La Comida

Today is the beginning of the Independence Day Celebration, but the country's pride is much more powerful than a two day fiesta. You see it on the highways as cars painted green, white, and red zoom by; in the streets, strings of papel picado wave patriotically above you.

Children on the combi carry tiny Mexican flags and toy trumpets; little girls wear hair ribbons in the country's colors.

Venders have tons of flags, horns, hair pieces, etc in the traditional colors.

Mexico is more like a continent in that each state is like a separate country with its own specific culture of dress, music, dance, and of course, food. Puebla is famous for many traditional dishes, and if you chat with any poblano, eventually the conversation will steer right to the stomach.

When I first arrived, I was told I had to try the pozole. Pozole is a soup made with huge kernels of a special type of corn grown in Mexico. 

Courtesy of wikipedia.

You can find pozole made of pork, chicken, turkey, or chili peppers; there is a man who makes great pozole right by my apartment. The second time I ate there, he asked me "mecita o pierna." I knew pierna was leg but the mecita confused me so I stood up and got closer to hear him better. He lifted the towel covering a huge pan revealing a leg on one side and the head of the pig on the other...I ended up with shredded meat from the leg, but was thinking I should really consider vegetarianism. The soup and tacos were tasty, and the poor beheaded pig was soon forgotten. 

Pozole (with leg, not head) and dos tacos al pastor

When you open up the conversation to food, you get a rich history as a pleasant side to your meal. My landlady is making pozole tonight. She told me pozole is very famous in the south of Puebla, and the type that Izucar is most noted for is the kind that is made with pig cheeks.

Tacos, as you might have guessed, are a staple in the Mexican diet. They are not your American tacos made of ground beef with a bland Ortega sauce and shredded processed cheeses. Here, they are much smaller, wrapped in two soft corn tortillas and filled with small pieces of meat, onions, and cilantro, with lime on the side. Depending on where you buy them, yours may also include a variety of other delicious toppings. Near my house are two fabulous places for tacos; one, called  Tacos, El Amigo, offers a variety of options for meat; al pastor (pork) and de asada (beef) are your typical choices, but you can also order lengua (tongue), ojos (muscles of the eye), cachete (cheek), or sesos (brains). I was brave enough to try the tongue tacos, and I highly recommend them. I will need a few months to build up courage to try the brain tacos, but it is a personal goal I have set for myself.

Los taquitos (little tacos) from the school's cafeteria. 2 tacos = 10 pesos.

Tostadas are a lot like tacos but with a hard shell and a lot more meat; actually, a lot of food here is like a taco but with a different type of tortilla. This specific type you would eat like you would a pizza.

Tostadas al Taco, el Amigo - a delicious taco sandwich.

Quesadillas are another dish that taste nothing like the American version. They are made in a larger, soft, corn tortilla with a special stringy cheese from Oaxaca. They can be filled with a variety of vegetables or meats; I have tried quesadillas de chicharrones (pork skin), de rajas (green chilis), and de mole (see below).

Quesadilla de rajas

Quesadilla de chicharrones

Mole poblano is another traditional dish that is well-known in Puebla. Mole specifically is a complex sauce with the main ingredients of spicy chili peppers and chocolate. It usually is served over a chicken breast, but I have had it in quesadillas  and on a special blue corn tortilla as a spread. Fittingly, mole poblano was my very first meal in Mexico. I was too tired to think of taking a picture, but will the next time I have the opportunity.

From wikipedia; just doesn't do it justice. Sorry.

Another great dish I have found here is the alambre. Your plate is first covered in tortilla shells and then on top is a grilled mix of meat, cheese, veggies (or fruit) on top. There is a small restaurant by my house that specializes in this type of dish. My absolute favorite is the alambre hawaiano which is served with grilled beef, onions, pineapples, red and green chili peppers, and mushrooms. Of course, it is served with salsa verde and pico de gallo, and a plate of limes and onions. The family that runs the place knows me now as I have eaten there four times in the last week and a half. They are super sweet - Rebeca is about 14 and a great little waitress. Her brother, 8, serenaded me with a superb rendition of "La Cucaracha" on his recorder.

Alambre hawaiano

The food in Mexico is never ever boring. It will always ignite at least two of your taste receptors. Sweet and spicy, for example, are a great combination.  Chile en nogada is very famous in Puebla because of its delicious mix of spicy peppers and sweet fruits.It is made of a gigantic green poblano pepper stuffed with mixed fruits such as apples, apricots, bananas, pears, raisins, etc. The creamy sauce (la nogada) includes milk, butter, almonds, and walnuts. Finally, parsley and pomegranates are gently sprinkled on top giving it is patriotic look. This dish literally takes days to prepare; my friend, Nancy, saves up her money each week to buy the all of the ingredients and sells them in front of her house for about 60 pesos each. They are worth much, much more than this.

The poblanos here are very proud of their Chilis en nogadas. In the early 1800s, as the Mexicans were fighting for their Independence, a heroic general passed through Puebla on his way to Veracruz. To honor him, a convent of nuns prepared this special dish for him before he continued on. When he arrived in Veracruz, General Agostín de Iturbide defeated the Spanish, and Mexico finally received its independence. Iturbide is also said to have designed the first Mexican flag, a tribute to the nuns' gift, perhaps? 

From www.inside-mexico.com

A year later, Iturbide declared himself Mexico's first emperor. Alas, he was a poor leader and exiled after losing all of Central America to their own Independence in 1823. Agostín was the first of many bad rulers; it is a reoccurring story in Mexican history.

What is great about food here is it molds relationships. My favorite guy on campus is, por supuesto, the cook at one of the school's two cafeterias. Manolo loves to tease me and throw in English words as he fires rapid Spanish at me. He slaps my hand as I try to squeeze a lime on one of his famous tacos - así es perfecto - it is perfect as it is, he says. I sat at his taco stand for an hour trying all of his favorite dishes until I finally say, "¡No puedo más, Manolo!¨ as I reach for my pesos. He waves his hand; my money is no good at his taquería. 

Manolo's half smile as he shouts "Whiskey!"

I do crave normal American food once in awhile. When I really miss Subway and the Towne House, I am at the Italian Coffee Café. They've got great paninos with spicy peppers, mushrooms, delicious cheese, soft tasty bread, tons of coffee, and free Internet. I come here on the weekends to write my blogs, correct my papers, and speak English with my one American friend I met here three weeks ago. It isn't exactly authentic, but the Oreo frappes are so flippin' great.

Now that I've picked out the best places to eat, I should probably look for a gym...

**Thank you, Nancy, for the great history of the Chili en nogada!