Holy Mole! The Mexican National Dish
'Mas mexicano que mole', goes the saying, and no food better represents the spirit of Mexico than this famous dark, rich and spicy sauce.” Isn’t that the one made with chocolate?” people often ask when the subject turns to mole, (pronounced “MOH-lay”) but chocolate is the least of it. While some of the best known moles do indeed include chocolate amongst their many ingredients (the dark ones of

Turkish Delight: Istanbul Turkish Cuisine
For chowhounds like me, the opening of Mexico City’s first Turkish restaurant is welcome news. A few months ago, three friends, Burak Ozsalman, Cenk Oba and Ozkan Alkan, arrived from Turkey with little more than their suitcases and a good idea. The result is Istanbul Turkish Cuisine, a comfortable, unpretentious place with an outdoor seating area a few blocks north of Reforma, serving

Living the Jazz Life: Jamming with Agustín Bernal and Tere Palm
Mexico has never had much of a jazz scene, at least not like that of Paris, New York or Tokyo. Not until now, that is--there’s been a renaissance in jazz here in recent years. Several new clubs (Zinco, Papabeto’s, Swenka) have opened up, mini-festivals, like the Thanksgiving fest in San Miguel de Allende, are proliferating, and there’s more time devoted to jazz on local radio. But best of all

My Favorite Mexican Foods and Where to Eat Them - Part 2
My search for the Taquería Holy Grail, serving either salsas verde or roja, continues to be a major part of my life. Sometimes it takes me to parts of town I didn't know exist and which don't appear in my 1998 edition of the Guia Roji. I've learned to trust no one but myself. SEAFOOD COCKTAILS Seafood cocktails, or cocteles de mariscos come in many varieties: shrimp, octopus, crab, and

The Fall and Rise of Rome – Two new upscale dining options in Colonia Roma
  Lovely Colonia Roma, once home to La Capital’s ‘hoi polloi’ and cultural community, has seen better days. Mexico’s first planned neighborhood was designed at the turn of the 20th century on a Haussmann ideal of mixed use, i.e. middle to upper class housing. Tree-lined boulevards of single family homes interspersed with over-the-top mansions were equipped with running water, city sewer, electric