Thank you Saveur, we love you too!
xxG
Read the whole interview here.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Saveur Loves Us!
We are thrilled to announce that Saveur has included us in their Sites We Love list, a list we often refer to when looking for new fodder.
Thank you Saveur, we love you too!
xxG
Read the whole interview here.
Thank you Saveur, we love you too!
xxG
Read the whole interview here.
Monday, August 27, 2012
A Day in the Life of a Bonacker…. Or Clamming Next to One…
Bonacker: the name for a native people of the Springs Area of East Hampton, New York.
One might be familiar with the Springs as the home to influential American painters, Jackson Pollack and Willem de Kooning, but the root of the community as home to baymen, fishermen, and farmers go way back some hundreds of years…or so this story begins…
Set to meet my clamming partner at daybreak…errr, 9am (it was a Sunday, give me a break, a girl needs her beauty rest), I made it out to the waters a little after 10am. Not fully awake, wading waist-high through Gardiners Bay, off of Three Mile Harbor, jolted me back to life. Al Lester welcomes me (aka Albie, aka Swampa is a true Bonacker, as well as a craftsman, contractor, jokester, and a real deal swamp man) and has gotten a head start.
He has jerry-rigged a rake attached to a belt, attached to a basket, combing the bay floor for clams and dropping them into another cleverly jerry-rigged basket that sits in hole of a cut out boogie board, keeping the clams cool in the water. As a commercial clammer, he has a order to fill of 800 clams for his family’s farm stand, Round Swamp, which also has incredible pesto pasta salad among other homemade prepared dishes. By the afternoon and he makes it seem more like meditation than work.
Not so fast, all you eager clammers out there, everyone digging needs to be a local and licensed (read: pay taxes). However, with new rules, resident license holders can bring a guest (Thanks, Mom!). Also in the rules, each person cannot exceed more than 100 clams per person, but, that’s getting ahead of ourselves.
A few tips and how-to’s:
- Hold the rake with one hand and with light pressure
- A slight bump in the seafloor will indicate a buried clam
- Dig by moving the rake back over the bump and scratch the surface back and forth to wiggle the little guy free
- Pull the rake directly up towards you and gauge your findings
After a few pulls resulting in only some rocks and barnacles, I felt something suctioning to the bay floor. With a slight tug-of-war, I pried the little sucker free. A buried treasure, an Easter egg of the sea, I found a clam!
Before chucking him into your basket, as we were told, measure him against the gauge and toss any that are under size back to the bay. Next summer they will be prime for the plucking.
Al offered some other boy scout tips and tricks of the trade: if you stumble upon a “hot spot” of clams your first expert move is to “take a range” (unsure if that is a nautical or a Bonaker original term). From where you are standing in the water, line up two points on the shore with another two points at another angle of the shore. The intersecting point is where you stand (Consider this post a modern day topography class) and, in other words, a clam haven. Another power move is to rake 360 degrees from that point. As we know from social situations, friends like to hang out in groups, same goes for clams.
Through the midday sun, I was equally worked on my Bonaker’s tan, filling up my basket with bounty and finding more peace than my yoga practice. Chatting with other clammers, you start to feel as if you are inducted into a community. Everyone chats with Al, as he is THE guy and nothing short of famous in these parts. Let’s just say if there was a clam club, he would be VIP (No euphemisms here). Al even regulates the area, quelling drama on the seas when a group of Long Island guys with heavy inflections when they had come back for another round after poaching their allotted amount. A jocular teacher even called out to me for “cheating” when I substituted the rake for my hands to pry a clam loose. Even the novice over here gets her chops busted.
Over four hours traipsing and traversing the waters, I gathered a basket full of little necks, cherrystones, chowders, and even a random oysters!
Here’s a rundown of the different types of clams:
Little Necks: The smallest of the clams. Great eaten raw or placed directly on the grill for a few minutes until they open and served with lemon and garlic
Cherrystone: The midsize guys. Best in Italian dishes like baked clams or linguine a la vongole.
Chowders: The big suckers. Perfect for cooking in dishes like the aptly named clam chowder soup and the Hampton’s Classic, Clam Pie.
With pruned, water-logged fingers and an upper body workout to rival that of any yoga class, I drag my bounty ashore. A day as a true Bonaker, or next to one, I enjoy the fruits of sustainability and the peace of the waters. Until Fall’s scallop season, Om Shreem Maha Lakshmiyei Namah.
Traditional to the East End of Long Island is the Clam Pie also know as a Bonac Clam Pie. Here is a recipe adapted from my Mom’s clam pie. Her words, “a little of this, a little of that, just go by feeling”. Thanks again, Mom!
East Hampton Clam Pie recipe by my Mom
Pie Crust. An easy way to cheat is to store-buy your pie crust. And I’m into the idea of cheating, especially after a full day of clamming. If you are feeling ambitious, follow your favorite pie crust recipe, but there’s no need to pre-bake the crust.
Pie Filling
3 C. of Shucked Clams, about 18-20 Clams
1/4 C. Clam Broth (Clam Juice from Clams)
3 Small Red Potatoes
1 Onion
2 Stalks of Celery
6 Bacon Strips
1/4 Tsp. Oregano
2 Tsp. Flour
1/4 C. Cream
Preparation
Rinse clams well under cold water.
Steam clams open and reserve clam broth to add to mixture
Cut the potatoes, celery, and onions and the clams in bite size pieces.
Saute vegetables in clam broth, and once cooked, add the clams, bacon, cream, flour, broth, and oregano (and any other of your favorite spices).
Once cooked, transfer filling into pie crust
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes
xx Erica Schwartzberg
One might be familiar with the Springs as the home to influential American painters, Jackson Pollack and Willem de Kooning, but the root of the community as home to baymen, fishermen, and farmers go way back some hundreds of years…or so this story begins…
Set to meet my clamming partner at daybreak…errr, 9am (it was a Sunday, give me a break, a girl needs her beauty rest), I made it out to the waters a little after 10am. Not fully awake, wading waist-high through Gardiners Bay, off of Three Mile Harbor, jolted me back to life. Al Lester welcomes me (aka Albie, aka Swampa is a true Bonacker, as well as a craftsman, contractor, jokester, and a real deal swamp man) and has gotten a head start.
He has jerry-rigged a rake attached to a belt, attached to a basket, combing the bay floor for clams and dropping them into another cleverly jerry-rigged basket that sits in hole of a cut out boogie board, keeping the clams cool in the water. As a commercial clammer, he has a order to fill of 800 clams for his family’s farm stand, Round Swamp, which also has incredible pesto pasta salad among other homemade prepared dishes. By the afternoon and he makes it seem more like meditation than work.
 |
| Heading Out |
 |
| Keepin the Clams Cool |
A few tips and how-to’s:
- Hold the rake with one hand and with light pressure
- A slight bump in the seafloor will indicate a buried clam
- Dig by moving the rake back over the bump and scratch the surface back and forth to wiggle the little guy free
- Pull the rake directly up towards you and gauge your findings
After a few pulls resulting in only some rocks and barnacles, I felt something suctioning to the bay floor. With a slight tug-of-war, I pried the little sucker free. A buried treasure, an Easter egg of the sea, I found a clam!
Before chucking him into your basket, as we were told, measure him against the gauge and toss any that are under size back to the bay. Next summer they will be prime for the plucking.
Al offered some other boy scout tips and tricks of the trade: if you stumble upon a “hot spot” of clams your first expert move is to “take a range” (unsure if that is a nautical or a Bonaker original term). From where you are standing in the water, line up two points on the shore with another two points at another angle of the shore. The intersecting point is where you stand (Consider this post a modern day topography class) and, in other words, a clam haven. Another power move is to rake 360 degrees from that point. As we know from social situations, friends like to hang out in groups, same goes for clams.
 |
| This Girl Found a Hot Spot! |
 |
| Boat Full of Bounty |
Here’s a rundown of the different types of clams:
Little Necks: The smallest of the clams. Great eaten raw or placed directly on the grill for a few minutes until they open and served with lemon and garlic
Cherrystone: The midsize guys. Best in Italian dishes like baked clams or linguine a la vongole.
Chowders: The big suckers. Perfect for cooking in dishes like the aptly named clam chowder soup and the Hampton’s Classic, Clam Pie.
With pruned, water-logged fingers and an upper body workout to rival that of any yoga class, I drag my bounty ashore. A day as a true Bonaker, or next to one, I enjoy the fruits of sustainability and the peace of the waters. Until Fall’s scallop season, Om Shreem Maha Lakshmiyei Namah.
Traditional to the East End of Long Island is the Clam Pie also know as a Bonac Clam Pie. Here is a recipe adapted from my Mom’s clam pie. Her words, “a little of this, a little of that, just go by feeling”. Thanks again, Mom!
East Hampton Clam Pie recipe by my Mom
Pie Crust. An easy way to cheat is to store-buy your pie crust. And I’m into the idea of cheating, especially after a full day of clamming. If you are feeling ambitious, follow your favorite pie crust recipe, but there’s no need to pre-bake the crust.
 |
| Mom's Clam Pie! |
3 C. of Shucked Clams, about 18-20 Clams
1/4 C. Clam Broth (Clam Juice from Clams)
3 Small Red Potatoes
1 Onion
2 Stalks of Celery
6 Bacon Strips
1/4 Tsp. Oregano
2 Tsp. Flour
1/4 C. Cream
Preparation
Rinse clams well under cold water.
Steam clams open and reserve clam broth to add to mixture
Cut the potatoes, celery, and onions and the clams in bite size pieces.
Saute vegetables in clam broth, and once cooked, add the clams, bacon, cream, flour, broth, and oregano (and any other of your favorite spices).
Once cooked, transfer filling into pie crust
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes
xx Erica Schwartzberg
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
48 Hours in Oaxaca - A Mezcal Tasting
I recently jetted on down to Oaxaca City, Mexico, well, to drink Mezcal. Oaxaca is an amazing city in South Western Mexico, nestled in a lush valley, and surrounded by magnificent mountains. The city is a mash-up of indigenous people and Spanish Colonialists - meaning bright colors, soaring churches, and awesome molé. To name a few things that the we can credit the Spanish for: impressive architecture (said churches), and the art of distilling (mezcal).
On the stage were dancers in traditional dress whirling about, and a band played in one can only imagine used to be the altar. The dancers came out in many different styles of costume - each from the different regions of Oaxaca - covered in elaborate embroidery, intricate knits, colorful patterns, and shimmering ribbon.
After dinner we went over to a neighborhood watering hole - Los Amantes Mezcalería - where bartender/mezcal guru León poured tastes of his favorite Mezcals from massive, glowing glass vessels. A guitar player sang in the middle of the small tasting room (working for a tipple, I'm sure), and I let my eyes devour every inch of the walls as I sipped on my Lemon Tea infused Mezcal - smoky yet sweet with the essence of citrus. The walls of the tiny room are covered in Mezcal artifacts, traditional masks, paintings, and odd sculptures, the shelves painted a minty green reminiscent of Deyrolle in Paris. What a gem. Praise the gods who made Mezcal there is a tasting room by the same owners here in nyc!
Then for a night time stroll around the zócalo, which was full of people out celebrating on a Friday evening. Street vendors were out tempting the air with the smells of delicious late night treats, and the young and restless were off to their next destination of the evening.
But this girl was exhausted, so back to the hotel I went, tickled with the mere thought of sleep. And yet, on my bed, was not only a little taste of that legendary, spicy Oaxacan Chocolate, but this:
The morning I woke refreshed, and practically ran down for breakfast. I had heard rumblings the night before that the breakfast in the hotel was incredible - and let me tell you - it was. Sweet corn tamales, molé tamales with sweet prunes wrapped in banana leaves, fresh pastries, fruit, cooked up sausages, beef, and eggs with spinach, salty Oaxacan cheese, and a full selection of fresh juices from guava, to pineapple, to cilantro.
We had a big day ahead of us - and we were off to Monte Albán, the archeological site up in the mountains overlooking Oaxaca Valley. Monte Albán is believed to have been founded in 500 B.C., and was abandoned as late as 1000 A.D. . At the city's peak, it was believed to have had a population of 17,200
people, making it one of the largest cities in Mesoamerica.
The site is impressive - a city of residential and civic structures built for games, ceremony, and science. The central "plaza" of Monte Albán is built like a stadium for large ceremonies, with areas for smaller ceremonies within the complex. There were places for worship, an observatory to keep track of the calendar by tracking the alignment of the sun, ball courts, and ceremonial tombs. The site is lush with grass, and overlooks the fertile valley surrounding it. There is a serene calm to the place, but one can still imagine it filled with people, watching elaborate performances, heated games, or just going about their daily lives.
But we came here for Mezcal, no? Yes!
A quick primer on Mezcal. Mezcal is distilled from the maguey plant, a type of Agave plant. There are over 200 different species of maguey all of which used to make the spirit. Mezcal's more famous relative, Tequila, is made from blue agave and must be made in the state of Jalisco and a few other limited regions, by tequila law. Oaxaca, is famous for Mezcal, tequila's strong, smoky, badass older brother, which for the most part is made today exactly the same was it was made 200 years ago.
Myth has it that a lightning bolt struck an agave plant, which cooked the center, and released the agave juice. This "elixir of the gods" was reserved for priests and holy men. Then, the Spaniards arrived, bringing distillation technology with them. They were looking for something stronger than pulque (an indigenous alcoholic beverage made from the agave plant), and Mezcal was born.
First to the Traditional Palenque:
As we drove into Matatlan, Oaxaca, "Capital Mundial del Mezcal", the first thing I noticed were all of the Palenques with their massive stone wheels used to mash the agave plants that lined the road as we started getting closer to our destination. They were literally next door to one another - each shop making its own type - with tasting rooms and their specialty aguadiente (firewater) for sale! The excitement! If only there had been time to visit all of them!
This, in a quick summary, is how they prepare mezcal: First the agave plants are stripped of their leaves, which are reserved for the smoking process. About 100 piñas are smoked in a gigantic hole for three days, which is covered in agave leaves, wood, and hot rocks, and left to smoke. The piñas are then cut up further and mashed using the iconic stone wheel, turned by a horse or a donkey. The broken down pieces are moved to large wooden barrels, water is added, and they are left to ferment for another three days. This is where mezcal gets wickedly exciting; there are traditional recipes that include adding pineapple, red bananas, cinnamon, and even a chicken breast or a turkey breast during distillation to impart more flavor. (Note: the pechuga - chicken - mezcals are amazing.) After fermentation, the juice is separated, and distilled using a copper still or sometimes a clay still, which too affects the flavor profile. They then add water to the 120 proof Mezcal to get it back to 80 proof for legal consumption.
Traditional production methods inherently make Mezcal small batch, and thus, the quantity is highly limited. It continues to be a handcrafted spirit by nature, and the plants themselves take seven years to mature. In recent years, there has been a more international interest in mezcal, and appropriately so, production techniques are changing to keep up with the demand. Facing much controversy is Zignum, which uses modern industrial methods to make its mezcal, and instead of smoking the piñas, the mezcal is barrel aged at the end of the process. The result is a milder, smoother version of the husky traditionally prepared mezcal, and yet is quite tasty. I prefer the joven to the reposado - for I enjoy the clean spicy, almost sharp, smoky flavors.
Thankfully, at this point, it was time for lunch. We were first greeted with a delightful round of Mezcal to sip, I started with a joven, it was lunch after all. Followed by an even more delightful round of Mezcaltinis - why, I would like one - or one of each that is!
Lunch was pretty amazing - a spread of local flavors, and most ubiquitous of all were the citrusy, crunchy, chapulines (grasshoppers) a local delicacy. Those little guys were in everything - the nuts, the tacos, the cocktail rims, the dessert! It was quite a feast, squash blossoms stuffed with corn and cheese, Tongue Memelitas, filet of fish with capers and tomato marmalade with rosemary and honey, shrimp, a beef filet with mojo de chapulín (garlic grasshopper sauce), and chocolate rolls stuffed with Oaxacan chocolate mousse and guanábana, topped, with grasshoppers.
And what else arrived at our table? Zignum Añejo. The Añejo is also made with Espadin Agave, and is aged for 12 months in oak barrels, compared to the 4 months of a Reposado. This stuff is like the delicious freak child of Bourbon and Tequila. A good portion of the smoke is softened by the caramel and vanilla from the aging process, it is extremely smooth, round, and yet has that spicy kick that I've been craving lately. This, my friends, is a fine bottle of Mezcal. Certainly not traditional, but sure to be a favorite in my liquor cabinet.
We had a few hours to ourselves - and I took to the streets. For I, was not returning without a colorful momento of this amazing city. After much negotiation, I victoriously purchased a handsome red Jaguar to hang on my wall - but here are a few of my other favorite finds:
Time for Dinner you say?
Off to Pitiona, a wonderful restaurant run by chef José Manuel Baños in the Historical Center of Oaxaca City. We started off with a delightful sage cocktail with Zignum joven, and a plate of appetizers that featured Lengua, Totopos, a razor thin carrot taco stuffed with briney vegetables, a handsome filet of fish served with Chichilo-Mole, and Pork with Salsa de Chicatanas. For those of you who aren't privy, Chicatanas are flying ants that are harvested for 2 weeks a year, and because their harvest requires timing, patience, and skill, they are very expensive - 400 pesos per kilo. Although this dish was not my favorite dish of the evening, it was such an honor to taste this Oaxacan delicacy.
After dinner we decided to venture out for more fun - we hopped over to Café Central, by the same owners as Mezcalería Los Amantes. Ok, truth, one of my cohorts had acquired a bottle of Mezcal from Los Amantes earlier in the evening on loan, and we were off to the second venue to deliver pesos to the man.
Did we find said man? No. Did we dance until the wee hours of the morning? Yes. This place was alive - stylish Oaxacans dancing to a range of music from traditional mexican to late night dance music. At some ungodly hour I fell into bed, grateful for such an incredible day.
Although we were off to the airport pretty early in the morning - I did get a taste of that legendary Oaxacan Hot Chocolate for breakfast - creamy, spicy, and nutty. If only I could start every morning with such a delicacy...
I can't wait to return to Oaxaca again - I would love to have spent more time in the city, getting to know the people, the back alleys, and tasting more mezcal. Mezcal the spirit, like Oaxaca, is a bit wild - born from different cultures, creative, colorful, spicy, and that smoke - oh that smoke - how you will crave it once you've tasted it.
xxG
Want More? Go!
Eat:
Restaurante Pitiona Cocina de Autor
Allende 108, Centro Histórico
Oaxaca 68000, Mexico
01 (951) 51 40690 y 51 447
Drink:
Mezcalería Los Amantes
Allende #107, Centro Histórico
Oaxaca 68000, Mexico
Miércoles a Sábado
17:00-22:00 hrs
Los Danzantes
Macedonio Alcala No. 403-4,
Oaxaca 68000, Mexico
Café Central
Hidalgo 302, Centro Histórico
Oaxaca 68000, Mexico
Stay:
Camino Real Oaxaca
Calle 5 de Mayo 300, Centro Histórico
Oaxaca 68000, Mexico
 |
| Casa Armando Guillermo Prieto - Home of Zignum Mezcal |
We landed in Oaxaca, battled traffic through the brightly hued streets, and finally made it to our hotel, Camino Real, a former convent of Santa Catalina, built in 1576. We were whisked off to the main dining event of the evening, which was held in what was the church adjacent to the convent. A feast was already in place - enormous clay vessels full of beautifully prepared rice, vegetables, tortillas, and 3 different kinds of molé. Be still, my heart. There was a yellow molé with beef, a red molé with pork, and the traditional black molé with chicken. (Apology for the lack of photo here - molé rarely photographs well). Not surprising to you, dear reader, a Mezcal Margarita swiftly arrived into my hand, and one of my favorites - spicy, sweet, and smoky!
On the stage were dancers in traditional dress whirling about, and a band played in one can only imagine used to be the altar. The dancers came out in many different styles of costume - each from the different regions of Oaxaca - covered in elaborate embroidery, intricate knits, colorful patterns, and shimmering ribbon.
After dinner we went over to a neighborhood watering hole - Los Amantes Mezcalería - where bartender/mezcal guru León poured tastes of his favorite Mezcals from massive, glowing glass vessels. A guitar player sang in the middle of the small tasting room (working for a tipple, I'm sure), and I let my eyes devour every inch of the walls as I sipped on my Lemon Tea infused Mezcal - smoky yet sweet with the essence of citrus. The walls of the tiny room are covered in Mezcal artifacts, traditional masks, paintings, and odd sculptures, the shelves painted a minty green reminiscent of Deyrolle in Paris. What a gem. Praise the gods who made Mezcal there is a tasting room by the same owners here in nyc!
 |
| Los Amantes Mezcalería |
 |
| Mesmerizing, no? |
Then for a night time stroll around the zócalo, which was full of people out celebrating on a Friday evening. Street vendors were out tempting the air with the smells of delicious late night treats, and the young and restless were off to their next destination of the evening.
 |
| Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán Surrounded by Agave |
 |
| The Way to This Girl's Heart |
The morning I woke refreshed, and practically ran down for breakfast. I had heard rumblings the night before that the breakfast in the hotel was incredible - and let me tell you - it was. Sweet corn tamales, molé tamales with sweet prunes wrapped in banana leaves, fresh pastries, fruit, cooked up sausages, beef, and eggs with spinach, salty Oaxacan cheese, and a full selection of fresh juices from guava, to pineapple, to cilantro.
 |
| Breakfast of Champions |
 |
| Central Plaza |
The site is impressive - a city of residential and civic structures built for games, ceremony, and science. The central "plaza" of Monte Albán is built like a stadium for large ceremonies, with areas for smaller ceremonies within the complex. There were places for worship, an observatory to keep track of the calendar by tracking the alignment of the sun, ball courts, and ceremonial tombs. The site is lush with grass, and overlooks the fertile valley surrounding it. There is a serene calm to the place, but one can still imagine it filled with people, watching elaborate performances, heated games, or just going about their daily lives.
But we came here for Mezcal, no? Yes!
A quick primer on Mezcal. Mezcal is distilled from the maguey plant, a type of Agave plant. There are over 200 different species of maguey all of which used to make the spirit. Mezcal's more famous relative, Tequila, is made from blue agave and must be made in the state of Jalisco and a few other limited regions, by tequila law. Oaxaca, is famous for Mezcal, tequila's strong, smoky, badass older brother, which for the most part is made today exactly the same was it was made 200 years ago.
Myth has it that a lightning bolt struck an agave plant, which cooked the center, and released the agave juice. This "elixir of the gods" was reserved for priests and holy men. Then, the Spaniards arrived, bringing distillation technology with them. They were looking for something stronger than pulque (an indigenous alcoholic beverage made from the agave plant), and Mezcal was born.
First to the Traditional Palenque:
As we drove into Matatlan, Oaxaca, "Capital Mundial del Mezcal", the first thing I noticed were all of the Palenques with their massive stone wheels used to mash the agave plants that lined the road as we started getting closer to our destination. They were literally next door to one another - each shop making its own type - with tasting rooms and their specialty aguadiente (firewater) for sale! The excitement! If only there had been time to visit all of them!
 |
| La Piña |
 |
| Piña Pit |
 |
| Mashing the Smoked Agave |
 |
| Fermenting Agave |
 |
| Distilling, and More Palenques Across the Street |
 |
| 120 Proof Mezcal |
Traditional production methods inherently make Mezcal small batch, and thus, the quantity is highly limited. It continues to be a handcrafted spirit by nature, and the plants themselves take seven years to mature. In recent years, there has been a more international interest in mezcal, and appropriately so, production techniques are changing to keep up with the demand. Facing much controversy is Zignum, which uses modern industrial methods to make its mezcal, and instead of smoking the piñas, the mezcal is barrel aged at the end of the process. The result is a milder, smoother version of the husky traditionally prepared mezcal, and yet is quite tasty. I prefer the joven to the reposado - for I enjoy the clean spicy, almost sharp, smoky flavors.
 |
| Barrels and Impressive Fermentation Equipment at Casa Armando Guillermo Prieto |
 |
| Slightly Obsessed with this Awesome Label |
 |
| Muddled Passion Fruit with 2 oz Zignum Reposado, Agave Nectar, Ice, Chapulin and Salt Rim |
 |
| Hello, Friend |
Lunch was pretty amazing - a spread of local flavors, and most ubiquitous of all were the citrusy, crunchy, chapulines (grasshoppers) a local delicacy. Those little guys were in everything - the nuts, the tacos, the cocktail rims, the dessert! It was quite a feast, squash blossoms stuffed with corn and cheese, Tongue Memelitas, filet of fish with capers and tomato marmalade with rosemary and honey, shrimp, a beef filet with mojo de chapulín (garlic grasshopper sauce), and chocolate rolls stuffed with Oaxacan chocolate mousse and guanábana, topped, with grasshoppers.
 |
| Totopos con Chapulines y Guacamole & Camarones con Yempura de Pitiona |
 |
| Filete de Pescado al Limón con Alcaparras, y Mermelada de Tomate con Romero y Miel |
 |
| Rollitos de Chocolate Rellenos de Mousse de Guanábana y Chocolate Oaxaqueño |
 |
| 12 Months of Aged Deliciousness |
 |
| Corazón with Milagros |
 | ||
| Hand Painted Animals |
 | |||
| Colorful Tin Corazóns |
Time for Dinner you say?
Off to Pitiona, a wonderful restaurant run by chef José Manuel Baños in the Historical Center of Oaxaca City. We started off with a delightful sage cocktail with Zignum joven, and a plate of appetizers that featured Lengua, Totopos, a razor thin carrot taco stuffed with briney vegetables, a handsome filet of fish served with Chichilo-Mole, and Pork with Salsa de Chicatanas. For those of you who aren't privy, Chicatanas are flying ants that are harvested for 2 weeks a year, and because their harvest requires timing, patience, and skill, they are very expensive - 400 pesos per kilo. Although this dish was not my favorite dish of the evening, it was such an honor to taste this Oaxacan delicacy.
 |
| Sage Mezcaltini |
 |
| Puerco con Salsa de Chicatanas |
 |
| Café Central - Late Night Hot Spot |
Although we were off to the airport pretty early in the morning - I did get a taste of that legendary Oaxacan Hot Chocolate for breakfast - creamy, spicy, and nutty. If only I could start every morning with such a delicacy...
I can't wait to return to Oaxaca again - I would love to have spent more time in the city, getting to know the people, the back alleys, and tasting more mezcal. Mezcal the spirit, like Oaxaca, is a bit wild - born from different cultures, creative, colorful, spicy, and that smoke - oh that smoke - how you will crave it once you've tasted it.
xxG
Want More? Go!
Eat:
Restaurante Pitiona Cocina de Autor
Allende 108, Centro Histórico
Oaxaca 68000, Mexico
01 (951) 51 40690 y 51 447
Drink:
Mezcalería Los Amantes
Allende #107, Centro Histórico
Oaxaca 68000, Mexico
Miércoles a Sábado
17:00-22:00 hrs
Los Danzantes
Macedonio Alcala No. 403-4,
Oaxaca 68000, Mexico
Café Central
Hidalgo 302, Centro Histórico
Oaxaca 68000, Mexico
Stay:
Camino Real Oaxaca
Calle 5 de Mayo 300, Centro Histórico
Oaxaca 68000, Mexico
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Tasty Social Media Icon Roundup
In an unrelated search, we just stumbled upon some tasty social media icon sets! Now we're obsessed! We've compiled a roundup of our favorite foodie social media icons, and with most of them free, get downloading, people! Why use a benal corporate icon when one can use little cakes in the shape of the twitter T ?
Below, a few of our favorites:
Enjoy!
Below, a few of our favorites:
Enjoy!
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