marktynernyc

El Naranjo<BR>Valerio Trujano 203, tel: (951) 514-1878<BR>www.elnaranjo.com.mx<BR>I had dinner here my first night in Oaxaca. All the praise for the food here is well deserved. Started off with a margarita. With the bread you get small dishes of pate (very good), butter flavored with orange peel and a salsa (I believe). I started off with a nuez (pecan) and chiplotle soup - creamy, thick, nutty fragrance and a very restrained hint of smoky chipotle. Next was a jicama and hibiscus salad. The crunch of the jicama, the tartness of the hibiscus was balanced by pieces of thick bacon. I had the wednesday mole (Manchamanteles) with pork. (Why can't we have pork as flavorful in America?) The mole is enhanced with plantain and pineapple - very satisfying. Next I had the stuffed chile with calabaza flowers in a light tomato and almond sauce. Wonderfully delicate and layered flavors. For desert I had flan - which was fine. Service was efficient and polite. I met Iliana - the chef and owner. I had also schedule to attend a cooking class ($50 US) at El Naranjo for the next day. Class had about 10 people. We learned to make various salsas, guacamole (no garlic please and especially no mayonnaise, as one person confessed to adding to her version), amarillo mole, tortilla sopa with the traditional condiments, coconut flan, agua de jamaica, agua de horchata. While the mole simmered we walked over to the mercado and met various vendors. Then we returned to the restaurant to have the lunch we had prepared. This was a great way to start my trip to Oaxaca - the recipes were easy, fun way to meet other people, very hands on experience. Came back for lunch another day: started off with gazpacho - made traditionally, no cream; had the saturday mole (chichilo) with pork - once again flavorful and dense; dad the ancho chilie stuffed with goat cheese in an almond sauce - the goat cheese was creamy, not exceedingly tart(?) and didn't overwhelm the ancho. What impressed me most about all this dishes were how restrained and layered they were - the different flavors really came through.<BR>

marktynernyc

La Purisima<BR>Allende 208, tel: 50-1-09-27<BR>Located near Santo Domingo. This restaurant has a great roof terrace - ideal for afternoon and evening drinks and/or dinner - the view of the surrounding mountains at night is magical. Great courtyard also. The food was competent. I had dinner here twice and afternoon margaritas numerous times. Both sopas I had - guisa and tortilla - were very good. Had a quesadilla with oaxacan cheese and espazote - which was average - the tortilla was a bit tough. The main dishes were okay - I had chicken with almond type mole and pescado (fish) with grapes - both nice but not extraordinary. Service was very welcoming and gracious. I did have crepes flambe with strawberries and vanilla ice cream my last night in Oaxaca - sitting in an ocher colored courtyard beneath a midnight blue sky, half moon and Orion. <BR><BR>Hosteria de Acala<BR>M. Alcala 307, tel 51-620-93<BR>Located near Santo Domingo. A cool and inviting courtyard is a nice respite from the afternoon sun. For breakfast I had chilequiles so I opted for a light lunch - started with a plate of chorizo and oaxaca cheese which had been heated and mixed together, black beans and guacamole with warm tortillas (similar to queso flamedo). Also had the house salad and a corn &amp; poblano soup. Everything was pleasant. <BR>

marktynernyc

Los Danzantes<BR>M. Alcala 403, tel: (951)501-11-84<BR>This was the most contempory meal I had in Oaxaca. A great modern space done in that hip, cool, minimalist Mexican tone. The crowd consists of a lot of cell phone and beeper types. As for the food: apple&amp;avocado salad with a grainy mustard vinagrette - nice, pleasant and light - crisp apple, creamy avocado, robust mustard - interesting combination. Had a seafood soup with chipoltle - shrimp. mussels, scallops - which was fine. Ordered the ravioli stuffed with huitlacoche with a poblano sauce - very interesting dish - the pasta I thought to be a bit too thick - beautifully presented. <BR><BR>Alejandro - Casa Oaxaca<BR>Garcia Vigil 402, tel: (01-951) 514-4173<BR>www.casaoaxaca.net<BR>Wonderfully updated mexican cuisine. Casa Oaxaca is both a hotel and restaurant. The restaurant is in the main courtyard - very pleasant. Started with a grapefruit and avocado salad. For sopa - fresh creamed corn with poblano strips - must have been just prepared, the corn tasted that fresh. Chile nogada - poblano stuffed with both pork and beef with a walnut sauce but not battered (which I prefer) - very good. For desert -pineapple and banana pie - which was okay. Had a wonderful mezcal afterwards - Mezcal Cuerudo, Sabores y Tradiciones de Oaxaca las Casas St. - extremely smooth. You'll need to make dinner reservations - be sure stop by and confirm if done by email.<BR><BR>

marktynernyc

La Ascuncion<BR>Hostal de La Noria, Av. Hidalgo 918, tel: (951)514-78-44<BR>www.lanoria.com<BR>This was probably my most &quot;traditional&quot; meal: caesar salad, which was prepared at my table - crisp green romaine leaves lightly coated; huitlacoche in chicken consomme - a beautiful bowl of glistening black pearls of various size in a rich chicken consomme - delicious and beautiful; filet mignon topped with a mild cheese and oaxqueno chile sauce - cooked rare - the flavours really melded well together in this dish - the flavor of the smoked oaxqueno chile is very unique; desert - cheese flan. The restaurant is decorated in colonial style with large floor to ceiling windows that open out to the street<BR><BR>La Fonda de Sto. Domingo<BR>5 de mayo 41, tel: 52 (9)-514-89-24<BR>Located near Santo Domingo. I had a simple lunch - quesadilla with flor de calabza and chilaquiles armarillo with pork. The flowers were so fresh, almost grassy - the oaxacan cheese was smooth and buttery - really delicious. The chilaquilles were simple and good. I can still remember sitting in in this restaurant - the bells at Santo Domingo ringing, occasionally someone walking by - I became very aware that it was siesta time. <BR>

marktynernyc

El Topil<BR>Plazuela Labastida 104<BR>Located near Santo Domingo, just off Alcala. I had read the food here had a homey touch - the restaurant has that type of feel. Had a tamal de mole negro -they were huge and the masa nicely complimented the mole negro and chicken. For an entree I tried enchiladas de bautro con picallo de tre carnes accompanes de frijoles negro -enchiladas smothered in a mole rojo - it was a hearty dish.<BR><BR>Flor de Oaxaca<BR>311 Armenta<BR>Had nopal salad, oaxacan tamales, poblanos stuffed with picadillo, fried plantains with sour cream sauce. The nopal salad was bright; the tamales contained mole nego and chicken; the poblanos were cooked in a light tomato broth - very delicate; plantains with a sour cream type sauce was a nice ending. <BR><BR>None of my meals were bad - and some were quite good. What stands out is how restrained , subtle, milder the flavors of real Mexican food is compared to American versions of Mexican, be it authentic or tex mex or what have you. The freshness of produce really impressed me. Real-live-time, freshly squeezed orange juice is so much better than any supposed supermarket fresh orange juice. I don’t think there was a restaurant that didn’t serve the standard seven moles. Probably my only quibble - dishes have the tendency to come to the table pretty quickly. As for wines - Illiana, from El Naranjo suggested a malbec wine. I stuck to margaritas, mexcal and bottled water. By mid week I had become more adventerous and started trying various things in the mercado - with no ill effect. The aroma of cacao roasting or being ground is intoxicating and very heady. Be sure to try it both ways - milk and water. Different intensity of flavors and texture. If you ahve any questions about Oaxaca, feel free to ask.<BR><BR>I'll post my activities in Oaxaca to this thread sometime this week.

Dude

These seem a lot like marketing for various restaurants. Here's my pick- I like the street vendors that set up on Jesus Carranza around 8 p.m. Giant tortillas with squash flowers, lots of sauce and various mysterious contents. This will cost about $10 mp.

SusanInToronto

I loved reading these posts!

marktynernyc

&quot;...These seem a lot like marketing for various restaurants...&quot;<BR><BR>Not sure what you're implying dude - however if you check on the European board you'll see I posted a restaurant review regarding Prague (Oct. 2002) <BR><BR>As for street food - for some great homemade tamales - one or two blocks west of the zocalo on Av. Hidalgo - around 7 pm - 10 pesos. There are a lot of street vendors from about 6pm to 8pm.<BR>

angeleno

mark - could you include prices along with the reviews? if you don't remember, approximation would be appreciated. <BR>Thanks

marktynernyc

Angeleno -<BR>As for prices, for example, dinner at El Naranjo - three margaritas, one bottle of water, soup, salad, mole dish, stuffed chile, dessert, and coffee came out to about $450 pesos - a bargain as far I'm concerned. At the Hosteria de Alcala, I had three margaritas, bottle of water, appetizer, soup and salad - it came out to $244 pesos. Everything is very reasonable - and if you're on a really tight budget the mercado is the place to eat.

Dude

To be honest I thought someone in Oaxaca tourism was flogging local restaurants. From the responses it appears I am wrong- sorry. Why don't you post these in the Mexico restaurant reviews part of the site so people will have greater access to them?

marktynernyc

Unfortunately, Fodor's restaurant rant &amp; rave section doesn't accept additions - you can only provide reviews for their choices of restaurants. I'll be adding additional posts to this thread regarding things I saw while in Oaxaca - Santo Domingo Cultural Museum, Tamayo Museum, Contemporary Art Museum, Mitla, Monte Alban, etc, etc.

Marilyn

GREAT thread, Mark! El Naranjo is one of our favorite Oaxaca restaurants so it was good to hear your other recommendations. Have you ever eaten at the &quot;seven sisters&quot; restaurant in the weaving village outside Oaxaca? (All names have deserted me at this moment.) One of the most fabulous meals we've had in the area. I'll research the actual name and town and post it later, unless someone else with better recall jumps in. Thanks again -- I'm saving this thread for my next trip.

marktynernyc

Marilyn - <BR>I think you're speaking of Tlamanalli in Teotitlan del Valle, a restaurant run by Abigail Mendoza Ruiz and her family specializing in typical Zapotecan foods, in a town known for the quality of its weaving.<BR><BR>

Marilyn

Right! I take it you've eaten there? We had a marvelous lunch there, many courses, and the sisters were very friendly and cooperative in photographing their kitchen.

marktynernyc

Sorry about not posting my activities report yet (I will...) but I also have Oaxaca photos up at virtualtourist.com if you're interested

1. go to virtualtourist.com

2. in the 'SEARCH FOR' box enter MARKTYNERNYC, click on MEMBERS then hit GO

3. under member &amp; motto click on marktynernyc

4. click on 'VIEW ALL TRAVEL PAGES' (right side of web page)

5. scroll down to North America: Mexico: Estado de Oaxaca:
click on Oaxaca de Juarez which will take you to my Oaxaca page

emd3

I know this thread is older but I got so excited reading these restaurant reviews, and there are so few postings on colonial Mexico on this forum that I thought I would top it.

My husband and I are planning to spend our 25th wedding anniversary in the Yucatan this year. The timing coincides w/Day of the Dead, so we will start in Oaxaca. I can't wait to look up some of the restaurants in this older post and see if they are still around, in particular Talmanalli, la Flor de Oaxaca, and some others. YUM. Can't wait to introduce my husband to Oaxaca.