Since I've had more free time, Karen has been taking me to some great restaurants. The best one was this really traditional Mexican place that's been around since 1860s, Hosteleria Santo Domingo.
To get there we took a bus through Paseo Reforma and I was able to see all the sites along this prominent avenue. During the weekend, cars were prohibited until 2pm. Only people walking and biking were allowed, along with a separate lane for buses. It was filled with vendors, artists, and street performers.
We got off the bus and walked through a big park, part of which was a market. She stopped and bought a cashmere sweater for like 50 pesos ($4) and was all excited about it. I guess cashmere is a big deal or really expensive, anyways it was soft and felt nice.
Before leaving, we ran into a teacher she worked with. He was a really interesting guy from Texas or Florida (I can't remember). See this post for more on him. He tagged along with us to eat, and we were happy to have him. But he is a bit of bullshitter, so when we went in different directions after dinner, Karen was relieved. Probably because they are too much alike.
Finally, we get to this place to eat. It looked like an antique restaurant with waiters dressed to impress and fancy tableware. There was even a Mariachi band moving from table to table playing well.
We started with a soup with a big chile in it and some cheese. A basic description, but it had a complex and spicy taste.
We ordered 3 different plates and shared. This was a great idea because the diversity was delicious.
1st was Chiles en Nogada, a red, white, and green special. It was a stuffed green pepper stuffed with meats and nuts, under a sugary white walnut cream sauce and topped with red pomegrante seeds. So good.
2nd was chicken enchiladas in mole. Mole is a weird sauce that has like 15 ingredients, looks like a barbeque chocolate sauce (chocolate is one of the ingredients), and takes forever to make. Also delicious.
3rd I can't remember.
After leaving the restaurant and Karen's friend we walked around the Zocalo, crowded with people, shops, and street hustlers. We stopped at a huge 2 story bakery that must have had every kind of bread, cake, pastry, and cookie that one could possible make. It was more like a warehouse than a baker. It had aisles lined with products and a separate section of ovens and prep stations. I couldn't decide if it was a bakery, a factory, or a department store of baked goods.
Lastly, we went to San Juan market which is a non tourist market. It was far to walk to but worth it. Were lots of foreign and strange meats, fruits, and veggies. Many things I had never seen or heard of. I will have to go back when I have more time.
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