Weirdest thing I ate:
Yes, it’s a taco de ojo (eyeball taco) that I had sitting at a restaurant with an outdoor grill. Why did I eat this? It was more of a dare than anything else, coupled with my propensity to try anything. This did not taste good. Although the flavor was comparable to cow meat, the texture was terrible. Perhaps it would have been better if braised? I challenge someone to make cow eyes taste good. I actually had a beef cheek taco in the same meal (really tasty) but unfortunately didn’t have enough space to fit in the cow tongue taco, thus completing the cow face triple play.
This is me trying to make the cow eye taco look a little better.
These are Maguey ant eggs. They actually tasted pretty good and had the texture of caviar minus the sliminess. We ate these in a restaurant located inside a cave in Teotihuacán, it was actually the only thing we had in the restaurant that was any good.
I also was able to try Manta Ray for the first time. I get the sense that it’s a particularly cartilaginous fish, making it fairly hard to prepare. We had it slow braised in banana leaves with spices and fruit juices, in the same way that pork is cooked in a very traditional conchinita di pibil. It had the flavor of white fish (think cod) and the texture of shredded meat.
Drink of choice during the trip…The Michelada. For some reason, mixing dark beer with fresh lime juice and chili powder is incredibly tasty and refreshing. Here is a picture of a giant size one that we actually had while on a canoe at Xochimilco, we were able to buy it from some friendly Michelada vendors who paddles up next to us.
Its even better when you drink it sideways
Some more market pictures… I was amazed at the variety of stuff they had at the markets. From numerous herbs and spices to squash blossoms to figs to strawberries to numerous types of peppers, it was like an all star team of great seasonal produce from New York and California, another reason why I am so disappointed by the Mexican chefs and their lack of market knowledge.
Lots of Chickens
Lots of Peppers
Lots of Peppers
Lots of strawberries
We actually went to two markets in one day. The first, an outdoor market was awesome. Apparently this was a ‘neighborhood’ market but it as actually the size of the Union Square Greenmarket here in New York. The second was the major indoor market in Mexico City, Mercato de Merced. I think I might have enjoyed this one had I not been completely overwhelmed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a market this large in my life. The first thing we witnessed inside was a stand with at least eight different kinds of moles in powder and paste form (I was able to sneak some into the U.S and it was good) and a man carrying to gigantic dried fish by the jaws.
The indoor Market was a little overwhelming. There was lots and lots of everythingI wish I remembered more of this market and took more pictures, but I completely choked. There were so many stands selling so many of the same things (think thousands of heads of garlic, hundred of tomatoes, tables full of tamarind) that I felt a little dizzied and was completely unable to think straight. In addition to the mole I think we bought some tomatoes and hightailed it out of there. I think this would be a better market to visit once I have some command over the Spanish language.
Finally some street food… Had an amazing meal of flautas and pambazo, a sandwich filled with chorizo, cheese and potatoes, then slathered in chili powder and fried—truly amazing.
Street food in Mexico is the way to roll
Street food in Mexico is the way to roll
A sandwich with deep fried bread
Crispy Flautas with lots of cheese, another deep fried treat This is a fantastically sweet and juicy mango, again slathered in chili powder (I wonder if you’re sensing a theme here.)
Finally... The winner for the best thing that I ate over the course of the trip:
Churrolicious...Yes, this is a churro. It was freshly fired and filled with warm chocolate and was like no other churro I had ever had…It was that good. I don’t even have words for this fantastic churro, but I do know that I can’t stop thinking about it. There has to be a future dish in there somewhere.
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