Author: postcardsfromsanantonio

Postcard from Puebla, Mexico: Sprouting a new crop of enthusiastic chefs

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A green and yellow stamp featuring a corn plant and flower, labeled 'FLORA DE MEXICO' and 'maiz' with a moon in the background.

Above: Seafood soup at Mucho Bueno Pesca y Pisto

Our prior trip to Puebla was a decade ago, and the food scene has changed dramatically since then. You will find only one revisited restaurant represented in this alphabetical summary of places we enjoyed. While you might be expecting photos loaded with plates of the region’s famed chiles en nogada, we were not there during their season, which is now.

A bunch of fresh huauzontle, a green herb with small flowering buds, displayed against a white background.
Above: Fresh huauzontles

Chefs’ elevation and celebration of herbs and vegetables native to the Americas has increased, often corn-centric. Several places introduced us to huauzontles, a bushy, wild herb related to quinoa and amaranth.

Augurio compressed huauzontles into breaded patties filled with fresh goat cheese afloat in a pool of chile pasilla mole. The restaurant manages to combine an upscale contemporary feel with traditional ingredients and recipes of “baroque” Puebla.

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Postcard from Istanbul, Turkey: Modern art seems a culture clash

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Postage stamp depicting Mustafa Kemal Ataturk unveiling the new Turkish alphabet in 1928, symbolizing a cultural shift.

Above: “Racing Car,” Mehmet Guleryuz, 2017, Istanbul Museum of Modern Art

But I’m not going for realism…. I’m not going to paint his cage. Lemon will be perched in front of the window like a wild bird who has alighted there of his own free will.”

The Museum of Innocence, Orhan Pamuk, 2009

Birdcages. Potent symbols. Ever since visiting Orhan Pamuk’s Museum of Innocence in Istanbul on this same trip, it seems I have been seeing birdcages incorporated in artworks everywhere I go. Often with human figures inside – women.

A large projection screen dominating a gallery in Istanbul Modern Art Museum confronts you with a discomforting cage, a performance art piece by Nezaket Ekici (1970-), wearing an Alice-in-Wonderland-style dress.

In ‘But All that Glitters Is Not Gold,’ the challenge is to choose the right one from among the many identical-looking keys hanging at various distances around the cage. What initially looks like a fun game over time becomes an agony.”

Curator’s Notes, Istanbul Modern

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Postcard from London, England: When Gonzo beckons, enter

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A colorful stamp featuring a group of superheroes, including Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man, and others, in an action-packed scene, with the word 'TOGETHER!' prominently displayed.

Above: Display at Japan House pulled from elements of “Gonzo’s Underground Mix Vol.7,” Yumura Teruhiko, 2021

Heta-uma literally translates as ‘bad-good,’ though the English ‘bad-nice’ was sometimes preferred in period Japanese publications. ‘Awful but amazing’ may give a better idea of what it’s about. It refers generally to things that look like they were dashed off or slapped together, but actually took sensibility and perhaps even real skill and care to produce.”

“‘So Bad that It’s Good:’ The Japanese Graphic Art of Heta-uma,” Ryan Holmberg, Japan House

Ambling down High Kensington Street, gazing into shop windows, the interior of Japan House appeared strikingly bright and sleek, completely uncluttered. Tasteful displays of contemporary Japanese porcelain, pottery and sensuous teapots arranged with the precise placement of objects according to feng shui principles, promoting harmony and balance in individuals.

Then, Gonzo and friends, almost life-size, disrupting the surrounding calm. A chaotic scene so in contrast with the serene elegance, one felt forced to enter and accept Gonzo’s invitation to go underground, which was where we found the temporary exhibition: “WAVE: Currents in Japanese Graphic Arts.”

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