To "El Cardenal" Again

 I wrote previously that Alejandro and I had gone to one of our favorite restaurants, "El Cardenal", for breakfast on Saturday.  There were a number of new items on their breakfast menu, some of them specifically for the Day of the Dead season.

On Monday morning I returned by myself for breakfast.

One of the new items on the menu was "atole de guayaba"... guava "atole".  "Atole" is a hot beverage made from corn flour that is especially popular during the Day of the Dead and Christmas seasons.  I have tried it before, and never really cared for it.  Corn flour as a beverage?  Yuck!  However, when Alejandro and I were there on Saturday, he had ordered the guava "atole".  I had a taste, and, surprisingly, I liked it.  So that is what I ordered on Monday instead of my usual hot chocolate.  And, of course, I had to have a "pan de muerto"... bread of the dead.

 Also on the menu for this season were tamales. something that is served all year long, but which is especially associated with the Day of the Dead.  They had three varieties of tamales... black "mole" with pork, green sauce with chicken, and "rajas" (strips of poblano peppers) with cheese.  I decided on the "mole".

This "tamal" (the singular of tamales is not tamale) is typical of Oaxaca and is wrapped in a banana leaf instead of the corn husk that is used in central Mexico.  It was absolutely delicious.  I think it might have quite possibly been the best "tamal" I have ever tasted.

For the sake of my waistline, I cannot have breakfast at "El Cardenal" every morning, but I will definitely have to return before the end of the season to try the other varieties of tamales on the menu.