majmaj40

I had a wonderful meal at Bijoux last night. I was in the neighborhood and am leaving Dallas soon so I thought this would be my only chance to try this. After reading many good things here and other places I was drawn in to review the menu. Because of the price point and the standards that they are trying to acheive I do have a few picky comments. Grades I am giving are against high end restaurants. I did the 5 course fixe prix menu: 1) Amuse Bouche: dont' remember exact details, but duck on a wonton crisp. Okay but not great. 2) Pork Belly with polenta and english peas. This was a very well executed dish with everything being balanced and well prepared. I even ate all the peas which I normally shove to the side. Well executed but not a wow dish, the previous redition described above sounds better. Overall B/B+ 3) Scallops with sun choke puree and almonds, capers, raisins, watercress. This was one of the single best dishes I have had in a long time. Exciting flavors, textures that were very different but all played in harmony. Overall: A+ 3) Duck, couscous with wild mushrooms, Duck was excellent tender, medium-rare and tasty. Couscous was gummy and bland although the mushrooms were a little of a tecture teaser. A real letdown after the previous dish. Overall: B- 4) Morbier with quince chutney, honey and baguette. I am not a cheese connoisseur. But it was very nice, only let down was the baguette, was almost like a stale sliver of a bread slice. B 5) Meyer Lemon sorbet and Coconut gelee. More than a typical sorbet course and it was excellent. A+ 6) Port Steeped Fig Napolean. This dish tries to achieve greatness, with divergent but balanced textures and flavours, but didnt make it. There was a napolean with one layer of chocolate creme, and other layer of figs with mille feuille (sort of a thick fillo type dough) for the layers. Some chocolate ice creem and a macadamia chocolate cookie. It frustrated me because I couldn't quite tell why the individual parts were good and idea was good but didn't acheive something. Figs sort of get lost in the mix..Maybe something to else (like crystallized ginger - spice, or cherries-tart, or rasberry-acidic) would actually pull it together. Service: Very good. Maitre'De and the head waiter (I guess) were poised and profession but engaging. They offered a choice of several tables which was particularily nice since I was buy myself and with no reservation. Other staff were not as poised, but did seem to try hard. Regulars were greeted and exchanged with all.

At Stephen Pyles you can get the whole menu at the communal/tapas area. It is a nice place to eat at the bar you can look at the kitchen and the dining rooms. We ordered a combination of appetizers and tapas. Others also were ordering entrees off the menu. Teppo is another nice good restaurant to eat at the sushi bar - you can order sushi/yakatori/or menu items. People are generally friendly there.

Breadwinners would be a good brunch place in uptown close to down town. Ferre's italian also has some good brunch specialities. La Duni gets a lot of raves - but it is mexican/south american

Thank you!

I did have a small cup of the pasta. I noticed it seemed to be very popular with the locals. What is the flavoring??

The pasilla peppers I have had at la super rica are not the dried ancho peppers, they are fresh green peppers which are heated on the grill. There is one day when they have a mushroom special, I have heard of it but never hit a day when they have it. Any idea on what days?

The Ferry Building is about a mile from the convention center. There are lots of dining opportunities in there. If you do some searches I remember seeing a very detailed report with pictures of all the unique shops and food available. Chinatown would also be a SF unique experience which is within walking distance.

I really like La Super Rica. The taco with the cheese, onions and peppers is my favorite on the regular menu. As you described the plain meat tacos are very plain. Sometimes I will get one to mix in with other non-meat dishes. Other great specials are the chili rellenos and chilaquiles. Chili Rellenos have a great creme sauce, and really nice cheese filling. To me the atmosphere is taco truck, but the food is not. There are some great and complex flavors to some of the food.

Thank you for everyone who took time to post suggestions. I am finally getting around to typing up some of my memories from the trip. I arrived on Tuesday around lunch and everything I had on my list in the main square area was closed. I opted for some street food of gorditas and neveria (ice cream). Gorditas were from one of the older ladies selling out of baskets on the corner down from the ice cream. Gorditas were filled with a mild peppers, a little overly salted but actually this was a nice setup for the ice cream. I chose the vendor with the most selection – tried for Pinon and Cajeta, but got Pina instead. Pina was very fruity and fresh. The cajeta was a little overly sweet for my taste. For breakfast had Corunda and Atole. I chose the lady with the blue tarp, mostly because when I came through earlier the man had been so helpful and let me try both atole so I could pick my favorite. The Corunda was terrific softball sized - stuffed with doble crema and rajas (rich, thick cream and chile strips). Crema will be liberally doused over the whole thing too. Cha Cha Cha – nice courtyard and friendly waiters. A lot of ex-patriates frequent there, so waiters speak english well if you are tired of struggling with Spanish. Excellent Cornish game hen (sorry I can’t remember much more). Guacamole was fresh tasting but could have been a little spicier for my taste. Very good margarita. El Primer Piso – ate at one of the small tables overlooking the main square. Had a local whitefish with a cream, coriander, and herb sauce. The sauce was great, and the fish was flaky. If you really like fish the sauce may cover up the flavors of the fish a little too much, but I like the fish as a carrier for the sauce and other flavors with the flaky texture. The vegetables were overcooked for my taste. Santa Clara de Cobre Street Food – took another quick bus. Off the small square I got some pork from a cart, and then tortillas and drink next door where I could sit on the tables, eat and watch. The pork was tender but some soot mixed in was a little unpleasant on a few pieces. Cheap good meal.

Here are my notes from Morelia. I spent one night and a few days in Morelia. When I return I will try Mirasols again and make a first trip Casa de la Calzada I was really looking for a nice meal for the evening. My other food for the day had been 2 day old bakery goods, and a bran bar on the bus. Actually the bran bar was not too bad, flacky crust but some overly sweet pineapple paste. The cathedral and square below were so lovely I thought I would try La Azotea Restaurante. Everyone seemed to be drinking and not eating. I got frustrated after a few minutes of not seeing any restaurant personnel and no one to seat people and left. Fonda Las Mercedes (León Guzmán No. 47). The courtyard was beautiful. Open ceiling, plants, and a rock wall. Huitlacoche crepes with béarnaise sauce. Crepes seemed to have a mixture of the corn fungus and mushrooms. Attempt to mix French with local ingredients didn’t work for me, it seemed too rich. Margarita was terrible. Cheese bread was the best part of the meal. The French man with the restaurant told me afterwards he did not like the dish – a funny admission from a restaurant. Mirasoles – nice tarascan soup. Seemed very similar to tortilla soup, but a thicker broth pureed beans. From the street it looked empty but there is an interior courtyard filled with diners. I tried to get back here for lunch to sample more of their cuisine, but did not open until 1pm and I needed to catch a bus out. Cathedral Hotel restaurant – Nice place to sit and watch the city and have some breakfast. I wanted to dine at Casa de la Calzada based on the write-ups but I never made it. Dulces Morelianos de la Calle Real Av. Madero Oriente 440, much better selection and nicer than Mercado de Dulces

I really enjoyed my visit. Morelia was my favorite city of the trip. Great architecture, lively mix of people. I kind of hate judging restaurants on one time one diner visits. In Morelia I ate at Los Mirasoles & Fonda Los Mercedes for fine dining. Only eating one dish at either, I prefered Los Mirasoles - more regional dishes. Fonda Los Mercedes was french with some local ingredients thrown in. Pazcuaro - El Piso was my favorite dish. A white fish with a herb sauce. Cha Cha Cha was also very good - sort of interesting all the diners were english speaking. I will expand over the weekend.

I still haven't written up notes from my trip, but Aguila y Sol was my favorite! Other higher end restaurants I dined at were Tezka & El Tajin. Tezka was definitely gourmet but I didn't love it, maybe it was my being a tired from the flight or that the atmosphere didn't have any sort of buzz. El Tajin was nice but didn't seem gourmet.

Thank you everyone for the helpful advice.

I am visiting Mexico City,Patzcuaro,Morelia & Guanajuato on my first trip to Colonial Mexico. For Patzcuaro the ideas I have come up with are: - Restaurant Cha Cha Cha - Ice cream stands (neverias) near Hotel Los Escudos (I read something about the city displacing some of the stands). - Don Rafa – tarcasa soup - Restaurant Priscillas at Mansion de los Suenos - El Primer Piso - La Puerta Roja, spanish tapas restaurant For Morelia: I have done a little less organized searches. The notes I have included: Restaurant Casa de la Calzada Restaurant San Miguelito I would like to dine mostly at places with Mexican or Spanish food or international with local flair. Anything to add or delete.?? I would like some tips on regional dishes also. whitefish -(seems to get mixed reports on whether okay with water quality) uchepos/corunds Sopa Tarasca Caharales Others? Any suggestions. What about bakeries or light breakfasts?

Wow, thanks everyone for the help so far. I arrive in Mexico City on the 3rd after the Day of the Dead celebrations. I was wrong on Fonda del Recuerdo being in San Angel - I really meant to add Paxia. Ruth thanks for the link for addresses and hours. Sneakeater - your previous post was one I read previously, thanks for all the detailed information. Historic area - I am planning to be in that area on Saturday & go to Don Chon. But based on Ruth's information it looks like it is closed. The link provided showed for Don Chon Lun. a Sab. de 12:00 a 19:00 hrs which I thought was Monday thru Saturday. What about the Ciscero-Centeraio? Are taxi's bad on Saturday in that area? El Tajin was on my list at one time - not sure why I took it off? Tezka - I was considering dining at on the way to the hotel from the airport. Since it is in a hotel I thought I could have the bell hops watch the luggage - do you think this would work? Any others in a hotel? Spain is probably a few years out for me. Izote - seems to have those that loved it and those that were disappointed in about a 50/50 mix so I dropped it from the list. Merced - looked pretty interesting from pictures. So reading said this was a dangerous area.? I don't get spooked to easily but dont want to take any serious risks.