A Couple More Restaurants

As you know, on the afternoons when the cleaning lady comes to clean the apartment, I take off and go out to eat somewhere.  Here are a couple of restaurants that I visited recently...

Fonda Fina

This restaurant is located in the Roma Norte neighborhood.  I had been there a couple times before... once with Alejandro, and again last summer when my former student Megan and her husband visited Mexico City.  It is fairly expensive, but the prices are not exorbitant.

The decor inside is very interesting.  The wall is covered with the small clay cups and wooden spoons that are found in traditional Mexican kitchens.

The light fixtures hanging from the ceiling used the large clay pots, known as "ollas", as lampshades.

I began with a cheese soup that was very tasty.

My one criticism of the restaurant is that the choice of main courses is rather limited.  I think I ordered the same thing that I had the last time I was here... the meatballs in chipotle sauce.

It was served with rice, a bowl of frijoles and a basket of home-made tortillas.

Matisse

Yesterday I went to a place that I had never visited before.  Matisse is a chain of restaurants and there is one located a short walk from my apartment in the neighborhood of Colonia del Valle.  It also is a somewhat expensive place.  I saw the menu online, and the mixture of Mexican and European dishes appealed to me as an interesting change of pace.

I began with borscht, an Eastern European beet soup.  I have had borscht before, but it was never this magenta color.

I did a bit of research later and discovered that this is a variation of borscht that is typical of Lithuania. It is served cold and was very refreshing on a hot afternoon.  It was served with a plate of potatoes to add to the soup, which is something that I had never seen before.

As a main course I ordered veal goulash. It was not like the goulash I have had before.

The veal was rather chewy, and I could not figure out what spices were used to season the sauce.  It was served with knodel (potato dumplings), and pureed spinach, neither of which were exceptional.  

Although my meal was definitely a change from usual Mexican cuisine, I was not really impressed with Matisse.  I don't think I will return.