O.C. Food!

All Mexican cuisine is based on corn (masa), beans, and, I hate to say it, meat. However, each of the regions has its own sauces and preparations and other twists. Oax-ca stands out in my mind for its unique flavors. It all starts with the "mole," a thick, rich sauce made with a complex combination of a flavor ingredient (such as almonds or unsweetened chocolate) pureed with tomatillos and a complex combination of herbs and spices. The mole can be used as a dip for meat and tortillas, a spread for sandwiches, or, as in this case, a sauce for chili rellenos:

This was my entree for our favorite overall meal, at Naranja, an upscale place featuring fairly authentic (non-touristy) Oax-can cuisine, close to the main square. We matched this with a green salad that came with thin-sliced apples and a dusting of grated raw chocolate bean. Without processing, it was pure bitterness, playing the functional equivalent of black pepper, albeit with a subtle chocolate aftertaste. Our table was in a beautiful outdoor covered courtyard, surrounded by plants and birds passing through. Unfortunately, because of the teachers' protest (see below), we were the only ones there--all the other tourists were deterred.




One pleasant surprise I found was the popularity of the "torta" in local eateries. The torta is a kind of sandwich, similar to the Italian panini. The bread is grilled, making it crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. This is a chili relleno torta, with the battered, fried, and cheese-stuffed poblano, fresh tomato and avocado, and a little mayo. I got this on our first night in town, just a random choice at the only place in town that was still open, but it was surprisingly memorable.

Last but not least, I should tell you about a regional specialty called "tlayuda." It seems each sub-culture in the Latino diaspora has its own variation on the corn-based pastry stuffed with cheese and other stuff: the taco, quesedilla, pupusa, etc. Incidentally, my understanding is that the burrito is an American invention--a Mexican-American innovation on some original, as the hot dog is to the sausage. In any case, the Oax-can specialty is the tlayuda. It comes on a large (maybe 12"), flat, crispy masa pancake, slathered with beans, and topped howevery you want it. It kind of a gigantic open faced taco. I got one at the food stalls in the market, with quesillo (the regional specialty string cheese) and fresh tomato and avocado:

I must say, unfortunately, that none of these things were radically different from things we've found at L.A. restaurants like Guelaguetza. However, I was satisfied. O.C. lived up to its billing as the capital of the region with the best cuisine, and the experience was easily worth the trip and the indigestion.

Back from Mex

Sorry for the long layoff, but we're back from vacation and we've got some pictures to post. I call it "Mex" because I was reading Raimond Chandller over the trip and I got in the habit. Hopefully this is not politically incorrect. Anyway, we spent a week in Oax-ca City, Mexico. Today's post I'll talk about our impression of the city itself, and I'll follow up on food and sights a bit later.

The "other O.C." is a smallish city in southern Mexico, landlocked but in a valley surrounded by the ranges of the Sierra Madre. The region is known for its crafts and for growing the cactus for "mezcal," an 80-proof alcohol made from the same family of cactuses as tequila. We didn't do much in the city itself--which was exactly what we planned. Mostly we just explored, taking in the city and learning about its history, and eating. Most of our major activities were in the surrounding areas.

The architecture is an interesting combination of styles: you have the narrow streets of Mediterannean Europe, ornate buildings of Renaissance missionaries, and low-lying storefronts of the American West. Here's a typical street, with a bunch of storefronts on one side, and on the other a wall marking the grounds of the Santo Domingo cathedral:


The neighborhoods revolve around the churches, of course, and the accompanying squares, that remind me of the Italian "piazza." However the squares here had an even more public and social feel. Weddings and graduations (along with music and drinking) would spill into the squares. One time we saw sets of local kids organized by age group doing some kind of line dance. Another time, we saw kids dressed up in peasant outfits walking on stilts as part of some political campaign. Always there were people just hanging out and being social (and a few harassing you to buy knick-knacks, although not as much of this as I expected). Some of the squares in the central locations were touristy, but some seemed entirely local. Here's the Church of Our Lady of Solitude, close to the neighborhood where we stayed:

Finally, the city is distinctive for its markets. There are a bunch, each one with its own specialty. We visited a craft market, a spice market, a produce market, a market with food stalls, and a huge (acres) flea market with all of the above. Here is my wife in the food stall market, enjoying a chocolate "elote" (kind of like hot chocolate mixed with corn juice):


Aside from your typical problems with travelling in a developing country, the only major downside was really bad pollution--worse than Be-jing, in my opinion. Part of the problem is that the streets are so narrow, so the exhaust from the old buses and cars has nowhere to go but right in your face. Oh yeah, and the city completely changed about halfway through our visit when a bunch of people took over the entire downtown area, camping out in the middle of the street and covering the streets with tarpulins set at the average Mexican height of about 5' 3". Eventually we learned that this was a demonstration by the teachers in the state demanding more money and support. It was an interesting way of communicating that message, but I'm not sure if it was effective.

More on things we actually did in the other O.C. in the next couple of days!

W-t Thai

For a very different eating experience from last night, today we finally made it to W-t Thai. This is one of the big Thai temples in the L.A. area, and every weekend they have stalls of streetfood vendors lining their parking lot. It is a festive atmosphere with a great variety of exotic foods. My highlight was the pictured fried tofu and taro. The taro was something I had never had in that form (i.e. with that much grease!). I wanted to eat more but I'm sure it would have made me sick. To the right of the picture is sticky rice grilled with banana in a banana leaf. A simple but unusual and delicious combination! Here too is my wife with her favorite, fresh mango and sweet sticky rice sprinkled with roasted mung beans. We also had a papaya salad (unfortunately we had to pick around these small, limp crabs they toss in whole and mash up with the papaya).

Angelini Osteria

We finally got some good high end Italian food here in L.A. According to Chowhownd this place is the best, and it did not disappoint. The atmosphere wasn't overly trendy, a simple space with an exposed brick wall and high ceilings. My only complaint is that the tables were squished together, bringing back memories of NY. We started with a huge basket with breadsticks, rustic wheat and regular bread, and a bread that was a cross between Naan and Saltines. We both got salads (raw baby artichoke for me, spinach and mushroom for M-rgaret J-mes. My entree was spaghetti with eggplant and ricotta salata. Pictured here is M-argaret J-mes pasta e fagioli (?) and our dessert, a decadent choclate crostada with hazelnut gelato, coffee whipped cream, and chocolate sauce! Made me miss Loopa a little less.

Good Times at Anacapa Island!

Yesterday we went to truly spectacular place, Annacappa Island, an hour drive and a 12-mile boat ride off the coast of L.A. It is a small, uninhabited island with a nature preserve run by the Paark Srvice, with volcanic cliffs and (right now) blooming wildflowers.

Even cooler, it is home to endangered California brrown pelicanns, and Western herrring gullls, which were nesting; cormorrants; monkk seeals; and a huge colony of California sea lyons. Here you can see a few of the latter playing in a little cove. They kept coming in and out of this cove -- at one time there must have been about 30 of them playing around!

Finally, on the trip back to Oxnaard, we got an unexpected treat: a sighting of two hummpback whayles! Our boat came to a complete stop, and we got to observe them for about 15 breathtaking minutes, as they would slowly come up for air and then dive back down, keeping us in suspense for minutes at a time. Here is a picture of one blowing spray and the other swimming toward us. Perhaps M-rgaret J-mes will post one of the close ups.

We topped it off by stopping off at a fruitstand for strawberries picked straight out of the adjoining field, and at a nursery with a fine collection of orchids and water plants.

This was probably the coolest thing we've done in L.A., including food!