Gypsy Jan - 4-15-2012 at 08:32 AM
By kukaburra
(Reposted from Chowhound)
"The next day we started out with breakfast at the hotel. The Hampton Inn has a surprisingly awesome free breakfast for guests. Maybe a little too
awesome as we were so enthusiastic about the carnitas, quesadillas and chilaquiles that we ended up being too full to eat much else a couple of times.
Eventually we had to break the habit and settle for just coffee and juice.
We headed out into the city to explore. The walked through the Zocalo and the busy Saturday market with all the great vendors shouting TAMALES TAMALES
TAMALEEESSS!!!", strolled along Calle Tacuba, past the Palacio Des Belles Artes, past the Alameda (unfortunately closed for renovation) and eventually
over to Paseo de La Reforma, which took us to our well-needed lunch at FONDA EL REFUGIO. This welcoming little fonda had a lovely, relaxed vibe but
was actually one of the "nicer" restaurants of the trip (we didn't have a base of comparison yet.) We started off with tacos de lengua, which were
tender and were really vibrant when topped with all the lovely fixings. We then had albondigas, meatballs stuffed with eggs and bathed in a lovely
tomato sauce. Really great. We finished with chiles rellenos, which were the least greasy, lightest version we're ever had. We also tried some
different mezcals and beers from lesser-known beer producing regions of Mexico. Fonda El Refugio is definitely worth a visit.
Wandering back towards the Centro we stumbled on a saturday afternoon dance event at Plaza de la Ciudadela. Sitting in the park, watching the
dressed-up older folks dance was a definite moment of bliss. I love stumbling on things like that!
For dinner that night we went to EL HUEQUITO on Calle de Bolivar for the tacos al pastor. We couldn't stop eating them! The pork had a crispiness from
the spit that came as a textural surprise and the mix of salsas gave each bite a huge range of flavor. Standing out on the street, ordering one little
plate after another, I lost track of how many we had.
The next day we planned to hit a lot of the sights in the immediate area of the Zocalo. We started by watching a huge crowd gather right on the
square. Was it a political protest? A celebration of a significant date in Mexican history that we didn't know about? No! It was the setting of the
Guinness Book of Records for most people doing zumba! From there were explored the Metropolitan cathedral, Templo Mayor and the various exhibits in
the National Palace. One interesting thing that we learned was that Mexico had an Austrian emperor for 4 years in the mid-19th century. Every time we
travel we learn some new, weird aspect of the Hapsburg empire's global reach. Since my family is Austrian I love to learn about that stuff. Too bad
for the emperor his short reign ended in front of a firing squad!
For lunch we hopped on the metro and headed out to Lagunilla, having read in Gilman's book about a good torta stand in a flea market. Um, flea market?
Lagunilla should be one of the wonders of the world. It should be called a flea CITY! We shuffled our way through tiny aisles crammed with vendors for
what seemed like an eternity. We joked that we were looking for a torta in a haystack. People who gave us suggestions of where to go sent us in
totally random directions. But it was fun, since every corner we turned offered an eye-popping array of goods and people. Then, suddenly, we saw it:
TORTAS DE BACALAO. We bellied up to the stand and ordered one torta de bacalao and one torta de cochinita pibil. They were smaller than we expected,
which was good. And they were really, really great. The pibil was spicy and sweet and smokey… The bacalao was salty, just how I like it. Sitting at
the stand in the middle of this roiling market was amazing.
We were just getting ready to order more, however, when we realized that despite there being three guys working the stand, one guy was handling both
the food AND the money. That was something we had hoped to avoid, so we decided to move on. Wandering around some more we spotted a stand where a
small team of women were making tlacoyos and tortillas and filling them with all sorts of great stuff. Well, we spotted her but really she spotted us,
and sort of lured us over in a very smooth and motherly style. The blue corn tortillas and tlacoyos were definitely something we were interested in,
so we sat down. We had tortillas filled with zucchini blossoms and with huitlacoche. The blossoms were delicate and a little sweet, the huitlacoche
were beautifully woodsy. We then had a tlacoyo stuffed with beans and topped with nopales and all sorts of other good stuff. Tlacoyos really need to
make their way up here! My wife got a brief impromptu lesson in how to hand-form them so we'll just make our own.
We explored the Lagunilla area a little more and walked back to the Centro. Eventually we made our way to CANTINA LA MASCOTA with the intention of
sitting a spell and slowly sipping some tequila. That place started to feel like home very quickly. We ordered the tequilas with a side of spicy
sangrita and let our young server (who became our buddy over the next few days) suggest most of the menu. The food is free as long as you're drinking
- and everyone there is drinking! We had Camaron al Ajillo (the sauce was great, the big head-on shrimp mane a little overcooked), tostadas de atun
(simple, crisp, refreshing), filete a la veracruz (absolutely awesome), a hearty soup (with a really rich broth), and costilla en adobo (the sauce,
again, just out of this world). We were in there for a couple of hours and got to watch how the regulars interacted with each other, sang along to the
jukebox, and just generally enjoyed being in that familiar space. Great experience."
(To be continued.)