Caarina

I did a write up on another website regarding Cuernavaca restaurants after a trip last summer. As always, things change, but this report is relatively recent. Here is a copy of my report: Two weeks ago, my best friend and I did a girls week in the state of Morelos. It was a lot of fun, but most of all, we wanted to check out some fine dining establishments. Since my DH never likes to go to nice restaurants, I really wanted to check out some places with my college buddy and fellow foodie. We made a point of reviewing guidebooks, and culinary publications prior to going as well as getting recommendations for fine dining from locals. Based on these recommendations, we ate at the following restaurants. I have rated them based on our experience with 1-5 stars (5 being the best in our opinion): Las Mananitas (also a hotel) www.lasmananitas.com.mx Our first nice meal in Cuernavaca was Las Mananitas. We sat in the lovely garden and ate appetizers with our Don Julio Tequila. Straight with lime and salty snacks. (we always joke that our favorite date for dinner is the Don) The hotel and bar were packed as it was a Saturday night, and service was slow, and the food was very good. As our appetizer, we had a chile en nogada to share. The chile was "capeado" which is not my preferred method of eating it (usually too heavy), but it was light and not too greasy. Later on it was Mole verde for me (estilo poblano) and brochetas en adobo for my friend. All very good, but not to die for. Wine was taken from the sizeable selection of Baja California wines. We settled on a Monte Xanic white with our food which was quite tasty. The wine list at Las Mananitas is fairly large. **** Gaia: www.gaiarest.com.mx Gaia's setting, in a former mansion owned by Mario Moreno "Cantinflas" with a mosaic in the pool attributed to Rivera, is quite lovely. Table cloths, china etc are all a study in muted elegance. The food is touted as a "Mediterranean-Mexican" fusion. Service is very attentive with a precision and attention to detail not found in many restaurants. My friend, a former server in restaurants, was quite impressed at the staff's training. When setting the table next to us for incoming guests, the staff practically was measuring the dinner plates in relation to the silverware and spacing between guests. The only black mark on the meal was the lousy margaritas (tasted like the frozen kind served at Chilis in the US) served at the beginning of the meal. The bar staff needed help. However, the wine and digestif selection were quite nice and no futher problems were to be had on that front. The food was very good, but not stellar. For appetizers, we had a beet "carpaccio" (delicious served with goat cheese). I then had a chile poblano filled with cheese served in a black bean sauce with mango salsa. My friend had the chicken in pistachio-pumpkin seek pipian, which was quite tasty. **** El Madrigal www.elmadrigal.com.mx I have to say that El Madrigal is the king of restaurants in Cuernavaca. We had not found the restaurant prior to our arrival in town, but after hearing from the locals that the gold standard for food and service in Cuernavaca is now El Madrigal, we had to try it. Our last night in town, we decided to go, and I am so happy I did. From the local scuttlebutt, the owner of El Madrigal was the former manager of Las Mananitas in it's heyday, and you can see that from the ambiance and layout of the restaurant. The service was personal, attentive to a fault and taken to a whole new level. We were at the restaurant during midweek and were attended to like we were royalty. (there was a large party of 20+ people, but the two of us and one other couple were the only other guests) The service staff took the time to learn our names, where we were from, the occasion (our last night in town) and referred to us the entire time by our names. The owner of the restaurant personally came to our table and inquired about the service. We started out with (who else) Don Julio w/ Sangrita. Basic botanas of peanuts and potato chips were served in the bar, but the chip dip (it sounds strange in a formal restaurant, but it works here at the bar) was delicious with hints of blue cheese. Then, we moved to our table in the dining area and I was served an amazing salad of white asparagus and romaine with hibiscus dressing. My friend ate scallops which were very good and fresh. The main course, however, was the home run. I had chile ancho filled with local goat's cheese in served in a tomato/tomatillo sauce. WOW. My friend had the pork en adobo which she said was the best pork she had ever had in her LIFE anytime, anywhere. The only mishap, which happens, was that the wine we had ordered for dinner, a Chateau Camou red from Baja California, was slightly off. (tasted musty--poor storage or transport), but the servers immediately noted the problem and it was corrected with no muss or fuss with a very nice wine, surprisingly from La Cetto. As a final detail, the servers brought out a small piece of chocolate cake to share for my friend and I. The staff had written our names with raspberry sauce with best wishes for a safe return home on the plate. ***** None of these dinners are budget by ANY stretch of the imagination. For two, each meal was over $150+ USD for two. However, in our trip budget we had planned for these splurges. A couple could easily eat at these establishments for less than $100 USD if they limit or omit the alcohol. The food in and of itself was not that expensive, but as always, we tend to go wild on the liquor. At Las Mananitas, our wine and Don Julio cost double of our meals!

This is an older post, but inquiring minds want to know! My google searches are coming up with only her Concha y Toro connections. Vinos Concha y Toro At this website they have some courses that are regarding wine+food and it's possible that she's the chef, but it doesn't list for sure. It may be worth a call there to see.

Here are photos of the package of Choclo. Haven't made those esquites yet (went to Baja instead), but I will post afterwards.

I will be travelling to the Yucatan and Belize in April with my best friend, and I will be probably using Merida as a base for a week and then travelling out to different towns in the surrounding area. I wanted to take a cooking class to get more familiar with the cooking of the Yucatan (which I don't know much about), and I found this cooking school. Anyone have any comments or personal experiences here? http://www.los-dos.com/ It is run by Chef David Sterling. I am going to be on a budget, so I'll only be taking the day class. If someone has another recommendation in Merida for restaurants, cooking classes etc, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks! Caarina

The main difference between this product and the canned and frozen hominy found in almost all latin groceries is that Amazona's frozen choclo has never been dried. It was picked fresh, par boiled and then frozen (like the frozen sweet corn you can get in any supermarket.).

Great let me know how it works for you and if you think it will work in cachapas. I'm thinking about trying the esquites idea this weekend....

I think that the above comments illustrate that Mexico, even with its very lively street food tradition dating from before the conquest, has a food culture that is not found in restaurants. This is especially true outside of Mexico City. The great cuisine is found in people's homes with dishes lovingly prepared by mothers, grandmothers, aunts etc. Let me make a case in point. Great Mexican food is LABORIOUS. To the extreme. (Try cooking from any Diana Kennedy book and you know what I mean) For example, I spent 1 hour last night peeling garbanzos for a Isthmian Oaxacan stew I'm making tonight for dinner. What restaurant can go to that level of labor and turn a profit? You have to do the essential steps to have the tastiest end result. My friends and I who love Mexican food do it as a labor of love. Plus, hey, you can watch Mauricio Islas on a novela to make the labor (peeling garbanzos, taking the pedicels off pozole corn etc) more entertaining and gossip with your comadre in the process. However, this process for the most part is not and cannot be geared toward a restaurant kitchen on a massive scale. Also, simple economics drive people to eat at home or at the simple fondas in many markets(often with delicious results), taco stands and torterias throughout the country limiting the scope of higher end restaurants in the country as a whole. However, I can say that almost all Mexicans I know try to buy/make the best possible quality food they can afford on their budget. Caarina

YES! I am so excited I can hardly stand it! It is STARCHY!! And CHEWY! It is exactly right. The only drawback is the larger size kernels, but hey, the flavor is RIGHT. The choclo cooked up in a few minutes, stewed with tomatoes, garlic, onion and mexican oregano. Dropped in the calabacitas, and seasoned with salt and lots of pepper. Garnished with some cilantro, a work night easy supper with some frijoles de olla. Now that I've eaten choclo again (It's been 12+years since I last ate it), it is EXACTLY pozole corn in size, but cooked and flash frozen instead of dried. The choclo I bought was frozen, taken off the cob. I'm not sure about making fresh corn tamales from it. You don't have the fresh husks for the extra flavor, but I can seriously consider finding some regular sweet corn, taking off the sweet stuff and boiling the cobs for broth and then add the choclo for esquites soup. FYI: Choclo is the Peruvian term for corn. maiz/elote=choclo in Peruvian Spanish. Here is the information from the label Amazonas Rainforest Product Giant Cuzco Corn/Choclo Desgranado/Elote Grano Gigante. Precooked and Frozen. Imported and Distributed by Amazonas Imports Inc. Phone: 818-982-1377 Fax: 818-982-3898. Product of Peru

Great! Look forward to new versions... Ricardo Munoz is someone I highly respect and admire...

For me, the most elusive ingredient in Mexican cooking has to be the most basic-- CORN. Thankfully, I can get fresh masa at my local mercado and/or tortilleria, but what of fresh corn? tamales de elote? calabacitas? esquites? You really cannot use that ultrasweet US corn! Last fall, I tried to pick up some field corn from some distant cousins who still farm in the Midwest. They looked at me as if I had two heads. When I asked for huitlacoche (corn smut), they really thought I had lost my marbles. In the midwestern US it is burned because it is a "pest" and can spread quickly) Unfortunately climatic conditions were not ideal for either because of the drought and the harvest was very late for corn, so no deal. Since then, I have been on the lookout in every single market for field corn. Frozen or fresh. No dice... until... as luck would have it... I have been reading Maria Baez Kijac's book on South American Cooking. She goes on about the lack of proper corn to make lovely foods like Humitas(fresh corn tamales). That got me thinking to extending my corn search to South American markets. Then yesterday, I went to my local Latin American market that caters primarily to Argentinian and Peruvians to check out if they had the corn that I ate in Ecuador (the very starchy choclo). The kernels for the choclo I had in Ecuador were irregular and large, about the size of pozole corn. I was in luck, they had some frozen choclo, marketed under the Amazonas brand, in stock. So... on to experiment. I have to make some calabacitas tonight for dinner. Will report on results tomorrow... Caarina

Thanks everybody for the great responses! I think I was on target now, but next time, I will toast the seeds longer on my comal then move to ignite outside or simply put the fan on high and tell my hubby to take the kid for a walk. The wind was too brisk on Sunday and my matches wouldn't stay lit long enough to ignite the seeds. (went through 2 books of matches!) I'm so glad the color was right! Frankly, after all that work, I would hope it would be somewhat authentic. Tasted good too! Had some leftovers a few moments ago. YUM. Next time I will try DK's version. I read through it prior to trying Susana's version and I saw that DK recommended blackening the chiles as well as the seeds and tortilla. If I remember properly, she also didn't call for nearly the same amount of tomatoes (or raisins and almonds). I tend to prefer DK's recipes in almost all circumstances, and I always look for her version prior to trying any recipe.

This weekend, I made Chichilo Oaxaqueno from Susana Trilling's book, Seasons of My Heart with chiles I brought back from Oaxaca. Unfortunately, I was flying blind here because Chichilo is one of the only moles I didn't try in Oaxaca. The result was tasty, but I needed some culinary guidance on this one. 1) Any suggestions on how to burn those chile seeds? I felt like I needed the blow torch to really do it right because I had to go outside (child at home). There was quite a bit of wind so I couldn't get a good burn. 2) I'm not sure if the mole truly had the most authentic taste bc I couldn't get those seeds to burn properly. The tortilla was fully blackened, but maybe only a quarter of the seeds. The mole was not a dark brown, but more of a very dark red. (in shade between a mole coloradito and mole poblano) Can anyone give me a proper color description of Chichilo or has anyone done a comparison with chichilo eaten in Oaxaca with their own version at home? 3) My DH is a vegetarian, and I used red potatoes, chayote, green beans and chochoyones in my stew (recommendations from Iliana de la Vega from El Naranjo). Pork and beef as well as vegetables are traditionally used in this stew type mole, but the vegetables alone were quite delicious. Any other suggestions on possible vegetable combinations with this mole? I'm thinking some nopales would be good too.... Thanks! Caarina

Shelora, After lurking for awhile on this forum, I simply had to sign up after seeing your amazing series of posts on Oaxaca! This is the level of interest and dedication that I have for cooking, and I love to see this type of dedication for getting the real deal. Thanks again for the lovely photos and narration! Caarina