a first timer, I recommend making the classic chile rellenos out of the anchos or the even more classic picadillo. Your library should have some of D.K.'s books. Go for The Art of Mexican Cooking first. The chile relleno is easy. Hydrated the chiles in hot water, remove the seeds, pat the chile dry, stuff with cheese, roll in a little flour, dip in batter and deep fry until golden. The procedure for the stuffing, the batter, deep frying and the accompanying sauce (caldo de tomate) is all in the book. If this doesn't appeal, I'd go for a picadillo recipe which gives you a nice blend of the Spanish influences. Picadillo is mostly a meat mixture of either chicken, pork and why not, ground turkey? It is sauteed along with onions, garlic, tomato, olives, capers, herbs, raisins, etc. There are many variations and many Mexican cook books that should include a recipe for picadillo. This mixture is stuffed into the ancho, which has been hydrated of course, in hot water until soft, but not mushy! Seeds and veins removed from the inside and the picadillo mixture stuffed inside. You can make that dish ahead and heat in a bit of sauce or liquid, in the oven, covered at 350 or until heated through. Careful with the guajillos, if thats what they are. Guajillos have very tough skins that aren't too appetizing when included in a mole. After blending them, make sure they put through a strainer to remove those tough bits. The book, The Art of also has some classic salsas and simple stews. It's a great book. Even if your library doesn't have it, I suggest buying yourself one. Have fun and let us know what you did with them. And don't be afraid to experiment. All the best, Shelora

Ditto, the huaque is definitely not a chilhuacle negro, I finished the last of mine recently. The huaque could be a guajillo, but my guajillos are more smooth skinned as opposed to wrinkly. It makes me think they are either achile California or chile New Mexico. Those darn chilies, they never cease to confuse me. But those chile amarillos you have, they are really good and really fiery, even without the seeds. There is a recipe in the D. Kennedy book, My Mexico, for Mole de Iguana Negra, pg.423. Of course you will be substituing the iguana for baby back ribs. But I used the amarillo in place of the costenos and man, it is good. And I would go with the ancho guess, although I can't read what the little paper title inserted in the bag says. If they are anchos, they are a nice size, what they called primeras, maybe? What will you do with them? Shelora

I really like to enhance that wonderful artichoke flavour with simple stuff, a squeeze of lemon, good salt and a fragrant olive oil. Nothing like it. s

"So - apart from leftovers cooked up as goose & ham croquettes, we're thinking stilton & gruyere shortbread, a spinach, avocado & bacon salad with dried sour cherry vinaigrette & chocolates from Sen5es if there are any left - wine choices will be made nearer the time, but there'll doubtless be Kir Royale in there somewhere, assuming Dad remembers the Cassis - and good champagne at midnight, with or without smoked salmon (depending on who's got any energy left)." Wow! That sounds amazing! What was the address again?!

"We tried to eat at La Casa Que Canta last time we were there, in 2001. We sat unacknowledged for a half an hour, finally got up and left. We would have told someone we were leaving, but literally didn't see a soul the whole time." Isn't that funny? You know, we went into their lobby once to take a look at a room, just to see what we were missing. Same thing, no one around. We will take another look in though, just to see if anything has changed. "The two best places we ate, I sorry but don't remember the names, both were casual local spots, one was directly across the street from the mercado, large room, open to the elements on the front side and was painted green, (sorry for not being more helpful). They have the best margaritas in Mexico" I know exactly the place you mean. They do some good pozole there along with a place around the corner in an alley way. And yes, Kau Kan, thanks for the website, I've heard good things about that restaurant as well. Some how, I can't allow myself to go into a place called Banditos and I have been to La Sirena, and thought they overcooked the tuna. Tuna is so much like cardboard when overcooked. I will reconsider it though, as its been a few years since we've been there. I have eaten in the market alot. There is a place I will document that became my mainstay for tortitas de papa, little potato cakes served with a tomato caldo. They also made some stinking hot salsas and unique condiments I'd never seen before - whole chile de arbol, flash fried, served whole with the local rock salt. Killer! And just perked those tortitas de papa right up. Breakfast of champins! Yes, yes. I can hardly wait!

I'd like to help figure this out. Did the recipe actually say "grind" the chiles? What did you use to grind the chiles? How did you cook the mixture before you added the pasta. Was the recipe called a sopa seca in Spanish? There are a few factors that could contribute to bitter tasting chiles. Can you reprint part of the recipe? Which issue from Food and Wine, I might have it. Ohh, I love a good mystery. Shelora

The first place to try is the Urban Fare, talk to the person who orders the produce, they may be able to track some down and special order them s.

Even though I'm supposed to be taking a vacation, I see a self-directed project coming on. We need useful information about this wonderful place and other places in Mexico. There are a lot of zihua posting forums, but all of them leave me wanting for more - nothing is directed to food focussed individuals. s

"it's freakishly tough to get a decent sandwich" After reading the front page article in the dining section of the N.Y. Times last Wednesday all about the sandwich selections in N.Y., it brought to mind all the great Vietnamese sandwiches I have fond memories of in Vancouver. And that I miss so much. I'm curious as to what - for you Jamie or anyone else - constitutes a decent sandwich these days? In days gone by it was all the questions the sandwich maker asked you that was such a revelation; whole wheat, white or rye? Lettuce or sprouts? butter or mayonnaise? mustard? To go or for here? What is it now? Are there now good/decent meatball sandwiches to be had in Vancouver these days? s

Thanks, Jaymes. I will check out both places. After searching and researching on google, I'm rather appaled at the lack of interest in the food of Zihua, no listings or cheesy photos of couples watching the sunset with a giant lobster on a platter in front of them. Good God! Is this still 1975?! Besides, there are no lobsters in Zihuatanejo! s

Thanks, I will check out both and I don't really want to go to Ixtapa anyway. I have heard a few good to excellent comments about Brisas food and sunset view. And Jaymes, have you eaten at La Casa Canta? We've only shuffled around the lobby feeling out of place. I would like to hear about their food - their website is not offereing much. Our first night is at the Sotovento and depending on how we feel about the place, we may stay or move on to another hotel.Where do you stay? Thanks, Shelora

Both Vancouver and Victoria need more street food. I crave it constantly. s

Hi, Mr. Shelora and I will be spending a good five days in Zihuatanejo soon and would like any recommendations for good restaurants in the evening. We usually spend more of our meal times in the market in the morning, beach in the afternoon and the stellar pozole joint in the centro at night. But we are looking for a place for a special meal that would showcase the specialites of the region, maybe somewhere on the beach and hopefully not Ixtapa - unless it just cannot be missed. Thanks, S

Back to the menu ideas. It would be ideal to have fresh tortillas being made out in the open in the restaurant, so an open griddle area, doesn't have to be big. Tamales are important. Small (tamalitos) can be served on the side of some plates. Larger ones for an appetizer or even to be worked into a main. Made with fresh chanterelles are awesome. In corn husks or banana leaves. Salsas - this subject alone can keep you busy for the rest of your life. But two signature salsas need to be determined, a red and a green. NO combination plates and no platters of food. The bar would need to have good tequilas and perhaps serve a tasters plates, as it were. A selection of three different 100% agaves, like a silver, reposado and an anejo, maybe a house made sangrita to go with that. I also love being served tequila in a cucumber, like some places do in Mexico City. Great wine selection to match Mexican food and good beer on tap. Snacks, pepitas (toasted and salted pumpkin seeds) and what I like to call zocalo nuts, peanuts roasted with garlic and chile de arbol (easy to obtain). Bigger appetizers, quesadillas with quality cheese never cheddar or mozzarella. Stuffed fire roasted jalapenos with mint and goat cheese. Any meat served will be top quality, organic free range. Perhaps, depending on the location, we could do pit-cooking for special occassions. With a restaurant like this there is the slight problem of educating the clientele without being off putting. A delicate balance. And I have to correct something I said earlier. Pipianes are made with pumpkin seeds, not almonds. Oh yes and dessert......................