Tablecloth Stainer

I have previously written about one of my favorite restaurants in the Historic Center of Mexico City, "El Cardenal".  The restaurant now has several branches, but the original one is located on Palma Street just a block away from the main plaza.

My friend and fellow blogger, Kim, had never eaten there but wanted to try it.  So on Wednesday we got together for lunch.

Kim ordered a fish dish, fillet of "róbalo".  I have seen "róbalo" on the menu in many places in Mexico, but I wasn't sure of its English translation.  Kim thought that it was halibut.  Afterwards I did some research and found out that it is snook.  (Honestly, I had never heard of snook before.)

I ordered lamb cooked in "manchamanteles" sauce.  "Manchamanteles" translates as "tablecloth stainer". It is made with chiles, tomatoes, onions, garlic, plaintains, sweet potatoes, pears and pineapple.  To protect my shirt from the infamous stains of the sauce, the waiter tied a pristine, white bib around my neck.  We will see how much of a slob I am.

(photo taken by Kim)

Kim's fish was prepared "barbacoa" style... baked with seasonings in a "maguey" leaf.  He said it was delicious.

 
My lamb in "manchamanteles" sauce was scrumptious.  It's easy to understand how the deep red sauce gets its name.

 
At the end of the meal, there was only one small drip of sauce on my bib. 
 

(photo taken by Kim)

  Not bad!

A Stroll Along Reforma

On Monday Alejandro and I took a late afternoon stroll along a portion of the Paseo de la Reforma, the broad, tree-lined boulevard which is Mexico City's version of the "Champs Elysee".

We began our walk at the intersection with Avenida Insurgentes, the city's longest avenue.  The traffic circle is marked with a monument to Cuautémoc, the last Aztec emperor.

I have been observing the construction of this new tower at the intersection for some time.  It appears to be completed, and office space is now available for rent.  With so much construction in the last few years, I fear that there will be a glut of office space, and that the building boom will burst like a bubble.

The complex known as Reforma 222 was completed in 2007.  The towers contain offices and residential space.

It also contains a three story shopping mall.

Along the boulevard there is still an encampment of protesters denouncing the disappearance of 43 students in September of 2014.

The next major intersection is known as "La Palma" because of the tall palm tree which stands in the traffic circle.

Ugly barricades surround the U.S. Embassy.  It's a sad commentary on our nation that these barricades need to be there.  

We ended our walk at one of the city's most iconic monuments... the Independence Monument, which is commonly called "El Angel".

 

Another Sunset

A spectacular sunset as seen from the window of my apartment on Tuesday...

 

A Morning for Tamales

As in the United States, the Mexican government likes to juggle around holidays to create three day weekends.  This past Monday was the legal observance of Constitution Day, which actually is February 5th.  (I really don't know why they couldn't have left Constitution Day alone this year since the 5th falls on a Friday.)

February 2nd in the Catholic Church is the feast day of La Candelaria (Candlemas in English), which commemorates the presentation of the baby Jesus in the Temple and which is the official end of the Christmas season.  Figures of the Christ child are elaborately dressed and taken to church to be blessed.  It is also traditional to eat tamales on La Candelaria.

Alejandro did not have to work on Constitution Day,  so we went out for breakfast and did our eating of tamales a day early.   Within walking distance of the apartment, in the neighborhood of Roma Norte, is a little restaurant called Los Tamales de la Roma.

Tamales are made with a wide variety of fillings, both savory and sweet.  In the highlands of central Mexico the tamales are wrapped in corn husks, while in more tropical regions, such as Oaxaca and Chiapas, they are wrapped in banana leaves.

Alejandro ordered "atole", a flavored, corn beverage to drink.  I'm not a big fan of "atole", so I ordered Mexican hot chocolate.   We each ordered three tamales.  They come out tied up like little packages in their wrappings of corn husks or banana leaves.  One of my tamales was filled with strips of chile peppers and cheese.  Another was filled with chicken and Oaxacan "mole".  My favorite of the three was a "tamal chiapaneco"... typical of the southern state of Chiapas.  It was filled with chicken in "mole" sauce, plums, almonds and hard-boiled eggs.
Delicious!!  

Water Update

(image from the web)

As I wrote a few days ago in my post "Absolutely Absurd", millions of Mexico City residents and businesses have been going without water since last Friday due to repairs to the main pipeline bringing water into the city from the west.

The apartment where I am staying has "tinacos" (rooftop water basins) and a cistern, and we made it through the weekend with no problems.  Then, yesterday afternoon there was no water... a situation which continued until 5:00 A.M. this morning.  At that time I could hear water filling the pipes.  Around noon, the water went off again, but is now running again.

I have been holding off on taking dirty clothes to the laundry because of this situation.  Today I took a bag of clothes, and fortunately the laundry was open and running.  The very sweet lady who always waits on me there told me that they had very little water on Friday, and that they had to close down altogether on Saturday.  Today they had a good flow of water, and she told me that my clothes would be ready by tomorrow afternoon.  I hope so, because if not, I shall have to go out and buy some extra underwear!

An Elegant Supper

Last Sunday, our friend Kim, the author of the "Gringo Suelto" blog, joined Alejandro and me for supper.  We took the metro to the Zócalo, the main plaza of Mexico City's historic center.  Fortunately, the plaza was free of the exhibitions that frequently clutter the city's majestic heart.

 The Cathedral

The City Hall

Our destination was the elegant Gran Hotel, located at one corner of the Zócalo.  The building, constructed in 1899 in Art Nouveau style, was originally a fashionable French-owned department store.  Today it is one of the city's most beautiful hotels, with gilded open elevators, and a gorgeous stained glass ceiling.

On the top floor of the hotel is a terrace restaurant with superb views of the Zócalo.

 

The restaurant's evening menu is limited grilled meats and fish.  I don't eat a lot of beef... and I have found that the quality of steaks in Mexico is often not that good.  However, the beef tenderloin that I had was excellent... probably the best steak that I have ever had in Mexico.

We all enjoyed our meals.  The service was great, and, of course, the view was wonderful.

The meal included soup, salad bar, and a dessert bar.  The bill for the three of us, including drinks and tip, came to $80 US... or about $27 per person.  A true bargain!

 Another great evening in Mexico City!

Welcome Sunshine

After three days of overcast skies and chillier than normal temperatures, the sun came out yesterday and the thermometer rose to a very pleasant 73 F.

Alejandro and I took a walk to nearby Parque México, which is always a fun place to visit on a Sunday afternoon.  My grumpiness, provoked by the dreary weather, my cold (which is almost gone), and the noisy party upstairs on Friday night, quickly disappeared as we strolled through the park.

How can one be grumpy on a beautiful afternoon in a park filled with families enjoying the day?

The recently restored, art deco Foro Lindbergh is the heart of the park.

For some unknown reason there was a group of people at the Foro dressed in costumes.  I couldn't figure out if they were supposed to be dressed as ancient Egyptians, or Romans, or what.  Then Alejandro told me that they were dressed as anime cartoon characters.  We still don't know why they were there.

To one side of the Foro a couple was performing traditional dances from the Mexican state of Jalisco, including the "jarabe tapatío" (which we "gringos" call the "Mexican Hat Dance").

 

At the other side of the Foro, a woman with a nice voice was playing the guitar and singing popular songs.

Of course there were food vendors everywhere.

Someone was offering lessons on how to use the hula hoop as a form of exercise.

Purina Dog Chow had a truck parked nearby.  Inside a photographer was taking pictures of dogs with their owners.  They were also looking for dogs to feature in advertising campaigns.

 Alejandro posing by the duck pond.

 On such a beautiful day at such a lovely place, how could anyone not love Mexico!