Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Rain Delay

Everyone I asked told me that the only month when it rains a lot here is September so I'm fairly surprised that it's been raining nearly non-stop since Saturday night. It's forced me to alter some of my plans but it's more of an inconvenience than a problem. Plan #1 was Sunday when I planned to have breakfast with my friend & her family, then do some exploring.

We wanted to get an early start Sunday so I had to be ready to go by 9am. This past Sunday was the day to set clocks back here for Daylight Savings, but I didn't know it as the US does it the first Sunday in November. So I was up & ready to go an hour early, which means an hour before anyone else. It wasn't a problem because after a strong storm Saturday night the sun was shining & I went for a quick coffee while I waited. Once the rest of the city caught up with me, we jumped in a car & headed to Nueva Santa Maria. Basically a working-class suburb of the DF, Nueva Santa Maria is also near where my friend's father grew up & lived for many years. There's a great little food market in the middle with the prepared food stalls in a separate but adjacent room. My friend's father has been patronizing the same stall there for many years, even through a change of ownership, and the entire family heads there for breakfast on a regular basis.

The menu was typical of small food stalls in markets here: tacos, quesadillas, sopes & tostadas with a variety of fillings/toppings, plus pambazos, soups & some breakfast options. The difference in this stall was the amazing quality. All the tortillas they use are made fresh to order including the taco shells which is rare. These thick, rustic tortillas have terrific flavor & because they are thicker than the standard versions you only need one rather than the double-wrap you usually get. Among the many items to grace our table were tacos filled with picadillo (spiced ground beef with potatoes that made me think of Mexican corned beef hash), sopes slathered in molé Poblano, quesadillas with tinga (spicy stewed chicken with onions), tacos with chicharrones & guacamole, tacos filled with eggs scrambled with what looked like ham & peppers, and a steaming bowl of pancita (spicy & rich tripe soup). While we waited for the feast, the father ran outside to buy tamales for later plus churros to snack on while the food was cooking. I washed all this down with café de olla as my compatriots drank fruit shakes. After a quick walk through the rest of the market, we dropped the father off at home for the next leg of our journey.

We headed to "La Lagunilla" which is a big open-air flea market that springs up every Sunday on the fringes of a slightly unsavory neighborhood. There are gorgeous antiques of all kinds, tons of salvaged brass fixtures, knock offs of clothes, music & DVDs, more food (of course) and just about everything imaginable. While we walked, my friend's mother bought us drinks made from fresh lime juice, salt & sparkling mineral water- the perfect refreshment for strolling through the crowded tents. None of us went to buy anything specific, but it's an entertaining scene & well worth a spin through if you happen to be down here on a Sunday.

We further splintered again losing the sister when my friend, her mother & I headed back to my beloved Lopez in Centro Historico. My friend is a chef & wanted to check out one of the 4 large restaurant supply stores nestled among the shops & restaurants between the Palacio de Bellas Artes & the market on the corner of Arcos de Belen. Sadly, all the restaurant supply stores were closed & the rain started again on the ride over so we didn't stay long.

The "Dia de los Muertos" holiday is coming up at the beginning of November & the whole city has been preparing the traditional foods & decorations the entire time I've been here. My friend is putting together a traditional altar for her boss's cafeteria & she mentioned she wanted to get her hands on some old photos of famous dead Mexican icons for the display. I happened to stumble across a vendor with tons of prints of exactly the photos she wanted & as it was close to Lopez, we decided to swing by to see if he was open. We got lucky- most of the shops around him were closed but he was happy to help her find the prints she wanted for the altar (plus one of a bloodied & dying Emiliano Zapata for herself).

Sometime on our journey through La Lagunilla my friend remembered that she left her knives at a house in San Ángel while working a party there the night before so she called ahead & we were off. By the time we got down there it was pouring rain & my friend's mother was in a rush to get home so we took a quick spin through the neighborhood (which was a town outside the city not too long ago) but we didn't get out of the car to poke around. It's one of the places I've meant to see but haven't had the time so I'll move San Ángel to the top of the list for my next trip including a dinner at the restaurant in the Antiguo San Ángel Inn, a classic hacienda (old plantation estate) which is now a pricey hotel & famous restaurant.

After a quick stop to purchase Oaxacan chocolate from a man parked roadside, we dropped the car off at my friend's house & strolled through Lomas de Chapultepec, the neighborhood where my friend lives. In this same part of town you find "Los Pinos" which is the Mexican equivalent of the White House, plus several embassies from major nations housed in glorious mansions. We strolled by Korea, Japan, Brazil & France on our walk & I saw that it must be very good to be an ambassador.

As the rain continued all day yesterday & I have a problematic foot which was acting up, yesterday was spent resting & convalescing. When the rain didn't let up today, I decided to scrap my plan to spend the day wandering around Coyoacan & I headed out to the Museo Nacional de Antropología which is a spectacular place to see artifacts from México's "pre-Columbian" era. Warmed up by a bowl of molé de olla- a rich stew of beef, yuca, zucchini & corn- I was so entranced by the archeological finds that I didn't remember to take a single photo, so my apologies to all of you as you definitely deserve better. But now you have another good excuse to come down here & see for yourself. ¡Besos!

No comments:

Post a Comment