Mexican Cuisine

The food here is out of this world. I’m surprised that I haven’t turned into umpa dumpa by now; Dear God, what would I do if I didn’t love running... Everywhere I turn there is delicious food. Everyday Aunt Carmen is cooking traditional Mexican dishes from all parts of Mexico. Christina (from Chicago) and I had a mild heart attack over them over a dish called sopes. Carmen’s sister made the bottom part which was a homemade thick tortilla (similar to an English muffin). On top of that were beans, shredded chicken, lettuce, cheese and then salsa. Your mouth watering, yet? Yeah, you have no idea... Another fav that I already mentioned are tamales. How great to wake up to those hot, sweet, corn lumps! Also quesadillas and tacos filled with spaghetti topped with my favorite cheese from Oaxaca FOR BREAKFAST. And all the mangoes, watermelon, papaya, avocadoes that I can possibly squeeze in.



Walking onto the street, I’m bombarded with a little taqueria on every corner. How can I resist tacos for 40 cents each? No wonder my Mexican boys order 12 of them at a time. You can’t always find tacos for 4 pesos each but for 12 or 15 is very common. Then you can order so many different types of meat including longaniza, pastor, champechanas, bistek, chorizo. My favorite place to eat is at Paco’s- Yeah, we know: Paco’s tacos... Ha, ha. It’s a one room restaurant that opens up onto the street where Paco cooks facing the street. I like to sit on the stool (in the middle of the sidewalk) and watch him cook on the comal. It’s part of the show! He is so skillful at cooking 20 tacos at once and it makes me want to try every single one. Volcanes are one of my favorites which is a tostada (hard taco) with a ball of melted cheese and meat on top. Also, the Gringa rocks. Its pastor meat, cheese and salsa de chile sandwiched in between two flour tortillas.



The salsa. All of it is unbelievable and almost always homemade. Surprisingly, I haven’t eaten anything that I thought was too spicy because apparently, I really, really, really like spicy. One of my favorites is homemade by Dona Rapha who helps cook and clean the house. This salsa is made with peanuts and chile and I could eat it for both of the meal I eat at home. Oh wait! I already do! The two most common types are salsa verde and salsa rojo (red and green salsa). Yum, yum. ¡¡Puedo comer todo!!