"Fonda Fina" Is Indeed Very Fine

During my wanderings through the neighborhood I came upon a restaurant which I had not seen before.  It's called "Fonda Fina", and it's located on Calle Medellín in the Roma Norte neighborhood.  I studied the menu posted outside, and it sounded quite good.  So last night Alejandro and I tried it out.  

The decor is quite interesting.  The lights hanging from the ceiling had "cazuelas" (large, clay cooking pots) as lamp shades.

The place is rather upscale with a clientele of well-to-do Mexicans and foreign tourists.  The menu could be described as traditional Mexican home cooking with a gourmet flair.

We were immediately served home-made salsa and corn chips.  The salsas came in little "molcajetes", the volcanic stone mortars in which salsa is traditionally prepared.   They were exceptionally good.  Although the portions were tiny (just four chips in a little basket and just enough salsa for those four chips), our waiter kept replenishing our supply as we ate them.

To begin, we had the soup of the day which was cream of lentil.  It was very delicate yet flavorful.

For the main course, you select from the menu a meat, a sauce to go with it, and a side dish.
I had marinated chicken with peanut sauce.  My side was mashed potatoes with Oaxacan cheese.  The potatoes were garnished with arugula and paper-thin slices of radish.  I am not a huge fan of radishes but the flavor worked very well with the potatoes.

Alejandro had pork cutlet with "borracha" sauce (drunken sauce which is made with beer), and a side of frijoles.

We were both extremely happy with our selections.

A basket of piping-hot, home-made tortillas came with the meal.  I think they might have been the best tortillas that I have ever had.

For dessert we both had flan made with Chiapas cheese and served with guava and agave honey.  Wonderful and unique flavor!

To drink we had sangría, "agua fresca" with coconut and pineapple, and Mexican coffee flavored with cinnamon and brown sugar.

Our total bill came to around $50 US.  By Mexican standards not a cheap meal... but I doubt that in the United States you could have a meal of this quality for less than $100.

We are happy to say that "Fonda Fina" has been added to the list with "Angelopolitano" and "El Cardenal" of our favorite restaurants in Mexico City!