A Retired Teacher in Mexico City: 2026

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Birthday Dinner

In my last post, I wrote about the restaurant "Testal", where we ate the weekend before last. This past Sunday we were going to celebrate the birthday of Alejandro's sister Sandra. We thought that "Testal" would be a good place to go. However, there was an event going on downtown that would have made getting to the restaurant very difficult. (Strangely enough, even though we are in the middle of Lent, they were going to hold a giant "Carnaval" parade.) Fortunately, the restaurant has a branch in the Roma neighborhood, so I made reservations to go there.

Sandra ordered octopus in "adobo" sauce... not something that I would order, but she said that it was delicious.

I managed to privately tell the waiter that it was her birthday, so when we were done with our dinner, he brought out a small cake with a candle.

I think that Sandra enjoyed her birthday celebration!

Monday, March 30, 2026

Dinner Downtown

The weekend before last, when we were downtown, we decided to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, "Testal". (By the way, I did not know what "testal" meant until I looked it up. It refers to the measure of corn dough that is used to make a tortilla.)

There was a special menu of pre-Hispanic appetizers sitting on the table.

The items were "gusanos blancos de maguey" (the white larvae of a butterfly that lays its eggs in the "maguey" plant)... "escamoles" in butter (ant larvae)... and "chinicuiles" (another variety of caterpillars that infest the "maguey" plant). No thank you!!!

We ordered somewhat less exotic items. We had an appetizer of miniature tostadas with tuna and shrimp. (I don't care for shrimp, so I ate the tuna tostadas.) For soup I had cream of corn and "huitlacoche" (a mushroom that grows on corn). Alejandro had lima bean soup.

For my main course, I ordered "chamorro", pork shank. The waiter removed the meat from the bone. It was served with tortillas, guacamole and salsa for making tacos.

Alejandro had a stuffed "manzano" pepper. You can see how the pepper got it's name. "Manzano" means "apple tree".

Another excellent meal at one of our favorite restaurants.

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Who Is the Best?

"Which country is going to have the best World Cup?"

Silly question.

World Cup Fever

Late in the afternoon, last Sunday, Alejandro and I were walking down Juárez Avenida in the center of the city when there was suddenly a small parade celebrating Mexico's participation in this summer's World Cup.

There were numerous vehicles decorated with soccer and Mexican motifs.

Behind the vehicles there was a crowd of people, waving flags and wearing the Mexican team jersey.

I'm sure that there will be more festivities in the weeks to come as Mexico looks forward to its role as one of the hosts for the 2026 World Cup.

Saturday, March 28, 2026

A Disappointing Festival

Last weekend Alejandro read that a "Festival of Spring Flowers and Ornamentals" was being sponsored by the city government. So, on Sunday we went downtown to check it out. I thought that perhaps I might buy another houseplant or perhaps another orchid since I am now having better luck with the one I have.

The festival was held in the plaza in front of the Monument to the Revolution.

Yes, it seems that the Easter bunny has entered into Mexican culture.

There were two long tents with plant and flower vendors set up on each side with a narrow passage in the middle for the customers.

With the crowds it was almost impossible to look carefully at what was for sale.

There were quite a few vendors selling cacti and succulents, but, as far as I could see in the crowd, there were very few other houseplants. And I only saw one vendor selling orchids. We ended up leaving empty handed and very disappointed with the event.

Friday, March 27, 2026

From Chef Alejandro

Ceviche is a dish prepared with raw fish or shellfish marinated in lime juice. Supposedly the lime juice "cooks" the fish, but I don't believe it. It's still raw fish, something that can carry numerous parasites and pathogens. So, earlier this week, when Alejandro said that he was going to make ceviche, he was quick to point out that he had a recipe that uses canned tuna. The tuna is mixed with finely diced vegetables and dressed with lime juice and clamato juice. It's an easy recipe, but the preparation is time consuming. Alejandro and I spent a good portion of the afternoon chopping the vegetables.

The ceviche was served on "tostadas", crisp tortillas. Alejandro bought some square "tostadas" flavored with sesame seed that were especially tasty. We topped the ceviche "tostadas" with chopped avocado and a dollop of hot sauce.

The ceviche was delicious, and I lost count of how many "tostadas" I ate.

Alejandro also prepared "sopa de habas" (lima bean soup). Unlike the U.S. where you can buy a package of frozen lima beans, here the beans are dried. You have to soak them before cooking them. The soup was excellent also!

Bravo, Chef Alejandro!

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Purple + Purple

Jacaranda and Bougainvillea

The Purple City

Japan and Washington D.C. may be famous for their cherry blossoms, but Mexico City has its own springtime display of blossoms. March is the month when the jacaranda trees are at their height. There are thousands upon thousands of the trees gracing the city with their purple flowers.

Some trees are already past their peak. The falling blossoms are carpeting the sidewalks. Within a few weeks the profusion of purple will be gone for another year.