Many of you have asked about how Oaxaca is faring since the political struggles of fall 2006—a bleak time for Oaxacan politics and, without doubt, for Oaxacan tourism.
Well, I’m happy to report that things are pretty much back to normal in one of my favorite Mexican towns. Certainly there has been some fall-out of favorite old spots due to less tourism, but, happily, new places have opened that show a very nice resurgence of Oaxacan s
pirit. In many cases, modern Oaxacan spirit.
The great Radish Festival that happens every December 23 in Oaxaca’s main square, was as good as ever—incredible, complex, almost-unimaginable scenes carved completely from huge, red-skin, daikon-like radishes. Almost impossible to describe, this is one of the world’s great food festivals, in spite of the fact that there’s nothing to eat.
And on December 24, the “calendas” on the square—the floats paraded by each parish church, accompanied by church bands, parishioners and fire works masters—is one of my favorite festivities in the world. If you can get to Oaxaca on those days at least once in your life, I can pretty much guarantee you won’t regret it.
For a number of years running, we’ve gone horseback riding with our friend Mary Jane Gagnier at Casa Sagrada in Teotitlan del Valle. Not only are her horses among the best groomed and best trained in the world, but the ride (no matter what your skill level) is truly amazing. You don’t have to gaze off in the distance at that beautiful terrain: you can truly explore it. And Reina, who heads up the kitchen back at the Casa Sagrada guest house, is one of my favorite cooks in the area. A Reina lunch after a beautiful ride is the things dreams are made of.
Back in town, I can report on a few restaurants:
In the 20 de Noviembre market downtown, Abuelita is as fun as ever. It’s good market food (not over-the-top amazing), but the experience of eating in this 100-year-old market stall is great.
Casa Oaxaca Hotel Restaurant is the best I’ve seen it. Amazingly sophisticated (though not Oaxacan) in a very tranquil setting. We had the big Christmas Eve menu there and it was great.
Casa Oaxaca Café and Restaurant (away from downtown in the nearby Colonia Reforma) was new to me (it’s been open about 2 years), and we had a really lovely meal there. More traditional than the downtown Casa Oaxaca Restaurant (the one by Santo Domingo Church, not the hotel), with a wonderful wood-fired clay griddle that turns out great snacks made out of corn masa. Moles are made in house and very good.
Though I didn’t get a chance to go to my favorite seafood restaurant, Marco Polo on the Llano Park, many people raved about it to me. But there’s a new development: Oaxacans are lining up there for breakfast—almost hard to get a table, I was told. Very good food at moderate prices.
Biznaga, a several-year-old contemporary Oaxacan restaurant, continues to turn out very good food. So go, if you get a chance, but be forewarned: the thin, brown-haired owner is unpredictable and may just turn on you. Without exception, all my friends that live in Oaxaca say the same thing: good food, watch out. They’ve all had run-ins with him.
Abasolo just opened up next door to Los Pacos (a dependable traditional Oaxacan restaurants with all the classic moles on their menu). It’s quite contemporary, and, when I saw the menu, I wondered if they were biting off more than they could chew. We went for a light supper because they had a menu section called “tacos gourmet”: duck confit tacos with morita chile, shrimp tempura tacos, ceviche tacos wrapped in jícama, you get the idea. Everything we had was really good. I just hope they can keep it up.
For those who look for the famous Oaxacan Christmas buñuelo stands, they are still trying to find a home after the government moved them out of the cathedral’s church yard. Last seen: up Alcala past Santo Domingo church. And there weren’t very many of them. I love them (and the tradition of breaking the vessels they’re served in), so I’ll keep searching.
I know it’s a ways out of town, but we still go for our special goat barbacoa Christmas dinner in Zaachila (we’ve done it for a dozen years or so). Because we invite a lot of people to come with us, we order a whole goat done in a pit just for us. When we arrive, we order the huge (2-foot-wide) crispy tlayudas (think cracker crust pizza made on a very thin tortilla, crisped in a wood-burning oven—no sauce, just a brushing of roasty pork lard, some of that famous Oaxacan quesillo cheese, a scattering of that famous Oaxacan chorizo, a drizzle of Oaxacan pasilla chile salsa and avocado salsa). Then we all get up to watch the unearthing of the barbacoa and toast with a bottle of mezcal that’s been buried with the goat. Back at the table, we have the consommé that cooks in the pit, then a plate of the fork-tender goat, black beans and wonderful, handmade corn tortillas called blandas—they’re made right in front of you on wood-fired clay griddles.
Well, I’m happy to report that things are pretty much back to normal in one of my favorite Mexican towns. Certainly there has been some fall-out of favorite old spots due to less tourism, but, happily, new places have opened that show a very nice resurgence of Oaxacan s
pirit. In many cases, modern Oaxacan spirit. The great Radish Festival that happens every December 23 in Oaxaca’s main square, was as good as ever—incredible, complex, almost-unimaginable scenes carved completely from huge, red-skin, daikon-like radishes. Almost impossible to describe, this is one of the world’s great food festivals, in spite of the fact that there’s nothing to eat.
And on December 24, the “calendas” on the square—the floats paraded by each parish church, accompanied by church bands, parishioners and fire works masters—is one of my favorite festivities in the world. If you can get to Oaxaca on those days at least once in your life, I can pretty much guarantee you won’t regret it.
For a number of years running, we’ve gone horseback riding with our friend Mary Jane Gagnier at Casa Sagrada in Teotitlan del Valle. Not only are her horses among the best groomed and best trained in the world, but the ride (no matter what your skill level) is truly amazing. You don’t have to gaze off in the distance at that beautiful terrain: you can truly explore it. And Reina, who heads up the kitchen back at the Casa Sagrada guest house, is one of my favorite cooks in the area. A Reina lunch after a beautiful ride is the things dreams are made of.
Back in town, I can report on a few restaurants:
In the 20 de Noviembre market downtown, Abuelita is as fun as ever. It’s good market food (not over-the-top amazing), but the experience of eating in this 100-year-old market stall is great.
Casa Oaxaca Hotel Restaurant is the best I’ve seen it. Amazingly sophisticated (though not Oaxacan) in a very tranquil setting. We had the big Christmas Eve menu there and it was great.Casa Oaxaca Café and Restaurant (away from downtown in the nearby Colonia Reforma) was new to me (it’s been open about 2 years), and we had a really lovely meal there. More traditional than the downtown Casa Oaxaca Restaurant (the one by Santo Domingo Church, not the hotel), with a wonderful wood-fired clay griddle that turns out great snacks made out of corn masa. Moles are made in house and very good.
Though I didn’t get a chance to go to my favorite seafood restaurant, Marco Polo on the Llano Park, many people raved about it to me. But there’s a new development: Oaxacans are lining up there for breakfast—almost hard to get a table, I was told. Very good food at moderate prices.
Biznaga, a several-year-old contemporary Oaxacan restaurant, continues to turn out very good food. So go, if you get a chance, but be forewarned: the thin, brown-haired owner is unpredictable and may just turn on you. Without exception, all my friends that live in Oaxaca say the same thing: good food, watch out. They’ve all had run-ins with him.
Abasolo just opened up next door to Los Pacos (a dependable traditional Oaxacan restaurants with all the classic moles on their menu). It’s quite contemporary, and, when I saw the menu, I wondered if they were biting off more than they could chew. We went for a light supper because they had a menu section called “tacos gourmet”: duck confit tacos with morita chile, shrimp tempura tacos, ceviche tacos wrapped in jícama, you get the idea. Everything we had was really good. I just hope they can keep it up.
For those who look for the famous Oaxacan Christmas buñuelo stands, they are still trying to find a home after the government moved them out of the cathedral’s church yard. Last seen: up Alcala past Santo Domingo church. And there weren’t very many of them. I love them (and the tradition of breaking the vessels they’re served in), so I’ll keep searching.
I know it’s a ways out of town, but we still go for our special goat barbacoa Christmas dinner in Zaachila (we’ve done it for a dozen years or so). Because we invite a lot of people to come with us, we order a whole goat done in a pit just for us. When we arrive, we order the huge (2-foot-wide) crispy tlayudas (think cracker crust pizza made on a very thin tortilla, crisped in a wood-burning oven—no sauce, just a brushing of roasty pork lard, some of that famous Oaxacan quesillo cheese, a scattering of that famous Oaxacan chorizo, a drizzle of Oaxacan pasilla chile salsa and avocado salsa). Then we all get up to watch the unearthing of the barbacoa and toast with a bottle of mezcal that’s been buried with the goat. Back at the table, we have the consommé that cooks in the pit, then a plate of the fork-tender goat, black beans and wonderful, handmade corn tortillas called blandas—they’re made right in front of you on wood-fired clay griddles.