The Dinner Goddess
By Lila Shaw Lash; photos by Jane Fulton Alt
July 25, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

This is what makes us who we are

Organic farms pepper the countryside outside of town and small, local producers thrive on this cosmopolitan community of clients.

The first trip I made to an organic farm on the outskirts of San Miguel was love at first sight. Rows and rows of chard, basil, squash, artichokes, fennel, cilantro were fresh with dew and ripe for the picking. This was what inspired me to cook and create, to fill dinner tables with cazuelas brimming with chile-laced dishes, to play with ingredients in interesting, creative ways—to enjoy being in the kitchen.

The first time I opened one of Rick Bayless’s cookbooks (James Beard- and IACP-award winning Mexican Kitchen) and dry-toasted my own chiles for the base of a pasilla-honey braise for lamb shoulder was almost ten years ago and it was love at first bite. The swarthiness (I’m stealing his choice of words) was intoxicating and dynamic in a way that food should be, the mixture of sweet and spicy perfect for my Texas-raised palate.

In his adopted hometown of Chicago, Bayless is leading a mini-verde revolution of his own and truly practicing what he preaches.

The back story with Bayless’s operation (which currently includes Frontera Grill and Topolobampo on Clark Street in Chicago) is nothing short of impressive—composting over two tons of organic waste a week, turning cooking oil into bio-diesel, funneling over US$350,000 a year into small micro-finance loans to local organic farms, which then turn around and supply seasonal fresh produce to his two restaurants. Putting his money where his mouth is, really.

Bayless is also firmly committed to continuing his long-time love affair with Mexico. Each year, he shuts down his restaurants in Chicago over the Fourth of July holiday and brings his staff south of the border to some of his favorite regions, to eat and explore. This year, the eighteenth trip, was to the historical silver mining towns of Guanajuato, Dolores Hidalgo, Querétaro and San Miguel de Allende.

Many months ago, when I first met Bayless, he quizzed me on how I would present San Miguel to a group of foodies accustomed to eating some of the most dynamic, interesting Mexican food on a daily basis—I knew I had to “bring” them the farm.

 I started chattering away about locally raised lamb and goat, fresh masa from the molino, green chorizo from the Toluca, seasonal vegetables from the organic farm, cheeses from the Luna de Queso fábrica outside of Querétaro, organic ice creams from Sabores de Frida—the list was extensive. Industrial agriculture is strengthening in Mexico, Monsanto and genetically modified seeds will be free to invade the market at the end of this year, but you wouldn’t know it in San Miguel. Organic farms pepper the countryside outside of town and small, local producers thrive on this cosmopolitan community of clients.

Bayless was sold on the concept, so his chefs went to work and created a menu based on what was seasonal and available in and around San Miguel. The cooking was to take place at Quinta Casa Luna, near Atotonilco. The group swung by the market and arrived arms heavy with chiles, squash blossom flowers and other supplies. 

Chiles were toasted and ground, lambs and goats were broken down and prepared for roasting and grilling, kilos of tomatoes were fire-roasted and the smells started to waft through the ranch house.

By the time the dust had settled, we were left with a family-style feast deserving of many rounds of applause. The appetizer team created a soup flavored with organic chard, green chorizo and freshly picked squash blossoms, the meat team broke the lamb and goat into roasting and grilling pieces and prepared a pasilla-tomatillo sauce for the goat and a fire-roasted tomato salsa for the chile-rubbed lamb. Baby organic red and white potatoes were turned into mashed potatoes with chipotle chiles, manchego cheese and crumbled chicharron. Freshly picked calabacitas were grilled, chopped, mixed with organic crema and served with fresh squash blossoms and crumbled queso fresco. Kilos of organic berries, apricots and figs were reduced to mouth-watering berry crisps served with organic cassis ice cream.

Our plates were overflowing, our bellies stuffed and Bayless rose for a toast. With glass in hand, he said simply: “This is what makes us who we are.”

Lila Shaw Lash is the Dinner Goddess, an avid chef and fan of Mexican cuisine and a regular Saturday visitor to the organic farm and many other small, local purveyors in San Miguel. She can be reached at lila@dinnergoddess.com. 

Good Food in Mexico City
By Nicholas Gilman

Tastes of Mexico in El DF

Mexican food is not one cuisine, but a conglomeration of many. Like Italy or China, differences from region to region are great, and ingredients are influenced by climate, geography, and patterns of immigration.

While most states in Mexico have at least some distinctive dishes, several stand out for their truly distinctive and highly elaborated gastronomic traditions: Puebla, Oaxaca, and the Yucatan are the best known, and Mexico City is the one place where you can find it all.

Puebla

Everyone thinks of mole poblano when they talk about Puebla. This dark rich sauce, made of dried chilies, nuts, seeds, tomatoes, onions, and spices—and the famous touch of chocolate—is most often served over chicken, or as enchiladas (sometimes called enmoladas). But it is only one of the exquisite dishes from this state, southeast of Mexico City. Another highlight of Puebla’s cuisine is chile en nogada, a stuffed poblano chile smothered with a creamy sauce of ground nuts and dotted with pomegranate seeds. The red, white and green of this dish—the colors of Mexico’s flag—make it a favorite around Independence Day. Pipián (green or red) is a simpler sauce with a base of ground pumpkin seeds.

My favorite place for cocina poblana in Mexico City is Casa Merlos (Victoriano Zepeda 80, Colonia Observatorio, Tel. 5277-4360, open Thursday–Sunday from 1–4 pm). Although located in an out-of-the-way neighborhood west of the centro, it is worth the effort to reach.

Start with chalupas (literally “little boats”), which are essentially another form of sopes. Manchamanteles (“tablecloth stainers”) is a juicy stew of pork cooked with dried and fresh fruit (often pineapple or apples). Pipián, and of course, the renowned mole poblano are also excellent here. The family-run Casa Merlos features several seasonal festivals—in October, up to ten different moles are offered.


Oaxaca

The state of Oaxaca has a large indigenous population and its cuisine reflects this. An enormous variety of chilies (amarillos, chilhuacles, chilcostles and costeños are some of the most popular), herbs, particularly the anis-flavored hoja santa, unusual meats like armadillo and iguana, and insects (those famous chapulines or grasshoppers) are eaten here. Known as the “Land of the Seven Moles,” Oaxaca is, along with Puebla, the state most famous for this sauce.

Delicious Oaxacan food can be found at La Bella Lula, (Río Lerma, betweem Río Rhin and Río Sena in Colonia Cuauhtémoc. Tel. 5207-6356. There is also a branch at Miguel Angel de Quevedo 652 in Coyoacán. Both are open daily from 10am–7pm). This popular restaurant, around the corner from the Hotel María Cristina, has been serving authentic southern specialties since 1982. There are always a few of Oaxaca’s seven moles on the menu; my favorite is the almendrado, mildly sweet and tart, yet complex. For a real taste of Oaxaca, don’t miss the tlayudas con asiento, large, thin, crisp tortillas spread with unrefined manteca (better than it sounds), or the tasajo, tender strips of pork marinated in chile and spices. Their handmade tortillas are top-notch, the ambience populár and festive.



Yucatán

The Yucatan peninsula is geographically isolated from the rest of the country, so its culture, heavily influenced by Mayan civilization (as well as Spanish, Caribbean and Lebanese) has remained quite distinct. It is characterized by very hot sauces (typical of very hot places), and local ingredients like achiote (or anatto, a fragrant red spice) lima (an aromatic lime), and naranjas agrias (sweet-sour orange). Turkey, wild boar, and shark provide the protein.

I love Yucatecan cuisine and have tried many places in the city, but my favorite is Coox Hanal (Isabel La Católica 83, second floor, near Mesones, open daily from 10:30am to 6pm), a simple place in the centro. Start with a sopa de lima, (chicken soup perfumed with those special lemons and tortilla strips), then move on to panuchos (tortillas with black beans and cochinita pibil, a spicy marinated pork), papadzules (tortillas rolled up with chopped eggs and an earthy, green pumpkin seed sauce—a good option for vegetarians) and my favorite, pan de cazón, (tortillas layered with fish, black beans and a light, spicy tomato sauce).

Beware the fiery chile habanera that sits on top (also used in one of the salsas you find on the table)—it is the world’s hottest chile. Wash it all down with their ice-cold horchata, a milky-looking drink made from ground almonds and rice.

In future articles, I will discuss the foods of other states, as there are 31 of them!

Nicholas Gilman, a resident of Mexico City (and formerly of San Miguel) is author of Good Food in Mexico City: A Guide to Food Stalls, Fondas and Fine Dining, available at all online booksellers. Visit his website at www.mexicocityfood.net.

House & Garden Tour
By Jennifer Hamilton

Open-minded people, Xúchile, concrete sofas
House & Garden Tour
Sun, July 27, noon
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
US$15 or 150 pesos
Breakfast at Café Santa Ana starting at 9am


1. This artist’s works are seen throughout this charming house, on the patios and in her prolific gardens. She is most renowned for her “open minded people” sculptures. The home is a first for the neighborhood—the property was surrounded by farm animals when purchased and the road was unpaved. Other artwork is by equally high-end San Miguel artists and there is an impressive collection of works by Victor Cuevas de la Mora.

The owner created an inviting bedroom upstairs with a chandelier-shaped ceiling formed from glass bricks, a romantic bed under a wide archway and a sizable terrace with views overlooking major church towers. Downstairs is an enchanting guest casita with stone walls and more chandelier-shaped ceilings.

The extraordinary garden (with Eureka lemons!) recently won the “Golden Trowel Award” in Garden Design magazine. The owner is highly respected for her part in placing bronze sculptures by local artists in Parque Benito Juárez. 



2. The owner of this house worked together with Michael Sudheer (designer and colorist) and Anado McLauchlin (master artist and collage creator) to create this delightful, multi-hued, vibrant home filled with folk art, religious objects, not-so-religious objects and whimsical artwork. Alfonso Ramirez created all the tile patterns in this house and much of the painted furniture. In the cactus-filled entrance patio with its high walls is a tin Virgin de Guadalupe framed by a Xúchile, a large platform used in San Miguel’s fiestas fashioned by local farmers from corn husks, branches and other natural materials. The soaring skylight adds unique light to the central sala and the entire house is filled with folk art plus bohemian and eclectic styles in furnishings. The kitchen is wide open and flooded with light, color and embedded tile pieces. In the charming back garden, with its colorful hammock, hangs papel picado. A tile-embedded staircase leads to the upper floor with an office, romantic bedroom and tiled bath
tub. The rooftop garden affords unparalleled sunrise vistas. 



3. When the owners first saw this dilapidated property, it was a 14-bedroom dwelling and 70 pesos bought you a night on a concrete bed (one remains untouched but spruced up on the left side of the garden) and a shower for 10 pesos in one of the 18 stalls! The owners designed the magnificently renovated, elegant home on three levels. The first-floor bedrooms, self-contained with hidden kitchens, all face onto the beautiful garden. The indoor/outdoor living room on the second floor looks down into the garden and leads into a warm, intimate living and dining area done in lush yet subdued colors and containing many fine examples of Mexican folk art. The bóveda ceiling, one of the largest in San Miguel, adds warmth and depth. In the den the overstuffed sofas and bookcases are all built in and made out of concrete. The white bedroom suite on the third level has views of most of San Miguel’s downtown church domes.