|
For most Mexicans, breakfast consists of fresh fruit, eggs, juice, pan dulce (a Mexican sweet bun), hot chocolate or coffee; lunch, the big meal of the day, is around 1 to 3 p.m.; appetizers and drinks about 8 p.m. Dinner is usually late, between 9 and 10 p.m. Ask our Mexico Specialist to assist you with your travel to Mexico, also making suggestions and recommendations for your culinary enjoyment! Mexican Eateries in the U.S. Mexican Cuisine: In Mexico It's taken about 3,000 years to develop the fine and varied art of Mexican cookery. Yet, even though Mexican-style cuisine now rivals "Italian" as the most popular ethnic cuisine in the U.S., for many, Mexican cuisine is simply an assortment of tacos, enchiladas, refried beans and guacamole. Actually, Mexican cuisine differs from region to region. CENTRAL Here you get to taste a combination of both the Spanish and Aztec influences. An example is in Puebla, where the classic, centuries-old mole poblano (a dark, thick, chocolate-like sauce made of dried chiles, nuts, seeds, spices and cocoa) is practically a daily staple and available just about anywhere. GULF STATES Rich, hearty coffee and simple, well-seasoned cooking dominates the scene. A particular favorite is freshly caught fish garnished with tomatoes, herbs and olives. NORTHERN Just like its terrain, the fare is rugged, hearty and unpretentious and, along the Noreno frontier, they go for fire- smoked steaks, fresh fish, chorizo (Mexican sausage) and spicy beans. PACIFIC COAST The grilled red snapper (huachinango a la talla) is snapper grilled on a wood-fired stove made of clay. It's a specialty in the palm-roofed restaurants in the Acapulco area. SOUTHERN A standard here is the traditional savory herbed stew, complimented by aromatic sauces made of sweet spices like cloves and cinnamon. WEST CENTRAL The best-known fare of the region is its crisp fried pork carnitas and pozole, a pork and hominy stew. YUCATAN PENINSULA Consistent with its Mayan origins, menu highlights include pork in plantain leaves, chicken with vinegar and spices and the famed achiote chili sauce. Mexican Eateries: In the U.S. CHICAGO TOPOLOBAMPO - Celebrity chef Rick Bayless' restaurant, where the menu changes every two weeks, offers spicy sopa Azteca, soup made with pasilla chilies, avocado and chicken, that is a perennial favorite. HOUSTON OTILIA'S MEXICAN RESTAURANT - At this family-run eatery, regional Mexican specialties include Yucatan cochinito pibil (shredded pork loin cooked in banana leaves and seasoned with achiote paste) and chile en nogada (a meat-stuffed poblano chili sprinkled with pomegranate seeds). LAS VEGAS SALVADORENO - A well-run, family-owned restaurant on the outskirts of the city's older downtown gambling area, serves delicious Salvadoran fare such as pupusas and yuca frita (fried yucca root topped with coleslaw and pork). LOS ANGELES EL TAURINO - A restaurant that serves really tasty goat. Try the birria (braised goat eaten with a tortilla) or if the restaurant is closed, try the taco truck usually parked behind the restaurant. GRAND CENTRAL MARKET - Try the Mexican food stands. The gorditas (fat corn tortillas stuffed with roasted meat at ANA MARIA'S and the pupusas de queso con loroco (Salvador-style tortillas stuffed with cheese and vegetable blossoms) at SARITA'S PUPUSERIA SALVADOREAN FOOD. GUELAGUETZA - Eat at either of the two locations of this restaurant that serve Oaxacan-style classics that include chuletas de puerco (chili-marinated fried pork chops). Weekends at the Olympic Boulevard restaurant feature traditional Oaxacan dancing, as well. YUCA'S - A quick-service Los Feliz-area restaurant in business for 25 years, specializes in Yucatan fare. On Saturdays, try the Yucatan-style tamales made with seasoned ground pork wrapped in a banana leaf. NEW YORK ROSA MEXICANO - One of the city's authentic Mexican eateries, known for its guacamole, mixed tableside!
CASA GRANDE Restaurante Mexicano - Celebrating their 10th Anniversary - Four locations. Near us - 3532 Pump Rd. (Short Pump Shopping Center Next to Stein Mart) 804 360-774. (With a coupon - 1/2 Price DINNER - Buy any "special dinner" at regular price, get a 2nd of equal or lesser value for 1/2 price! (Maximum Coupon Value $4.00. Valid Sunday through Thursday. Dine in only. Not Valid with Other Coupons or Discounts. 1 Coupon per Table. *Expires 1/31/08.) SAN FRANCISCO LA TAQUERIA - A walk-up window with fresh tacos made to order. LA SUPER-RICA TAQUERIA (*in photo above) - a paper-plates-and-picnic-tables eatery, about which Julia Child says, "Everything is incredibly fresh. The salsas are wonderful." BACK TO MEXICAN EATERIES IN THE U.S. Mexican cuisine is always cause for celebration. It's a unique and explosive palette so full of flavor and fire, the zesty dishes are as exciting to cook and eat as they are to pronounce. Being one of the most popular genres of food north of the border, Mexican cooking has even become a hit with U.S. television viewers who tune in to see how their favorites are prepared. And as such, a number of tour programs have been built around learning how to cook in the authentic Mexican style. In addition to preparing their own meals, participants take trips to colorful markets to buy the ingredients for the day's menu, listen to experts expound on the history of Mexican cuisine and then top off the day's efforts with a meal with convivial companions with a taste for the spicy and sumptuous. YUCATAN
CLASSES A series of innovative cooking classes featuring the native dishes of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula are now offered year-round at LOS DOS, the cooking school owned by Chef David Sterling. Los Dos is located in a renovated historic home five blocks from the Plaza Principal in Merida. The school has two guestrooms available for overnight stays during the one, two or three-day classes. Students accompany Sterling to buy ingredients at the famous market in downtown Merida, which spans six square blocks. The courses also combine excursions to local pueblos to highlight ancient Mayan cooking methods. All participants in Sterling's classes help prepare the meal, sitting down to enjoy it at the end of the day in the grand Los Dos dining room, a spacious room complete with antique Mexican furniture and high ceilings. The kitchen, a traditional Mexican cocina filled with Talavera tiles from the state of Puebla, was designed for seating while learning. A swimming pool in the home's courtyard allows participants to take a dip between lessons. Class fees are $50 for the half-day course to $225 for the three-day workshop. Rates to stay at the guesthouse are $95 a night for the Junior Suite and $125 for the Master Suite. |
Page