Going out for Breakfast

One of the most popular breakfast spots in the Condesa neighborhood where I am staying is a long established bakery / café / restaurant called Maque.  They serve lunch and dinner as well as breakfast.  A couple nights ago Alejandro and I went there for supper, and we had a delicious meal.  Usually I make myself breakfast here in the apartment, but yesterday I decided to go back to Maque.

Even though it was a weekday, the place was crowded.  There were tables available outside on the sidewalk, but none inside.  There were people eating outside, but it was still chilly, probably less than 50 degrees.  So I choose to wait for about twenty minutes for a table inside.

 All of the breads and pastries are baked here.  

I began my breakfast with hot chocolate and a couple of pieces of "pan dulce".

I then ordered "chilaquiles" with chicken and fried egg.

It was a tasty breakfast and worth the wait! 

I Should Have Brought My Camera

I didn't take my camera with me last night when Alejandro and I went out for supper, and now I regret it.  After supper we walked through nearby Parque México.  It was 8:30 P.M. and after dark, but the park was alive with activity.  People were out jogging, walking their dogs, or just strolling.  In the Foro Lindbergh, the recently restored outdoor theater that is the centerpiece of the park, there were people participating in an exercise class.  Nearby several drummers were practicing on conga drums, filling the park with Afro-Caribbean rhythms.  As we continued the sound of the drums faded into the background, and we could hear beautiful voices singing.  "That doesn't sound like recorded music," I said.  Sure enough, as we reached the opposite side of the park, a man and a woman were performing operatic duets.  They were exceptionally talented, and I thought "Why are they performing on the street, instead of being on stage?"  Perhaps they do perform professionally, and this is just a way to pick up some extra pesos.  Passersby were throwing coins into their tip jar, and they had attracted a small, but appreciative audience who was also contributing.  Alejandro and I stood there listening as they performed pieces from Verdi's "Nabuco" and Rossini's "The Barber of Seville".  We were about to move on when they began a number from "La Traviata", and we stayed to listen to that.  We ended up purchasing a CD that they had made.

To those people who think that Mexico is so dangerous, I would say, "How many big city parks in the U.S. have that much activity going on at night?"

 

Shopping at Woolworth's

I suppose that there are young people out there who have never heard of Woolworth's.  But for those of us of a "certain age", Woolworth's used to be as much a part of our lives as Walmart is today.  The chain of "five and dime" stores was once one of the largest retailers in the world.

Woolworth's in the United States is long gone, but Woolworth Mexicana, which was originally a subsidiary of the parent company, still exists.  In fact, there is a Woolworth just a few blocks from my apartment in Mexico City.

During my visits to Mexico City, I will usually stop by the Woolworth store at least once.  I have often gone there to buy soccer shirts for my nephew.  They carry official gear from Mexican and Spanish teams at a fraction of the cost at other stores.  (Why an official soccer shirt should often cost $100 US is beyond me.  Here I can get them for less than $10 US.)

My nephew has grown so much (he is now well over six feet tall), that I'm no longer sure that even the extra large shirts will fit him.  However, yesterday I made a trip to Woolworth to buy some things for myself.  I did not bring enough warm clothes with me on this trip.

After the tropical temperatures in Mérida, Mexico City seems quite chilly.  I'm not complaining however; I could be spending January in Ohio!  Because of its high elevation, Mexico City is never extremely hot, even in the summer.  However this winter seems colder than previous years.  The lows have been in the low forties.  It warms up during the day, but it has been struggling to make it to the low seventies by mid-afternoon.  In the mornings and evenings it is definitely not shirt-sleeve weather.  Furthermore, my apartment does not have central heat, so it is chilly until the afternoon sun streams through the windows.

So I decided that I needed to supplement the leather jacket that I was wearing when I left Ohio.  At Woolworth I bought a fleece pullover, a lighter weight pullover of the Real Madrid soccer team, and a hoodie of the Barcelona soccer team.

In addition I bought a small fleecy blanket that I can put over me when I am watching TV in the evening.  (Alejandro can give it to his mom when I leave.  She complains about the chilly winter temperatures.)  I also bought myself a Real Madrid tee-shirt and a Cruz Azul cap.  (Cruz Azul is one Mexico City's soccer teams.)  My purchases totaled 1005 pesos... a whopping $53 US.  I was also pleased that all of my purchases were made in Mexico... nothing was made in China.

When I am in Mexico City, I never carry my credit cards unless I am going to use one.  My passport and even my driver's license are tucked away in the apartment too.  I took one credit card with me for my Woolworth shopping spree.  When I went to pay, the cashier asked me for identification.  Oops!  All I had on me was the photocopy of the picture page of my passport which I always carry.  Fortunately that was good enough. 

At Our Favorite Restaurant

I have written a number of times that our favorite restaurant in Mexico City is a place in the neighborhood of Roma Norte called Angelopolitano.  It specializes in the cuisine of the city and state of Puebla.  Every time I am in Mexico City, Alejandro and I make it a point to go there at least once.  Last night we invited Kim, author of the blog "Gringo Suelto" to join us for supper.

The menu includes that masterpiece of Mexican cuisine "chile en nogada" (which I wrote about in yesterday's post).  The dish is traditionally served for Mexico's Independence Day, September 16th, because the green of the poblano pepper, the white of the sauce, and the red of the pomegranate seeds are the colors of the Mexican flag.  Originally the restaurant only featured it during the late summer and fall, but it now appears to be a permanent item on the menu.

Alejandro ordered the "chile en nogada", and it was delicious, as always.

I usually order "chile en nogada" here, although there are so many other wonderful dishes on the menu.  Since I just had "chile en nogada" a while ago when I was in Mérida, I ordered instead chicken breast stuffed with apples and covered with a guava "mole".  Superb!

 Kim ordered a similar dish... chicken breast stuffed with pears and covered with an apricot "mole".

Kim said his meal was excellent, and I think he understands why Angelopolitano is our favorite.

Back on My List

For many years one of my favorite restaurants in Mérida was a place called "La Casa de Frida".  It does not specialize in the cuisine of Yucatán, but instead features traditional dishes of central Mexico.  Its signature dish is "chiles en nogada", that delectable creation of a poblano chile pepper stuffed with meat and fruit and topped with a rich, cream nut sauce.  It is usually served in the late summer and autumn, but "La Casa de Frida" serves it all year round.

On every trip to Mérida, "chiles en nogada" at Frida's was a "must".  But then about four years ago it seemed that the place was going downhill.  The "nogada" sauce seemed watery, and the service was absolutely abysmal.  Frida's was removed from the list of Mérida restaurants that I patronized.

On this latest trip to Mérida, Frank really wanted to go to Frida's, because he had heard me talk so much about "chiles en nogada".  So, I acquiesced, and after a long absence, went back there.  The place looked about the same, decorated with memorabilia of the painter Frida Kahlo.  I was glad to see that there was a different waiter.  He wouldn't win any congeniality awards, but at least he was efficient.  Our beverage and starter were brought out in a timely manner.  Then came our main course.  When the chiles were brought out my first reaction was, "What the heck?" (or something like that).  Instead of having pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top there were small pieces of a red fruit which I never did identify. 

However, as I tasted the chiles, I forgave the chef for the lack of pomegranate.  The sauce was rich and smooth, and the filling was a wonderful mixture of sweet and savory.  Frank was impressed, and said that the dish lived up to my hype.  Although I would not say that it was the very best "chile en nogada" that I have ever tasted, it was delicious enough for me to put "La Casa de Frida" back on my list of places to dine in Mérida,

  

Exclusive: "El Gringo Suelto" Revealed

One of the blogs which I regularly read is "El Gringo Suelto".  I met Kim, the author of the blog, two years ago when we were both in Mexico City at the same time.   Once again we are both in Mexico, and we made plans to get together yesterday.

If you have read Kim's blog, you know that he has never, ever posted a picture of himself. Well, today I have, for the first time on any blog, a photo of the mysterious "Gringo Suelto"...



Are you ready for this?




For the very first time...




Exclusively here on my blog...




A photo of "El Gringo Suelto"!!!!

Seriously, however, Alejandro and I had a great time yesterday with Kim.  We met in the morning for breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants, La Buena Tierra.  Then Alejandro drove us to some places on the outskirts of Mexico City which are a bit off of the typical tourist track, and which Kim had never seen before.  I wrote about these places in more detail last year, but I will post of few of the pictures that I took yesterday.

Our first stop was the pyramid of Tenayuca which predates the era of the Aztecs.

Just a short distance away is Santa Cecilia which boasts a beautifully restored Aztec pyramid.

From there we continued on to Tezozómoc Park, which was filled with families enjoying a Sunday afternoon.

By this time it was late afternoon and we were hungry.  Alejandro drove us back into the city, and we ate at a Oaxacan restaurant in the Zona Rosa.  We were there for about three hours, chatting over dinner and drinks.  Talk about a leisurely Mexican meal!

Kim is going to be in Mexico City for a while... as am I... so I am sure that we will have more opportunities to get together. 

The Friendly Skies of Interjet

Yesterday morning my driver David was at the door of the house at eleven o'clock on the dot to take me to Mérida Airport for my flight to Mexico City.  Upon arriving at the terminal, we said good-bye with handshakes and hugs.  He was a great driver and he's a nice guy.  I will definitely contact him for future trips to Mérida. 

Mérida Airport is small and tranquil.  There is no frantic hustle and bustle.  A few years ago it underwent a major renovation, and it is now very attractive as well.  I had not eaten that morning, so I had a late breakfast at one of the airport restaurants.  I ordered my favorite, "huevos motuleños", and they were better than what I've had at some restaurants in downtown Mérida.

My flight was on Interjet, a relatively new Mexican airline.   The have domestic flights throughout Mexico as well as international service to several U.S. cities, Cuba, Central America, and Colombia.

 I had flown on Interjet once before, and even though my flight yesterday was about twenty minutes late in departing, the experience confirmed in my mind that Interjet is a top-notch airline.  Unlike the airlines in the United States which charge for everything and which cram passengers into the aircraft,  Interjet does not charge for your first piece of checked luggage, and you have leg room!!!

The seats are configured six across as in the economy section of most planes in the U.S. , but I swear that I had as much leg room as I would have in first class on a U.S. carrier!

They even give you a bag of chips with your beverage!

I had a window seat and I managed to get some decent photos.

Taking off from Mérida...

 
The coast of the Yucatan Peninsula...

 
Most of the flight we flew above a dense layer of clouds.  When we descended for our approach to Mexico City, the cloud cover was high enough that we had a view of the two volcanoes,  Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl.  Cold temperatures and recent precipitation have given them a mantle of snow.

The final approach to the city.
The large building just left of center is the World Trade Center, and the swathe of green above it is Chapultepec Park.

Welcome to Mexico City!