Above: El Amu created a fresh-from-the-farm atmosphere in town.
Spotlighting restaurants in alphabetical order sometimes launches into non-native cuisines; Boulenc is an example of this.
The French-style bakery never fails to impress, and it’s a go-to spot to snag a jar of just-peanuts crunchy mantequilla de cacahuete. Salads are sharable, and the fired-up pizza oven turns out pies we crave after a week of more traditional dishes. Plus, a nice affogato – gelato drowned in espresso – for dessert. The restaurant also has a cafe in the Jalatlaco neighborhood, Becino, that we did not visit.
Above: Boulenc
What makes a restaurant magical? A decade ago, Casa Oaxaca seemed to hold the secret for us. A place for special occasions. The rooftop overlooking Santo Domingo felt romantically intimate, even at lunchtime.
We ventured back this past year. A mezcalini cocktail was the way we like it – not too sweet, and the food presentation appetizing. Stuffed, fried zucchini blossoms wrapped in caramelized serrano ham hit all the sweet, savory and salty buttons perfectly. The lechon, or suckling pig, was tender and more than ample in quantity, but the thick puree bed overpowered everything on the plate. For dessert, meringues filled with a citrus compote and lemon cream were delightful.
Our overall experience no longer seemed to match the prices on the menu. The tables on the rooftop have multiplied and are crammed into tight rows. Instead of an invitation for a leisurely, lingering lunch, the staff appeared more concerned about turning over tables.
Above: Casa Oaxaca
Switching to a lunch at a much humbler casa, Casa Taviche. No longer undiscovered, this restaurant has grown as well. Casa Taviche packs every seat in the house, yet still is not a large restaurant. We ordered from the comida corrida offerings of the day.
The salad composed in a nest of avocado slices was an artwork, and the carrot soup was warmly spiced. A major portion of chicken arrived in an amarillo mole, and half an eggplant was stuffed with an assortment of seasonal vegetables.
Above: Casa Taviche
With chickens in a pen, we had no doubt we would be getting fresh eggs for our brunch at El Almu Oaxaca. We had heard Almu in the nearby town of San Martin Ticaljete was worth the drive, but carless, we were happy to discover the family had brought the funky rustic feeling into town. The generous bowl of chilaquiles divorciados, half salsa verde and half salsa roja, was bountiful.
Unfortunately, this location in town closed in August, which brings me to one of my New Year’s resolutions – to try to catch up on all my food posts. I still am spotlighting Almu as the photos appear so similar to its parent in San Martin Ticaljete, the village home to much sought-after whimsical carved alabrijes beckoning many to visit.
Above: El Almu
Although many patronize El Olivo to graze their way through the tapas menu, camarones Gaditanos – large shrimp with serrano ham in a tomato sauce spiked with white wine and Pernod – was as good as I’d remembered. While the abundance of shrimp was much appreciated, the plague of chapulines, or grasshoppers, blanketing a filet of tuna might be a bit overly generous.
Above: El Olivo
As we often tend to be on the prowl for vegetarian restaurants, I’m not sure why we had never ventured into the farm-to-table restaurant Hierba Dulce. This is the type of plant-based cooking that would even please meat-eaters.
Sliced avocados on a long platter hid tacos of sauteed vegetables in a sweet Yucatan squash sauce called fake papatzul. Wild mushrooms were bathed in an adobo of guajillo chili and served atop rustic corn tortillas. Vegetables and hoja santa enchiladas in a green miltomate sauce were presented over a bed of black beans. We did not leave hungry.
Again though, this is yet another restaurant that has left its centro location. It now is located in its urban orchard about a 30-minute walk from the zocalo. If the menu is anything similar to this, the flavors merit the hike.
Above: Hierba Dulce
Tucked away on a side street in the Xochimilco barrio, Senor Naan is probably not a restaurant you would stumble across. Seek out the small, inconspicuous restaurant, with a quirky patio fence studded with irons, if you have a hankering for Indian food.
The eggplant pakora appetizers are addictive. Chana masala garbanzos and chicken biryani were both palate-pleasing. A dense carrot pudding might not sound appealing as a dessert, but the gajar halwa should not be skipped.
Above: Senor Naan
A new favorite for seafood is Sirilo Cocina Folk. We enjoyed dorado both in a taco or on a bed of huitlacoche, corn smut. The fried avocado taco was a change from guacamole, and the tuna crudo tostada with fried parsley was wonderful. Berry flan arrived paired with a scoop of berry helado, perfect for a sunny January day.
Above: Sirilo
The warm, spicy shrimp broth at Taco Sireno, another small and casual seafood spot, should not be missed. The fresh mixed ceviche tower is poised to cascade over its tostada at first touch. The tacos we sampled were a fried oyster one and a cheesy shrimp one, aptly named but a bit too cheesy for our tastes.
Above: Taco Sireno
Xaok reminds me of the comfortable intimacy and charm of Origen when it first opened, and perhaps that is partially because chef Uriel Garcia spent five years as head chef there. Oyster mushrooms colored a corn and wild quintoniles greens soup. I swoon for soft shell crab so was pleased to find a tostada on the menu. Gnocchi was offered with mussels and smoked sausage with a grilled tomato sauce.
And for dessert, a dish filled with caramelized apples and prickly pear xoconostle, topped with vanilla ice cream and tantarrias crumble. Tantarrias? How about if I refer to it by another name, xamues? The jewel-toned bug-looking thing perched upon the ice cream should give you a clue. Yes, it is indeed an insect, one that feeds on the sap of mesquite trees. Before you snub the bug though, chefs have been known to refer to tasting it as a “gastronomic orgasm.” I’m not claiming I experienced that, but the dessert plate was clean before it was cleared from the table.
Wait, it also appears a restaurant on the move. Check Xaok’s website, as it expects to be in a new location by February 1. And, if it’s important to you, you might inquire whether they are offering cocktails and wine at the new site.
Above: Xaok
What’s missing? Somehow, I lost this year’s photos from Los Danzantes. The menu is unchanged, and, in my opinion, it still reigns as the most stylishly handsome restaurant in town. The one thing we did notice was a climb in prices, even from the prior year.
But the big gap for us was losing La Biznaga. For years, La Biznaga was the first place we’d head to and the last one we wound up every trip to Oaxaca. It was always our favorite, and no bartender shook a better margarita. But, alas, the restaurant has fled the high urban rent and is now a half-hour drive on the road to San Andres Huayapam. If you go there, please report back and let them know they are missed.
P.S. Not in Oaxaca and pining to sample some insects at home? There are, of course, online shops for that. One of the largest selections of dried whole bugs is found at Insect Gourmet. First-time munchers might prefer the junkier snack or chocolate-covered approach. And, of course, all respectable margaritas should be rimmed with sal de gusano, a spicy salt mixed with ground agave worms.
Postcards from Barton Springs 