MEXICO: FINE DINING AT EL HIDALGUENSE, CASA DE LOS AZULEJOS, AND DEL ANGEL INN

While we were in Mexico, we had three meals that really stood out, two in Mexico City and one in Taxco. I thought the meals were unique enough to merit their own post.

1.  MEXICO CITY: EL HIDALGUENSE, 

Friday, March 9, 2018

Bob selected this restaurant when he was researching places to go prior to our trip. He was captivated by the idea of lamb barbacoa, the restaurant's specialty. Sheep are a definite theme of the decor as well as the menu.

The name is a variation of the word "Hidalgo," the state located just north of the Mexico City area. I think that means the food served here is the local cuisine of that area.

The restaurant has a classy interior.

But what caught my eye was this line-up of large glass jars of fruit juice. I would loved to have gone down the row and tasted each one.

We did try three of them: full glasses of strawberry-guava (incredibly good), and samples of not-as-good pineapple and guanabana (aka soursop) juice.

I mentioned that Bob liked the idea of the lamb barbacoa this restaurant is known for, but I think the main reason he wanted to come here was for the ant larvae and caterpillars on the menu. Yes, you read that right. The novelty was fun, but it isn't something I could say, "Oh wow! That was good!" about. Not by a long stretch.

Ant larvae

"Maguey" is another name for agave plant, something we have all over California and Arizona but whose residents I have never wanted to eat before.

White maguey worms/caterpillars

Red maguey worms/caterpillars

Here's a nice combo platter. Doesn't it look delicious? NO?

"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."

What definitely was delicious was the lamb, even though it was wrapped in maguey leaves (no visible bugs). It was warm and juicy and fall-off-your-fork tender, some of the best lamb I've had.

We ate chunks of the lamb on blue corn tortillas, topped with garnishes and salsas, and then we just started eating the remaining lamb with a fork. I'd go back for the lamb, but once was enough for the larvae and caterpillars.

2. MEXICO CITY: CASA DE LOS AZULEJOS (House of Tiles), 

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Azulejo is a form of tin-glazed ceramic tile developed in the 13th century in Portugal and Spain. Its name implies that the tiles are always azul, but that is not the case. They come in many colors. There is a beautiful building covered in azulejos in the heart of the historic district of Mexico City. It was originally a palace built in the 16th century, but the azulejo tiles were not added until 1737.

In the early 1900s the building was purchased by Frank Sanborn and his brother, who owned a small soda fountain and drugstore business nearby. They took two years to remodel it, adding a stained glass roof over the central courtyard, among other things. 

The inner courtyard currently encloses a fancy restaurant, the flagship site for a chain of Sanborn's Restaurants now owned by Mexico's richest citizen, Carlos Slim.

The room is so beautiful that it almost didn't matter what the food tasted like.

I had enchiladas suizas, which were quite good.

Bob ordered some kind of mole dish and absolutely hated it. I like mole, so I swapped with him and enjoyed his choice. However, I was up until almost 3:00 AM battling terrible heartburn as a result. I can't remember if Bob liked my enchiladas.

We were also going to stop in at a French restaurant that our guide Victor likes, so we walked down Madera Street towards the zocolo. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed for a private event. The pedestrian street was CRAZY crowded, but there was such a fun, energetic vibe that the crowds didn't matter. Bob, who really dislikes crowds, loved it.

3. TAXCO: DEL ANGEL INN, 

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

I already mentioned this beautiful rooftop dining spot in my post about Taxco, but I didn't write about the incredible meal we ate there.

Well, SOME of it was incredible, and other parts were just, well, incredibly weird.  Take this bug, for instance. No, it isn't something that dropped from the ceiling onto my plate.

It is one of the edible stink bugs, also known as jumiles, from the bag in the photo below. Jumiles are eaten roasted, fried, raw (ewwww) . . . 

. . . or ground up and added to a salsa:

The salsa can be eaten with chips or spread on a tortilla or used to spice up a main course. Once you get over what it is, the taste is not bad.

Bob had veggie fajitas smothered in Manchego cheese (one of my favorite cheeses).

However, he met his match in this pepper dish called chiles toreados. Shockingly, it was too hot for his usually very tolerant palate.

Arnold had enchiladas suizas, which looked divine . . .

. . . and I had mole rosa (pink mole), a traditional dish of Taxco that gets its color from beets and its smooth, sweet flavor from white chocolate. It has just a bit of a kick that comes from chipotle chiles and spices. It was quite possibly the best mole I have ever had or ever will have.

Our dessert of crepas de cajeta was also one of the best desserts we had on the trip and deserves a bit of adoration here as well.

Cajeta is a Mexican caramel sauce made with goat's milk. Our waiter whipped up a batch right in front of us in a heated dish.

First he made the caramel sauce, adroitly maneuvering a spoon and fork with one hand, his skills rivaling any Asian chopstick user.

The crepes, freshly made in the kitchen, were then soaked in the cajeta and folded twice:

And finally, FINALLY, they were laid out on a dish and topped with more cajeta, chopped pecans, whipped cream, and a little ball of ice cream. The only part of this that wasn't incredible were those two maraschino cherries, which Bob ate for me.

One obvious conclusion we drew from these three mouthwatering meals is that Mexico is a place of culinary greatness. Another conclusion we drew is that we should have lost a few pounds--okay, maybe ten--in preparation for this trip.