Bars here tend to have little or no food, plus very loud music and generally thick crowds of revelers. Restaurants almost always have at least beer for alcohol but they tend to encourage you to leave once you've finished eating to turn over your table to the next customers. Cantinas exist in the space in between- they have extensive drink options, quiet music and/or sports on TV, a solid menu of food choices which include both snacks & meals, plus the laid back atmosphere where you can linger at length & order more whenever the urge or necessity strikes. They generally also have a 3-course prix fixe menu available in the afternoon pre-dinner, but I haven't tried that option yet.
My friend chose Xel-Ha which is on a busy strip in Condesa & is a little fancier than the average cantina although no more formal. I noticed that the name is pronounced quite similar to the DF slang word for beer "chela" & wondered if that was chosen on purpose but I was told Xel-Ha is actually a town on the Yucatan Peninsula. Roughly 1/3 of the food menu reflected the Yucatan influence including a very good cochinita pibil taco, although not quite as good as at my previously-raved-about favorite. To start, we shared Spanish sausages cooked in a pool of melted manchego cheese served in a ceramic dish still sizzling from the oven. Two takes on the aforementioned tacos followed along with a small bowl of "sopa de lima", which is a savory chicken soup accented with a ton of fresh lime juice & fried tortilla strips. All the while we sipped on tequila "a la bandera" which comes with small glasses of lemonade & sangrita (spiced tomato juice), mezcal & beer.
Just because I was surprised to see it on the menu, I ordered a Caesar salad. It was prepared table-side in anachronistic European style with perfect efficiency & precision. A truly excellent rendition & I learned as I expressed disbelief that it was a cantina staple & always prepared with this formality. Later on, we shared a flan on the recommendation of our waiter. It was outstanding & the best I've ever had. Our waiter confided in us that the secret was using marscapone cheese in the mix which is definitely unusual.
The power was still out when I got home, but it was back when I awoke. Today my plan was to head to the center of the gigantic Bosque de Chapultepec to climb up to the ancient fortress at the top called Castillo de Chapultepec which doubles now as the Museum of National History. "Bosque" literally means "forest" but tends to refer to national parks here. This inner-city park is broken into 3 sections & each looks to be roughly the size of Central Park. In the middle on top of the one high hill is "El Castillo" which means the castle.
I believe it was originally a fort & either at the same time or soon after also the home of the ruler of México, whether an appointment from Spain or an elected President (you may need to double-check my history here). It's now a very popular tourist site & one of the most beloved & recognizable landmarks. I may have mentioned both the high elevation & astonishing pollution here, but I had long since acclimatized to both. However when walking up to this very high perch I felt both & was winded much faster than I had expected. Half of my walk up was done with labored breath.
I was well rewarded when I reached the top. The castle is kept in pristine condition & offers 360-degree panoramic views of the city. There is a lovely garden with a fountain to your left as you enter the grounds (after paying 51 pesos, of course) & the long building stretches from there to the precipice where the tallest part of the castle dominates the skyline (I think there's only 1 building in the city that rises higher than the tower of the castle). All of the rooms of the castle are now galleries of national treasures & historic artifacts, mostly of Spanish decent although there is a small room dedicated to the Aztecs who pre-dated the Europeans. I wasn't impressed by most of the exhibits, but the building itself was breathtaking as were the views. Past the many acres of tree tops in the park the buildings begin, and on the horizon the shadowy mountain peaks that ring the city are visible.
On my walk home as soon as I left the park, I smelled the tell-tale aroma of rotisserie chicken & recalled passing by a place on my way in that seemed to specialize in it. By now, the chickens were ready & a line had formed. There are a few places in the DF known for this specialty & they are incredibly popular despite the predominance of pork as the meat in the local diet. There was a line outside of this place so I got on it (or in it if you prefer, damn you non-New Yorkers). Most people were getting whole chickens to go, but there was a short metal counter on the sidewalk where people could eat there, & tacos listed on the short menu. I ordered 2 tacos & got a chicken leg & half of a breast- bones & all- on 2 tortillas. Delicious but the only time I've seen bone-in tacos.
On my way home I saw a little tortilla shop which churns out traditional hot, fresh tortillas all day long. Since I'm going to a BBQ tomorrow, I called to see if I could pick some up for the host. Not all tortillas are the same as most big and/or modern producers skip a step called "nixtamal" where the ground corn is soaked in lime juice before being turned into the masa which can either be cooked into tortillas or used to make tamales. This place does things the old-fashioned way so my friend way happy to have me grab 2 kilos. I also learned a valuable lesson for storing fresh tortillas- as soon as I got home, I unwrapped them & separated them so they wouldn't stick together. Once they cooled, I re-stacked & re-wrapped everything & put the bundle in the refrigerator.
After running out to grab some wine for the BBQ, I was hungry again & noticed that the little lonchería across from my pad had "Chiles en Nogada" on the day's menu so I stopped in. A seasonal take on chiles rellenos that came highly recommended by my chef friend, chiles en nogada are made with a pepper that has a short harvest season, plus comes dressed with pomegranate seeds which are also only available for a brief window here so the dish is usually only available in September with some places dragging it out into October. Instead of cheese, the pepper is stuffed with ground meat seasoned with dried fruit & studded with small pieces of potatoes, then battered & fried as normal. It comes dressed in a cold cream & walnut sauce, plus the sprinkling of pomegranate seeds over everything. The final product has the red from the pomegranate, the green from the pepper & the white from the sauce to represent the colors of the Mexican flag. I have to admit that I'm not a fan & I found the cold cream on the hot pepper a little off-putting, but I'm glad I got to try this rare classic.
I did, however, love my precursor to the chile en nogada: a bowl of "sopa de medula". Literally translated as "spine soup" it is a rich broth fortified with large amounts of bone marrow. Marrow is gelatinous & has an intense meaty flavor which many people don't enjoy, but I'm rather fond of it so this soup more than made up for my disappointment with my chile. I may well stay in tonight as I'm exhausted from my hike earlier today & very well fed. I could use a restful evening to ensure I show up at the BBQ feeling spry & charming. ¡Besos!
yoli lovesssss castillo de chapultetrepo!!!!!!!
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