Helping at the Restaurant

Friday night Alejandro and I had supper at one of our favorite Mexico City restaurants, "Angelopolitano".  I have already written a couple times about this place.  The restaurant specializes in classic dishes from the state of Puebla. We can always count on a superb meal there

The restaurant's reputation is beginning to attract foreign visitors.  Unfortunately they lack a menu in English or a waiter who speaks English.

Seated near us was a group of three people from the United States.  They had minimal knowledge of Spanish.  I could tell that they were struggling with the menu and communicating with the waiter, so I helped them out.  They asked for my recommendations, and I told them that I consider the "chile en nogada" to be the masterpiece of Mexican cuisine.   (I've written about this dish before...  it's a poblano chile stuffed with a mixture of meat, fruit and nuts, covered with a walnut cream sauce, and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds.  That's what they ordered, and they were very impressed.  It was unlike anything they had ever tasted, and completely unlike the American stereotype of Mexican food.

Alejandro and I had just finished our meal (we also ordered "chiles en nogada") when the waiter came up to us and asked for help with someone else who did not speak any Spanish. It was a young couple from Dubai.  They said that they did not eat red meat or chicken... only fish.  I looked over the menu, and, other than the soups and salads, I didn't see anything that met their dietary requirements.  Finally I noticed a variation of "chiles en nogada" that was stuffed with codfish.  I recommended it and told them that they would get to sample a classic Mexican dish but without the meat.  I do hope that it was to their liking!

The waiter was very grateful for our assistance, and offered us a tequila on the house.  We declined; we were happy to help out one of our favorite restaurants.