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| Itanoni |
February is turing into March and Oaxaca is hot. Hot and polluted. The cars are old, hanging onto life, and their fumes are invasive and persistent. It’s noisy too. The 500 year old Santa Domingo Church is across the street from my (hot) studio. The church seems keen to get everyone ‘up and at ’em’ at 6:45am, when the bells begin their seemingly random peel. Over the weekend the post-dawn bell jams were joined by random and unnerving fireworks, released into the street.
Upon arrival, I quickly decided to avoid the crowded Zocalo. Swams of people, buying gawdy balloons, souvenirs and eating al fresco among the craziness. Funny, for a girl in search of peace and reflection I’m doing a great job of honing in on the busiest places on Earth! But I have this sense of time, rushing, sprinting by. I want to see it all. Do it all. Taste it all.
My reasons for visiting Oaxaca where numerous. But primary No.1? The food. Oaxaquenian food. Oaxaca is said to be the land of the most diverse range of chilies in the world, the land of world renowned gastronomy and MOLE. A sauce made in all manner of ways but beginning with basic components; chocolate, herbs, spices, garlic, chile and azucar (sugar) and/or banana or plantain. My taste buds and romantic heart have long hungered for Mexican cooking and pre-hispanic culture. I’m feeding on both.
If you come, you of course would have already consulted www.happycow.com but I’m here to tell you my version of events. Save you time and energy. If you’ve no plans to come, well no matter, read on anyway.
Despite hating Oaxaca upon arrival it has grown in my favour as I’ve uncovered a little of what the small colonial city has to offer. You can read more about my adventures at www.indialeigh.wordpress.com. Here….it’s all about the food.
Calle 20 de Noviembre is a street known to tourists as chocolate (cho ko la tey) row. Three major players draw in punters..nose first. Cacao beans are ground on site to produce a paste of the famous Oaxacan chocolate. Used by Oaxaquenans for mole and hot drinks, enjoyed at the beginning and end of days. I worked my way around each store. Tasting the minuscule samples of the pastes from plastic spoons. The flavours were quite different. I have to say one mole I tried in Le Soledad, tasted like piss. An odd flavour to be sure. Only Mayordomo made me stop. They offer decadent drinking chocolate. Me want. My request for ‘sin azucar (no sugar) and sin leche (no milk) raised a few eyebrows, but the chocolateria snapped a generous amount of squares from a bar of (almagro…100% cacao) kept under the counter, and poured steaming water into a green clay jug. She then proceeded to use a wooden whisk to emulsify the ingredients produce a bubbly froth . It was bitter, rich and utterly delicious. I swivelled side to side on my bar stool cupping my drink as I watched the chocolate grinders create huge trays of thick, dark paste. The tienda (shop) was a sensory heaven. The inhalation of chocolate fumes a welcome respite from the dusty streets. The chocolate is sold all over town. It is usually VERY sweet. More sugar than chocolate (me no gusta!) Unless, like me you seek its purest form.
RESTAURANTS
The Oaxacans I have met have a strange understanding of ‘vegetarian’, let alone try and get them to contemplate a vegan. The ‘vegetarian’ restaurants listed in Happy Cow, are not. Don’t be fooled by the listing of chicken and ham etc. These are NOT fake meats. They are real animal. A true vegetarian restaurant currently doesn’t exist in Oaxaca. My advice? Write a list of the ‘sin’ (without) ingredients you don’t want to find in your meal. Show it to them. Get them to read it more than once. In several of the places I have gone, they’ve said ‘yes, yes’ it is vegetarian, or si, si it is ‘sin azucar’ (without sugar) and when I’ve pressed them just to be sure, I’ve found out it isn’t. A cooking class I attended had the chef tell me the other participants were vegan (in fact they loved their meat) and that he was vegan also (so NOT vegan). I think they just want to please, and some think vegan means ‘organically grown’. The concept of gluten free is little known too, though some shops exist that will supply pasta, and products with amaranth (versatile little, protein packed, grain-like seed). So, be EXTRA vigilant. Don’t be down hearted though, there are options.
Itanoni is a restaurant dedicated to masa..of the non-GMO kind. Cooked traditionally atop a comal (terracotta oven) with lots of filling options. Take a Spanish dictionary, when I visited no one spoke any English. I tried three types. One folded triangle (tetelas), filled with hongos (mushrooms). A ‘de ese’ rolled and stuffed with frijoles (beans), flor de calabaza (squash flower) and hierba santa (a local herb..with very subtle minty flavour) and a yellow corn taco stuffed with heavenly, butter-like avocado. Washed down with a refreshing lemonade made with hierba santa, lemons and mineral water. Cost..just over £3..total!
ORGANIC MARKETS AND HEALTH FOOD STORES
At Rayon Rayon #411 and Xicoténcatl there is an Organico Mercado, there is a daily (closed Sunday) organic mercado. The produce is scarce but there are two open air restaurants and two organic coffee baristas.
Friday and Saturday a small but beautifully formed organic market is held the grounds of a church in Xochimilco district The sellers have tortillas, beautiful fruits and vegetables (Kale, I found kale!), nopal, freshly picked herbs, artisan sauces and a few handicrafts. You’ll find lots of ex-pats and travellers here shopping and eating under the shade of a tree. I found a Korean woman selling a small selection of vegan cooked take away food, pastries, Spanish tortillas etc.
My scouting has found a couple of great little stores that have some vegan products and a good supply of organic vegetables and fruits. Xiguela (great organic vegetables and products, some Asian products too) and Bambu (Margarita who owns this place is so nice) #414 Col. Centro. They have gluten free, soy free and vegan hamburgers made with seeds and veggies that are delicious. Lots (by Oaxaca standards) of health foods.
GENERAL COVERED MARKETS
Calle de 20 Noviembre has the Buenito Juarez mercado. There is where you buy the best MOLE paste in Oaxaca (in my opinion). Hunt out (and you will need to its a bloody assault for the senses in there..you could get lost for days!) Almita, at Local 180 (tel: 51 669 12) Her mother makes amazing mole negro and it is totally vegan (some moles contain caldo de carne) It is rich, multi-layered, with a gentle heat and I was told, sugar free. Sweetened by caramelised plantains and raisins. It keeps for ages in the fridge and forever in the freezer. I don’t think I’ll get it through UK customs, so I went on a cooking class to learn how to make it. I’ll write of my adventures in Oaxacan cooking in the next post.
PRODUCTS
A few products I’ve been devouring with little restraint are a local Oaxacan drink- Tejate -, sold in big vats by street seller but full of sugar, and god knows what else. Not wanting to do without an experience of a new flavour, I tracked down in a powder and sugar free. It is made of maize, toasted cacao, mammy (a local fruit) seeds and flowers. It’s flavour is sweet and distinct. I have been adding it to my green breakfast smoothies in place of protein powder (I’ve not been successful in sourcing any in Mexico)
Also, an Oaxacan cooperative sell Amaranth products (food of the Gods, enjoyed since pre-hispanic times…a complete protein and actually a seed not a grain but it is used as such) , all gluten free and mostly vegan; flour, sweet popped-seed bars and these amazing, slightly hot, citrusy, crunchy (probably fried but not greasy) sticks. I LOVE them. Way TOO much.
I’m taking the 6 hour bus back to Mexico City in a day or so. I’ve much more to post for D.F.
Come back for more Mexico City eats and my experience in the real home kitchen of a mescal drinking cooking teacher in Oaxaca!
Besos,
India xx
Just for your information, traditional Oaxacan hot chocolate is brewed with water, not milk, so I find it unlikely that you would get any “stares” for this. Cool post, though.
@Anonymous
Oh, well i didn’t know that. Thanks for putting it straight. I think the reaction was more that I wanted it sin azucar and sin leche. It was delicious though!
“Hated Oaxaca”? Ouch…
Keep in mind that if you don’t get specially prepared moles, they will almost always contain chicken stock.
There are at least 3 mostly vegetarian restaurants in Oaxaca, including Los Olivos, and two others which aren’t on HC either. Happy Cow is not always the most definitive source, it’s more a place to pick up hints. Oaxacans can understand ‘vegan’ if you define it for them in simple terms. As you know though, there’s not anywhere near the same level of availability or familiarity as in D.F., where HC can lead you to some real gems.
Glad to see you at least got some tecate, it’s hard to hate the place after that I think!
BTW, pleeeeease add your finds to HC… the only way that site works right is if people update it constantly, or else we’re stuck with 7-year old info which is often outdated.
@Anonymous
Hi, thanks for leaving a comment! So appreciate that. Sorry, yes I really found Oaxaca difficult at the beginning but, as i say, I really grew to love it in the end, after I’d ventured out. Yes, the powdered, unsweetned tecate drink I found in the foil packs was delicious. I am still craving it now! Yes, a Happy Cow update is on my to do list. Thanks for the reminder. x
Back in the 80’s they had a few very good vegetarian restaurants that no they did not sell any meat dishes.
It is not hard to avoid meat in any restaurant but if you are a purest then having meat dishes cooked in the same kitchen may not be on for you.All through Oaxaca Chiapas Guatemala it was very easy to eat non meat food and had many restaurant’s that were veggie. Maybe since my last trip in 2011 Macdonalds has taken over from the old hippie influences of the last century.