May 30, 2008, Good Food in Mexico City, By Nicholas Gilman

HOME AND DECORATION/FOOD & WINE

Good Food in Mexico City
By Nicholas Gilman May 30, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

The joys of pozole

Like many world cuisines, the food of Mexico is often poorly represented outside the homeland. Within the country itself, however, the variety and complexity of food is astonishing, and in Mexico City, home to a quarter of the country’s population, and at least 36,000 eating establishments, you can find it all. From the humble country woman cooking quesadillas over a charcoal fire on the sidewalk to the internationally acclaimed chef serving a ceviche with vanilla-infused oil in a candle-lit dining room, the range of food experiences here is vast. Anyone interested in Mexican food could spend a lifetime exploring its capital city—I’ve been eating here for twenty years and I still feel like a novice. This is the first of a series of articles where I will describe some of my favorite dishes and where to find them.

Pozole

When it comes to ‘comfort food’, perhaps the most popular dish in Mexico is pozole, a cross between soup and stew. The word pozole (pronounced “poh-SOH–lay). comes from the Nahuatl potzonti, meaning to boil or bubble, and versions of this festive dish are served all over Mexico. A thick soup made with cacahuancintle (hominy) was mentioned in the chronicles of Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, an early Spanish missionary. He reported Moctezuma eating pozole that contained thigh meat from a sacrificed warrior. Today’s version is usually made with pork (a whole pig’s head gives the best flavor) served in a large ceramic bowl called a pozolero and garnished with shredded lettuce, radishes, onion, oregano, chilies and tostadas. Another story from colonial times credits the invention of pozole to a large church festival, where there were not enough kitchen workers to grind the corn for tortillas, so it was thrown whole into the soup, and everybody was happy.

There are three types of pozole: blanco, verde and rojo; while every region of Mexico has its own version, Jalisco is probably the state most associated with this festive dish.

In Mexico City, you will find pozole on the menu of most Mexican restaurants, in market fondas, and in pozolerias—here are three of my favorites.

Doña Yoli

Calle San Ildefonso 42 , near calle Argentina (go up the staircase at the back of the building)

Metro: Zócalo or Allende

Open Monday–Saturday, 2–6pm

The dark, rich, chili-infused broth of this pozole contains pork, maize, and comes with all the trimmings described above; crisp tostadas are served on the side, all for 35 pesos. It’s a convenient stop before or after a visit to the spectacular Museo de San Ildefonso, whose exit door is just across the street (the entrance is on Justo Serra, around the block).

Pozolería Tizka

calle Zacatecas 59, between Córdoba and Mérida, colonia Roma

Metro: Hospital General

Open daily 12–10pm

I used to live upstairs from this large and bustling place in the heart of colonia Roma, so I ate here a lot, always happily. They specialize in hearty and delicious pozole verde from the state of Guerrero. It is similar to the red kind, but instead of tomatoes and red chilies, ground pumpkin seeds provide the thick, green soup base, which has a nutty, earthy flavor. The tostadas here are especially fresh and crisp, and redolent of corn flavor. Also offered is pozole blanco in a simple clear broth. Their lemonade is excellent. There is often live guitar music at comida-time, but the place usually is pretty empty at night.

Pozolería La Casa de Toño

Sabino 144, two blocks west and parallel to the Alameda of colonia Santa Maria La Ribera

Metro: San Cosme or Metrobus: Buenavista

Tel. 2630-1084

Open Monday–Saturday 9am–11pm, Sunday until 10pm

Santa María La Ribera was the first colonia to be developed outside the centro in the mid-19th century. Now a working class area, much has been destroyed or left to rack and ruin, but a few interesting monuments survive, such as the Museo del Chopo and the Museo de Geología and the Kiosko Moro, a Moorish-style gazebo in the Alameda, or main plaza of the neighborhood. All three are architectural gems of the cast-iron age. Two blocks from the plaza is the extraordinary Casa de Toño, a pozolería set in a 19th-century mansion. Thick, red pozole with all the garnishes is the house specialty, although sopes, tostadas and other antojitos are also offered. At 34 pesos for a grande, this is a bargain meal. Lovely rooms decorated with murals and original mosaic floors create a pleasant atmosphere.

Nicholas Gilman is the author of Good Food in Mexico City: A Guide to Food Stalls, Fondas, and Fine Dining, winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Award as best guidebook of the year. A painter and teacher, he has shown his work extensively in the US and Mexico.

He has studied gastronomy at UNAM (the National Autonomous University of Mexico), is a founding member of a Mexican chapter of Slow Food International, as well as IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals). He was editor and photographer for the book “Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler.” His website is www.mexicocityfood.net