Archive for the ‘Eat’ Category
| Newer Entries »Holy Mole Poblano!
Monday, June 28th, 2010
Legend has it — and nearly everything in Mexico has a legend — that the rich, savory mole poblano for which Puebla is famous dates back to the 18th century, when nuns at the Santa Rosa convent prepared it for a visiting archbishop. The savvy sisters combined no fewer than 20 indigenous and imported ingredients, including chocolate, garlic, and various peppers, to make the sauce, which they then poured over cooked meat (probably turkey). The result was delicious, and the dish helped to establish Puebla as a destination for good eats.
Fast-forward 300 years, and nearly every cook in the state has developed his or her own recipe. Some moles are made from scratch; others are based on a paste purchased in a market. Their flavors vary wildly. In the mountains, more chiles tend to be used, intensifying the mole’s heat, whereas in lower-lying areas, more fruits are added, making the sauce sweeter, says Alonzo Hernández, executive chef for Mesones Sacristía, a trio of boutique hotels in the city’s Colonial center. Hernandez offers semi-private classes in his kitchen and inspired regional fare in his restaurants. “We want to change, to do what is practical, but it’s also necessary to save the original recipes,” he says. His mole poblano ranks among the best — a thick, mild, slightly fruity version that’s served over chicken breast or thigh and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. Many of Hernandez’s dishes, including his signature cazuelita poblana, arrive at the table in traditional clay pots.
“If I couldn’t eat in my restaurant, I’d eat at Meson Sacristía de la Compañía, because it has good food and good moles,” says Luis Javier Cué de la Fuente, who runs El Mural de los Poblanos (16 de Septiembre #506), a cozy restaurant just two blocks from the zócalo. He suggests that travelers who’d like to compare mole poblano with pipian rojo and pipian verde sauces order the three-mole enchiladas at El Mural. The dish is typically prepared with chicken, but vegetarians may substitute fresh cheese. Adventurous diners will also find seasonal local delicacies, including escamoles (ant eggs) and huasmole (goat bone stew), on the menu.
Tags: mole poblano, restaurant
Posted in Eat, Featured | 2 Comments »
Puebla’s Take on the Taco
Monday, May 17th, 2010
The taco árabe, or “Arab-style taco,” is perhaps the most popular fast food in Puebla. Introduced in 1933, the Middle Eastern take on the tortilla-as-delivery system features sliced, spit-roasted pork wrapped in pita-style flatbread. Diners then typically add salt, lime juice, and salsa to taste. “To come to Puebla and not eat a taco árabe — a dish that’s reached its silver anniversary — is like missing out on mole or a cemita,” the magazine La Intolerancia says in a 2008 cover story on the subject. In other words, skipping the experience would be a sacrilege.
Fans may be surprised to discover that, contrary to widespread belief, the first tacos árabes were made by recent arrivals from Iraq, not Lebanon.
Exactly who deserves the credit remains in dispute, but observers seem to have narrowed it down to the families of two World War I-era immigrants from Iraq: Jorge Tabe, who opened the city’s first taqueria, in front of La Victoria market, and Zayas Galeana Antar, who ran a busy cantina near the Variedades theater. Both expats reportedly borrowed the idea from sandwiches that most Americans would recognize as gyros. After some experimentation and tweaking, the “Arab-style” taco as poblanos know it was born.
“The first tacos árabes were made with mutton (it’s said that ram meat was originally used for optimal results) and the flatbread was made to order by hand (at first the rounds were too hard, like inedible asbestos tiles, but little by little they were made softer) and grilled over a charcoal flame,” writes Claudio de la Lata, a food columnist for Milenio newspapers. Some early cooks dressed the tacos with tahini or yogurt sauce, a practice that has since given way to chipotle and other special salsas to please local palates.
Purists today argue that real tacos árabes are made by layering pork loin and onions on a spit and then slowly roasting everything to perfection in front of hot coals. Variations, no matter how delicious, are just not the same, they say. But most diners have embraced the dish in all of its forms: Some 300 vendors, about 25 of which are considered authentic, now sell their take on the taco in the greater metropolitan area. The Tabe and Galeana families are behind the two largest chains, Antigua Taquería La Oriental and Tacos Tony, respectively. At the center of town, you’ll find La Oriental at 2 Oriente #8 (near 2 Norte) and Tacos Tony at 3 Poniente #149 (near 3 Sur). Smaller but reputable operations include Taquería El Sultan, Taquería Al Jalifa, and Tacos Beyrut. Why not try them all?
Tags: Puebla, Street Food, taco arabe
Posted in Eat, Featured | No Comments »
