A number of people I respect have told me that Oaxaca is one of the best places to eat in the world, which is saying a lot for a relatively small town in the Mexican interior. I find taking photos of food pretentious, so you’ll not see much here, but I’d like to describe some of the things I’ve tried. I hope to experience some more exotic things when I’m not in class all day and exhausted at night.
- Pollo en mole amarillo – chicken with yellow mole. Moles are the pride of Oaxaca, there are at least seven and everybody seems to have their favorites. The brown mole is perhaps the best known and has more than 30 ingredients including chocolate. Speaking of chocolate, I switched off the usual coffee when we we’ve been meeting in coffee shops for lessons in favor of chocolate libations. They’re incredible. I might be hooked.
- Molletes – think Mexican pizza-bread. Had this twice: once for breakfast, once for lunch. Something resembling a “sub” roll (just half) topped with melted cheese, avocado and pico de gallo (a fresh salsa with cilantro, tomatoes and onions – approximately what we might call “salsa” in the US, but less wet).
- Memelas – described earlier, these are tortilla-like (corn-based) but a bit thicker, with various toppings. The ones I tried had some kind of pork and veg mixture, fried potatoes, cheese and brown mole)
- Chupulinas – fried grasshoppers. Crunchy, nutty, a bit salty. Take off the legs, they get stuck between your teeth.
- Breakfasts are included with the home stay, and they haven’t disappointed. Start with fresh fruit – papaya one day, bananas. Molletes this morning, heuvos revueltos (scambled eggs) on tortillas another. A shared bowl of sweet and regular bread, and strong coffee. I’d like it earlier in the day, but certainly leave satisfied.