Mexico

Ciudad de México and Morelia

Por Nathan Tsai

19 de May de 2021

MEXICO CITY

In early 2019, when I had the opportunity to travel to Mexico, I knew exactly what I did not want to do. I did not want to re-hash the American perspective of Mexico; a perspective full of beaches, spicy margaritas, and thousands of college students and baby boomers on spring break. For whatever it's worth, I avoided the sand, didn't drink any margaritas, and missed spring break by a week.

By some accounts, the area and population encompassed by the metropolitan area surrounding Mexico City makes it the largest urban population center in the Americas. While cities like New York or Hong Kong pack complexity with vertical density, Mexico City spreads itself out horizontally. The variety of people and way of life dramatically shifts with each kilometer traveled.

In the morning, a pleasant walk though boulevards of blooming jacaranda trees. On to lunch at the best restaurant in North America. Afternoon haggling with street vendors in a wet market. Dinner in a bustling historical building-turned-mega-mall. Such a depth in the variation of existences all within easy grasp.

Sonora Grill Prime

After a day hiking the Aztec ruins at Teotihuacán, we happened to stop by a restaurant that was oozing energy and character. On the street below, we could see satisfied diners leaving, hear the vibrant music playing, and smell the wonderful aroma of proper cooking.

Museo Nacional de Antropología

Pujol

Tucked between two busy boulevards in Mexico City's Polanco District is the Best Restaurant in North America. Chef Enrique Olvera is a legend in Mexican cuisine as he was one of the first chefs in Mexico to take the rough flavors and direct preparations of his nation's cuisine and elevate it with precise finesse and dedication to showcasing pure, local ingredients.

Chef Olvera opened Pujol almost twenty years ago and he wanted to showcase cuisine that represented the heart of Mexico City. In his words, he wanted his food to be, "a little bit loud, a little bit of a mess, and very Mexican". People noticed. By mid-2019, Pujol was ranked 12th best restaurant in the world and media giants like Netflix flocked down to Mexico to document what Chef Olvera was doing.

It has, unfortunately, been more than two years since I had this meal at Pujol and I do not have clear and detailed thoughts regarding many of the dishes, but there were some that stood out and I quite clearly remember my parting thoughts. The light in the restaurant was very challenging as it was very dim; as a result, many of the dishes were poorly lit and look a bit off.

Octopus, Chintextle, Pickled carrot

Chintextle is an Oaxacan smoked chili paste/salsa used for seasoning, marinades, and saucing. In this case, fork tender tentacles of an octopus are basted with the chintextle and grilled to perfect doneness.

Tlayuda and Mole

The bright green dish on the left was a fairly interesting version of a tlayuda. For those not as familiar with Mexican food, a tlayuda is essentially a Mexican pizza. A large, thin tortilla is fried and then topped with bean paste, lard, veggies, cheese, and salsa. It's traditionally served as cheap, filling street food that's quick to make and easy to mass produce. However, this tlayuda uses vibrant quelites (edible wild herb/weeds) as its veggie layer.

The red and black mole on the right is one of the restaurant's star dishes. At the time of my visit, this mole had been cooked for 1,846 days -- or just over five years. Every day, about half the mole is used up and every day, a few more ingredients are added to the still-simmering "mother sauce" to bring it back up to a full pot. These ingredients vary day-by-day and depend on what is in season. This is absolutely one of the most mind-blowing dishes I've ever had the opportunity to try -- not because it tasted amazing -- but because I've never met any chef with the commitment to continue to add and perfect a dish to this extreme.

Flavor wise, I do admit that it wasn't nearly as complex or deep as I would have otherwise expected. It was luscious, smoky, and velvety all at the same time with a pleasant blend of savory sweetness. However, it was just a bit too mild and sort of failed to leave any strong lasting impression for me. I will admit that I am not as familiar with Mexican food and I could certainly be off on my assessment here.

Chayote squash, Scallop pico

Oh boy, this was the tastiest dish of the bunch. Smooth, sweet, al-dente chaoyote with fresh scallop on top. A mild pico sauce (minus the tomatoes and onions) gave the whole dish a refreshing bite of spice and acid. The ingredients were pure, the flavors simple, and the result was perfect.

Ceviche, Striped sea bass, Sweet potato

None of these dishes stand out in particular in my memory other than the hoja santa (middle) that was served with the fish. Hoja santa or pepperleaf, is a broad-leafed herb that has this really interesting blend of fragrant flavors. It's a bit like a combination of mint, licorice, and eucalyptus muddled together. This leaf was fried and when crumbled over the fish it provided a uniquely different tasting textural note over the (fairly boring) nicely cooked fish.

Churros, Gaznate, Ginger ice cream

Second only to the scallops, the churros were absolutely amazing. The churros (left) were moist inside, tempura-crisp on the outside and dusted with just the right amount of sugar and cinnamon. Simple dish done to perfection.

As you may surmise by my -- perhaps -- less than gratuitous comments on the food, I didn't find Pujol to be as enlightening or as worthy of praise as others may have. The food certainly tasted good, but at the same time, I didn't find it especially tasty nor compelling. Additionally, while the table service was executed beautifully, the timing of the meal was horrendous. We arrived at 2:00PM and finished our meal at 6:30PM. For an eight-course meal (three of which were snacks and desserts), that's an average time of roughly 35 minutes per course -- I can order, eat, and pay for a full meal in that amount of time! It just seemed a bit over-the-top and unnecessary. It's an experience that I'm glad I've gone through (I certainly learned quite a bit) but it's not one that I'd repeat.

Michoacán

While Mexico City was wonderful, the real highlight of the trip was our visit to the province of Michoacán. Sure, things are a little bit rougher than the capital, but the streets were impeccably clean, the people were impossibly kind, and the food was unimaginably good.

We started off our mornings with a tasty breakfast of fresh fruit and creamy-crunchy chilaquiles and every day, our wonderful hosts led us to glorious meal after glorious meal. From sweet and tart Morelian-style gazpacho to crispy and savory chicken pulled right off a bed of coals, I don't think there was a single disappointing meal or moment.

Many thanks to our hosts and the gorgeous Maja Hotel Botique for making our visit to Morelia unforgettable.

Morelia

This post represents just a slice of the generous people and the gracious culture Mexico has to offer and I am grateful that this was the last non-work trip I took before COVID changed the world. Some dear friends made the trip to Mexico one of the most genuine and pleasant trips I have ever taken.

I'm headed on the first extended trip I'll have taken in quite some time. I'll be traveling solo, armed with hand sanitizer and a bag full of masks. While the world has shifted, I hope that people, culture, and food have remained steadfast. Expect more in the coming days.