Dinner at "Los Girasoles"

Because I had done some cooking, we ate in the apartment more than usual last weekend.  However, after visiting the handicraft exhibit on Saturday, I suggested that we eat out.  We went to a place that we had not visited in quite a while... a restaurant called "Los Girasoles" (The Sunflowers).  It is located on Plaza Tolsá in the Centro Histórico.  It's a somewhat expensive restaurant although the prices are not ridiculously outrageous.

(I actually took this photo after our dinner in the early evening.)

We both ordered the same thing.  We began with pistachio soup.

The presentation was very pretty.  That's an "obleo" (like a communion wafer) floating in the soup.  It is decorated with the restaurant's name and a picture of sunflowers.

For our main course, we both ordered chicken in peanut sauce.  So, I guess you could say that we had a very "nutty", but tasty dinner.

Since we were seated on the upper floor of the restaurant, we had a nice view of the Plaza Tolsá below us.  The building to the right is the National Museum of Art, and to the left is a late 18th century colonial building that was the School of Mining and which now belongs to the School of Engineering of the National University of Mexico.  In the center of the plaza is the equestrian statue of King Charles IV of Spain, commonly known as "El Caballito" (The Little Horse).  It was done in 1803 by the Spanish-born sculptor and architect Manuel Tolsá.

From a different window, you can see the side of the old School of Mining and poking up above it, the 20th century Latin American Tower.

Handicrafts!

If you have read this blog for any length of time, you know that I am a sucker for Mexican handicrafts.  When I made the move from Ohio to Mexico, I brought down many of my favorite pieces, and I continue to buy more down here.

My friend and fellow-blogger, Barbara from San Miguel de Allende, e-mailed me and told me that there was going to be an exposition and sale of works by Mexico City artisans at the Franz Mayer Museum last weekend.  Franz Mayer was a German immigrant who came to Mexico in the early 20th century.  He had a passion for Mexican decorative arts, and when he died, he donated his collection of more than 9000 pieces to create a museum, which is housed in a 16th century colonial hospital.

On Saturday, we went downtown to the museum for the exposition.

Alejandro and I pose by large images of the traditional "María" and "Juan" rag dolls that have become an iconic symbol of Mexico and its handicrafts.

The show was small, with only about thirty artisans displaying their work.  However, their work was top quality, and I ending up buying a lot of beautiful merchandise.

This fellow creates objects out of papier mâché.  I bought a small jaguar head to add to the collection that I have hanging on the wall of my apartment.

  

This lady creates objects of "papel picado", the cut paper that is used as holiday banners.  I bought a small, framed piece of "papel picado" to add to my Day of the Dead "ofrenda".

This artisan creates jewelry by encasing real orchid blossoms in plexiglass.  I bought a small pendant to give to Alejandro's sister for her birthday.

This lady does decorative pieces in stained glass.  I bought a picture of a boatman on the canals of Xochimilco that I already have hanging in my guest bathroom.

Finally, this gentleman creates absolutely amazing pictures out of "popotillo".  "Popotillo" is an art form that dates back to pre-Hispanic times.  The straw-like fibers of the "zacatón" plant are used to create works of art.

I have seen plenty of "popotillo" in handicraft markets, but I have never seen such beautiful, detailed work such as this man does.  I ended up buying two of his pieces... a bouquet of flowers, and a Mexican street scene.  The street scene is already framed and under glass.  I will have to have the other one framed with glass.

 

I went away from the show very happy with my wonderful treasures!

Back to Cooking

I mentioned last week that Alejandro and I had pulled out the stove so that we could turn on the gas.  Previously when I was by myself in the apartment, I would simply make something that did not require cooking, or which could be heated up in the microwave.  When Alejandro was with me, we would simply go out to eat.

Now I am back to cooking.  Last week, besides the home-made salsa that I wrote about, I made something that I used to make frequently back in Ohio... black beans and rice.  I would always use Minute Rice brown rice, a can of Mexican-style chopped tomatoes, and a can of low-sodium beans, as well as sauteed onion, garlic and bell pepper.  They don't sell Minute Rice here, but I did find envelopes of pre-cooked "arroz integral" (brown rice in Spanish) that you prepare just like Minute Rice. I bought a small carton of ground tomatoes, but mostly used fresh Roma tomatoes that I bought at the market.  Alejandro would always tease me that canned beans are "fake frijoles".  So, I bought dried beans, sorted through them to pick out any stones (the beans were very clean... no stones) and soaked them overnight.  I then cooked them on the stove for over an hour.  I spiced the dish up a bit with some of my home-made salsa.

I still had some beans left over, and I had a kettle of the bean broth.  So, I decided to make some black bean soup.  I added chicken broth and some spices.  It was a bit bland... next time I will add some fried chorizo... but with some salsa and a dollop of "crema", it was not bad.  Alejandro had a second serving.

Since it's been so hot here, I thought that a cold chicken and macaroni salad would be good.  I need to watch my triglycerides, so ordinary pasta is not the best thing for me.  In the supermarket, I found a bag of elbow macaroni made from brown rice.  I cooked up the macaroni, carefully following the directions, and it came out inedible.  Not only was it all clumped together in a mushy mess, but it had a rather bitter aftertaste.  So, I went back to the supermarket and found a bag of whole wheat spiral pasta.  That came out very well.  I don't have a recipe for this salad... I added fresh broccoli that I had steamed, chopped onion and bell pepper and shredded chicken.  I made a dressing from mayonnaise and "crema".

There was enough for two meals for the two of us... so this weekend we ate in instead of going out.

I think that this coming weekend, I might make my recipe for "encacahuatado de pollo"... chicken in peanut sauce.

So-so Oaxacan

In my previous post I mentioned that I had seen a Oaxacan restaurant called "La Bella Lulá" on my long walk down Revolución Avenue.   On the way back I stopped there for dinner.  Oaxaca is considered one of the culinary capitals of Mexico, and it is famous for its variety of "moles".  I had high hopes for this restaurant.

I started with black bean and noodle soup. It was good.

For my main course I had chicken breast covered in almond "mole".  The chicken was rather dry, and I thought that the "mole" was bland.  It certainly was not as good as what I have had in Oaxaca.

After I returned to the apartment I took a look at the reviews for the place.   I was surprised to see so many glowing reviews.  However, there were a number of people who shared my opinion that the food wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything special either.  One person summed it up saying that if you have never had Oaxacan food, you might think that the restaurant is great.  If you have been to Oaxaca, you know that the food here is not outstanding.

Needless to say, I am not going to make the trek to "La Bella Lulá" again.

South Down "Revolución"

You may remember a post that I wrote last month in which I described a long walk that I took down Revolución Avenue.  After walking for an hour, I reached a subway stop called Barranca del Muerto.  Although I had never traveled on the Metro to that stop, I knew the name because it is the end of the line for a route that I sometimes take.

Thursday is my cleaning lady's day to clean the apartment, so I needed to get out of there.  I had several hours to kill, so I decided to jump on the subway, go to Barranca del Muerto, and take up where I had left off on my walk down Revolución.  Once again, I gave myself one hour.  In that hour, would I have time to pass through the historic district of San Angel and make it all the way to the avenue's end by the stadium of the National University?

The Barranca del Muerto subway station had some interesting decorations.  The ceilings and walls as I ascended by escalator were painted with designs reminiscent of the embroidery work of the Otomí tribe.

 

By the exit there were mosaics and stone sculptures that were clearly inspired by pre-HIspanic art.

I emerged from the subway station onto busy Revolución Avenue near another high-rise building under construction.

Just beyond the subway station was the shopping mall "Portal San Angel" which was as far as I had walked on my previous hike.

I was now in territory that was new to me.  In spite of the name of the shopping mall, I was not yet in San Angel, but in a neighborhood called Guadalupe Inn.  This area was developed in the 1950s on land which used to be the Hacienda de Guadalupe.

High-rise apartment buildings

Across the street I see a restaurant called "La Bella Lulá", a place which serves Oaxacan food.  It might be a good place to stop and eat on my way back.

There were lots of campaign posters for Santiago Taboada, candidate for chief of the city government.  They outnumbered those of his opponent (and likely winner) Clara Brugada.

Obviously there are some people in the neighborhood who don't like Clara Brugada, since quite a few of her posters had been torn down.

I passed a cultural center where plays and concerts are presented.  It's called the "Centro Cultural Helénico".  

From the name (Hellenic is an adjective for Greek) I would think that it is somehow associated with the Greek community in Mexico City.  After doing some research I finally found out that it was founded in 1973 by a Greek Orthodox bishop and professor of classical Greek at the National University of Mexico.  However, the programs advertised did not have anything to do with Greek culture.  One play being presented that weekend was called "Cyrano Unleashed", an adaptation it would seem of the classic French play "Cyrano de Bergerac".

On a side street by the cultural center, I saw this building which looked very old.

It is indeed much older than I imagined.  Between Google Maps and Wikipedia, I was able to learn that the structure consists of a 14th century Gothic chapel and a 12th century Romanesque cloister that were part of a monastery in Avila, Spain.  The building was purchased by William Randolph Hearst, disassembled, boxed and shipped to New York.  The stones were never removed from their boxes.  They were acquired in 1952 by a Mexican businessman, and the building was reassembled in Mexico City.  It is one of only two medieval Spanish structures in the Americas.  (The other one, part of a monastery from Segovia which was also purchased by Hearst, is in Miami, Florida.)

The chapel and cloister were donated to the "Centro Cultural Helénico" in 1973.  Concerts, plays, workshops and conferences are held here now.  I will have to inquire whether or not it is open to the general public since I would love to see the interior.

A few blocks down the street I reached the Carrillo Gil Art Museum.

The museum houses the art collection of Alvar Carrillo Gil, and hosts special exhibits of contemporary art.  I have never been to the museum, but I suppose that someday I will visit, even though contemporary art is not my cup of tea.

At this point I looked at the street sign and realized that I was now in San Angel.

San Angel was a rural town to the south of Mexico City until it was absorbed by the growing metropolis in the 20th century.  It is one of the city's most picturesque neighborhoods, although you would not know it from busy, commercialized Revolución Avenue.

I have been to San Angel a number of times, and it was only a couple of blocks before I was in familiar territory.  I soon reached the colorful San Angel Flower Market.

A mural on the wall of the flower market

I think that the famous painter Diego Rivera is portrayed in the center drinking "pulque" (notice the paint brushes in his pocket) and above him is his wife Frida Kahlo.  The couple owned a home in San Angel.

Continuing down the avenue I came to the gate of one of the most important colonial buildings of San Angel, the church and convent of El Carmen.

The church and convent were built between 1615 and 1625.  The convent is now a museum which I have visited a couple of times.

I entered the atrium of the church, a respite from the noise and traffic along the avenue.

Bougainvillea and a jacaranda blooming in the atrium

The tiled domes of the church

The interior of the church with its baroque altarpiece

I could have deviated from my route at this point and wandered the cobblestone streets of the center of San Angel.  However, my goal had been to see if I could reach the end of Revolución Avenue in the time I had allotted.  I had been walking for nearly an hour, so I forged on.  I was still in San Angel, but definitely not in its colonial heart.

Just as I had reached the one-hour mark of my hike, I came to the avenue's end.  In front of me was the Olympic University Stadium... built for the Summer Olympics of 1968 and now the home of the National University's soccer team, the Pumas.

I had achieved my goal, and now it was time to head back.