Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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The end of the year always seems to direct us to reflect back on what happened over the course of that year. By nature I tend not to ponder the "what ifs" and missed opportunities, and with hindsight being 20/20, I can see there were many. Last year I made 3 trips to Mexico of varying lengths and to various areas. I ate upscale, I ate down scale, I ate very well. In no particular order, here were some of the food highlights of my year eating in Mexico --

Comida at Pujol (Polanco) in D.F. My god, the squash blossom soup was outrageous
The carnitas at Carnitas Aeropuerto outside of Zamora. What a great breakfast after a red-eye flight. (Thank you Esperanza!)
El Gran San Carlos in Monterrey. Terrific cabrito, even better cafe de olla
La Valentina and La Catarina, also both in Monterrey, both upscale with solid cooking and fabulous ambiance
The hot chocolate at Cafe Azul y Oro on the campus of UNAM in D.F. The chocolate (from Oaxaca)is a proprietary blend for the chef and it's made with water. Without a doubt the richest, smoothest, best hot chocolate I have had in my entire life
Touring the La Alianza chorizo operation in Toluca. Pine nuts and raisins in their premier brand, who knew?
Comida at Hacienda Parian in Toluca
Atole de Grano from the ladies on the sidewalk a couple of doors down from the Gran Hotel in Patzcuaro
Comida at Alkimia which is the restaurant attached to the cooking school Centro Culinario in D.F. (Col. Pedregal). This would be like the Wine Spectator restaurant attached to the CIA Greystone in Napa
Comdia at Las Mirasoles in Morelia
Enchiladas Placeras from Don Emilio on the plaza chica in Patzcuaro
The steaks, and service at Calambache (Polanco) in D.F.
Mole tacos from a street vendor in Quiroga
Tacos from the evening street vendor on the plaza chica in Patzcuraro, probably the best street tacos I've eaten
Salsa Chipotle from Esperanza's salsa guy. Wish this stuff was imported into the U.S. I know this sounds trite, but this salsa really is "to die for". Unfortunately, I shared this stuff with my friends and co-workers; we made very short work of an all too small bottle.
Posole Rojo in a private home made by the local posole specialist.
Sunday brunch at the Gran Ancira Hotel in Monterrey

Those were my food highlights, what were yours..............

Jan 2, 2006, 2:46 PM

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Re: [Gayla] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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Gee, I'm trying to think of some food highlights. I've mostly had the lowlights. I haven't found much Mexican food that I can actually eat except arachera. Let's see....

Italian Steak Place - at Plaza Boulevares in Queretaro - because they served t-bones and were open on New Year's Day.

1810 - This is an incredibly beautiful restaurant with an enormous, beautifully decorated Christmas tree on Plaza de Armas here in QRO. Sit outside and take in the view of poinsettias, both red and white, in abundance and the wonderful square-cut trees lining the plaza with fountain in the center. It doesn't get better than this in my opinion, not even in Paris! And I've enjoyed a lot of cafes there. Anyway, food, much less important, but necessary. The chateaubriande is the best I've had. The sides, well, they just can't make mashed potatoes here. (I'm going to teach these people how to cook mercan food if they show up at my classes.) The profiteroles with chocolate sauce are worth the 60 pesos they charge, believe me. Don't skip those.

Sushi Itto - I stand by this chain restaurant because they are consistently good, maybe even great at what they do. I eat only cooked sushi and have been there about 12 times since I discovered it three weeks ago. (On Bernardo Quintana or BQ as they call it here near the arches of the old aqueduct which are something to see.)

Bogati Pizza - This is great pizza, better than any I had in Los Angeles. It is a quiet place run by Alejandro. I've sent any number of people there. (on Marte off of Corregidora going north of Universidad.)

Trastevere - This is a newer restaurant on 16 de Septiembre near the Corregidora statue. They make good thin-crust pizza and a variety of other things. Say HI to Chef Jonathon for me.

Cafe Express Art - good tea and coffee and sometimes good Bolognese, always good and safe Goat Cheese Salad.

Arcangel on Plaza Guerrero - great hot chocolate

Italian Coffee - only on Plaza de Armas do they make great Mocha Frappes. I hate the pre-made frappes in the plastic machines at other places.

Costco for their hot dogs

I go to San Miguel for American-tasting food, God bless them. Pagoso and Food Factory in the Aurora Mall are favorites.

I've been sick too many times to explore more restaurants. Those who don't get sick, I praise you. Those who don't wash your vegetables and don't get sick, I praise you, too. If you would like to recommend more restaurants after having eaten there at least five times and feeling great afterwards, let me know.

I love the Mexican people but their hygiene is way back in the middle ages. I wonder if you have to be as cautious in Spain. That is one legacy they did not leave behind. I wonder if closer to the border, food is safer.

I found Mexconnect before I came to Mexico and asked about the gourmet food there. The answers were mostly negative except at big resorts. One last thing: Do not think that because a restaurant is crowded every night that it is good. No way. Why? It is my opinion that Mexicans will eat anything.

Jan 2, 2006, 3:29 PM

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Re: [zoeq1000] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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So far, our new arrival Zoeq has compared the relatively nondescript (except for a few blocks in centro) regional backwater of Queretaro with the likes of Paris and Rome and has made the personal observation that, in her view, Mexican people are unclean and willing to eat anything. She wants to teach Mexicans how to prepare mashed potatoes. Boy, would that improve the local cuisine.

What did we do before Zoeq arrived with her mashed potatoes? If she sticks around, we will all be eating Minnesota Hot Dishes and Chef Boy-ar-Dee Spaghettios.

By the way, those Mexican people whose hygeine is "way back in the middle ages" according to Zoeq are, in general, meticulous in their personal hygeine. I have stayed in and eaten in Mexican homes and all I have visited have been impeccably clean. Maybe Zoeq needs to make new friends.

(This post was edited by Bubba on Jan 2, 2006, 3:41 PM)

Bloviator

Jan 2, 2006, 3:34 PM

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Re: [zoeq1000] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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Agree with 1810. When we traveled through Queretaro a couple of weeks ago, both Cynthia 7 and Jennifer Rose responded to my request for a recommendation. I thank them. It was wonderful. Great food and a wonderful ambience. The only negatives was dueling music between 1810 and the restaurant next door and the price. Quite pricy, but we went all out and could have paid a lot less. Another recommendation was the sidewalk cafes in Vera Cruz. They were excellent and the view was great.

In Villa Hermosa we very much enjoyed the Brazilian steakhouse, El Rodizio. Great buffet for everything but meat and then the usual Brazilian custom of bringing around cut after cut of all kinds of meat. Wonderful.

In Laguna Bacalar, amid the dumpy and nondescript we found Aluxe's. A very nicely appointed and charming place with good food.

In Cozumel we went away from the tourist area and ate at Tatich's. Wonderful food which included six great appetizers. We were full before our main courses came. We fed seven for less than the two of us spent at 1810.

In Ajijic, we stand 100% behind Tio Domingo's. A wonderful truly Mexican restaurant with good food, great prices. Santiago makes wonderful Banana's Foster and if he has a medallions of beef special, he will beg you to eat them
or he will have to eat them himself. He should be so lucky as to have to eat them himself. They are great.

Jan 2, 2006, 3:57 PM

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Re: [Bubba] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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You always give me a chuckle. And I could always use more friends. You could profit from my mashed potatoes - carbos mellow one out nicely. And I will add that I've had the worst "gravy" I've ever tasted here - never thought anyone could make something with a taste and gluey texture that was so awful. Everyone around me was just eating it up. I had to send my turkey back sans gravy. I stand by what I say and I wasn't talking about personal hygiene. I know Mexicans who iron their jeans!

Gayla

Jan 2, 2006, 6:16 PM

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Re: [zoeq1000] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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Well, Miss Zoe I can't say that I share your opinion of the Mexican kitchen. You would be appalled, appalled I tell you by the cleanliness, or lack thereof, in many restaurants stateside. In fact, the cleaniest commercial kitchen I've ever been in wasn't even in the U.S., it was the kitchen of Las Mananitas in Cuernavaca. Jeez, you don't even want to know how bad the kitchen is at one of San Diego's more favored places; a place that charges $50+ for it's holiday buffets.

I've toured food production facilities on both sides of the border and for the most part found Mexican standards to be equal to U.S. standards in most cases. I've been in chorizo/sausage factories that were spectacularly clean. Heck, I even got to tour the central kitchens of Tec de Monterrey at their flagship campus in Monterrey. Most impressive and very, very clean. Tec de Monterrey also worked with H*E*B Markets to develop their HACCP program as well as their hygenie standards and practices for the market when it moved into Mexico.

Girl, get yourself on a bus to D.F., it's not that far from Queretaro. There is so much good food available there you can just about stumble over it. Fine dining is alive and well in the capital. It's not inexpensive, but it is da*n good. The old world service and truly inventive margarita service at Inn San Angel is comforting and reminds us just how well the elite have lived. You too can enjoy it for not a huge amount of $$$. And if fine dining isn't your thing, then mid-level dining is just about equally as good. Or, as Bubba rightly suggests, head further south to Oaxaca City and eat at either of the Casa Oaxaca restaurants. Fantastic.

Street food can be wonderful, or it can be lethal. It won't be the germs that kill you with some of Don Emilio's enchiladas placera, it'll be the massive dose of carbs laced with that oh, so lovely lard ;-). Have you heard about Lactovita? It's easily obtained in Mexican pharmacies without a perscription and is nothing more than lactobacillus. It works wonders on the intestinal tract. What works even better is the Mexican yogurt, the stuff is divine. A little yogurt, a little fruit, a few papaya seeds, you're good to go................

The food closer to the border is not safer, and Mexican hygenie isn't way back in the Middle Ages, it's merely still back in the early 20th century. There's good food NOB and there is pretty awful food NOB. There is good food in France, Italy, Spain, Thailand and China, just as there is pretty awful food in France, Italy, Spain, Thailand and China. Mexico is no different, there is good food and there is the not so good. I don't think I've been especially lucky in finding good food. I've just gone lookign for it with an open mine and more often than not, it's found me. Don't give up, keep trying, keep eating and you'll eventually find what you like.

Oh........and BTW, mashed potatoes rule no matter what country you live in. Mine are killer ;-D

Jan 2, 2006, 6:49 PM

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Re: [Gayla] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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Hi Gayla, You give me hope. I would love to find great food. I love Queretaro, but this isn't the dining capital of the world. If you have a list of Mexico City restaurants, I would like it.

Please explain to me this: if restaurants in Mexico have as good of hygiene as NOB, then tell me why my husband and I have had food poisoning repeatedly after eating in restaurants. I never eat streetfood. But I have trusted restaurants here and it doesn't work for me. We go to places where we haven't gotten sick or our friends have never been sick

In several years, I can't think of a time I've had food poisoning - living in France, traveling Italy, Switzerland the US. My daughter got sick once in Dallas. But it is a rarity in our family. Or rather, was. And lactobacillus is steady stuff for me now.

Has anyone been sick like this or what? I'm beginning to feel we're the only ones.

Jan 2, 2006, 6:59 PM

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Re: [Bubba] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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My dear Bubba, I can't let your remarks about Queretaro pass. No, I've thought it over and I think in your dotage that you have mistaken Queretaro for another city. And not only did I compare Plaza de Armas to Paris, I said it was better. And I mean it. Now, I'm not saying that all of Queretaro is better than Paris. And I'm not saying that Queretaro is Rome. I'm saying it reminds me of Rome with the plazas and fountains and walkways. And a Lloyd report not too long ago listed Queretaro as the best city to live in from a survey done by the Mexican government.

So here is my solution. I can send you a recent map of Historic Centro in Queretaro showing the plazas and streets. And anyone reading this is welcome to write me for a map. Happy New Year!!!

Jan 2, 2006, 9:15 PM

Post #9 of 37 (4768 views)

Re: [zoeq1000] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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By all means, Zoe, send me a map of Queretaro Centro with its small but charming plazas. The whole few blocks of it should fit on a cocktail napkin. I also want to thank you for saving me the airfare and arduous journey I had planned to Paris later this year. Now that I know about Queretaro's superiority over that clearly overrated city, a simple five hour drive is all I need take.

I rate Queretaro a two day town. Keep remodeling your B&B to sustain your interest in a place where the upper class welcomes extranjeros the way your no-raw food "sushi" bar sucursal welcomes flies.

Jan 2, 2006, 11:23 PM

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Re: [Bubba] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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Well, bonne voyage. I'll be going back in a year or two myself. I love Paris. There isn't a city like it in the world but not my choice to live in. I prefer earthy, rustic Nice with a chocolate shop on every other block (my husband decried them - no more chocolate shops!) The cooking is, of course, Provencal with the best and fruity olive oil in the world.

I used to walk to the outdoor market almost daily to buy the freshly plucked spinach sold by an old Italian lady who brought it from her farm in Italy. There were artisanal cheeses, olives and spices of every sort as well as huge bouquets of flowers for around $15. And every restaurant was good. People took such pride in their food. I gained 20 doggone pounds in six months. Of course, this was due to the freshly baked cheese breads of bakeries on every corner. And, of course, I was never poisoned by poor food handling.

No, I don't find Mexican outdoor markets to be the same although there are wonderful fresh foods of all kinds. Maybe there's just too much variety at our local Mercado de la Cruz. By the time I walk there, shop and take everything home, wash it and put it away, I'm done for the day. I'm even thinking of working out (yuck) to increase my stamina.

I do love to walk in this city. We take several different routes from our house, usually leading to one church or another. We go inside and sit quietly. We can see seven churches from our roof depending where you stand. There are many more and some are absolute treasures. And, there is a surprise around every corner.

On New Year's Day, we were forced to go to Plaza Boulevares for food because no where I eat was open. This is where movies are shown so the shopping/business center is always open. Chiles was closed as were most of the Kiosks. Did we dare try the Italian place? We started talking to the owner because he speaks English. Turns out he is Sicilian (I'm half), and from New York. We had T-bone steaks and nice side orders, one of broccoli and one, a bit dry pasta salad. All in all, it was an unusual and fun experience.

One thing France will never offer is the equanamity and hospitality of the Mexicans. They are so polite and pleasant. Yes, the old families think they own the place and do what they please. But there are so many different people who live there - some Americans, some Canadians, lots of teachers, and our friend, Joe, who likes to party. The kindest acts I have ever received have been in this place. The Mexicans have opened their homes to us and call on us regularly. They don't forget their friends.

Now, Bubba, you've reminded me that my house which was supposed to be done a month ago now it looks like February. This project has been one of the hardest things I've ever done. Like my friend, Cynthia says, finishing a house is like giving birth. There was an American husband with his Mexican wife at the coffee shop today. They had a 2 week old baby with them. My husband asked if they had any other children. And the husband starts saying how he wants two or three more. The wife didn't look so good. It's just not something a new mother wants to contemplate. Well, somehow that relates to my delicate condition.

So, I am sending you the map as requested so you can use it for your two-day stay. Maybe you can print it out and make, oh, say, toilet paper out of it. Pointy mountains, indeed. Well, to each his own.

sfmacaws

Jan 3, 2006, 1:43 AM

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Re: [zoeq1000] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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Zoe, I have never heard of someone getting food poisoning that much. I'm serious. There has to be something unique about how and where you do this.

You may want to blame it on the hygiene in Mexican restaurants but the question remains that this is not the common experience of anyone here or anyone I've ever met in Mexico. I admit, I have never done anything but drive on through Queretaro so I don't know if it is the city or it is something else. Whatever it is, you and your husband are doing something wrong whether it is where you live or where you eat, it just isn't a normal experience.

The only time I've ever gotten food poisoning was in San Anselmo Ca many years ago. I've lived and eaten in Mexico off and on for over 40 years. I use simple common sense about where I eat but I certainly eat at all levels and in all types of situations, including very small, very poor, very rural areas where the choices are extremely limited. Still, no food poisoning. As to eating where it is busy, that is a very good way to pick a restaurant. Locals will not return to a place that has made them sick, I wouldn't either. So, if you find a popular place it will be unlikely to make you sick. I can't say the food will be great as there is no accounting for taste. Shoot, McDonalds are crowded here in Mexico and I wouldn't set foot in one. I doubt they would make you sick though.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

Jan 3, 2006, 2:26 AM

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Re: [sfmacaws] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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We've both been to Dr. Kitty Delano at The Queretaro Clinic. We seem normal to her. I've had food poisoning about four times in a year as has my husband. When we avoid new restaurants that we don't know and eat at places that are known by friends who have been sickness-free after eating there, we have no problems. I don't think this is peculiar to us as we are both very healthy, are not on medications, etc. And when my 23 year old daughter comes, she gets sick every time and usually when we have gone out of town and eaten. It always hits each of us within a few hours after eating out.

I attribute it to eating out a lot. 1) I have witnessed over and over Mexicans handling money, then handling food. 2) I have seen food left out of refrigeration for many hours even in homes. 3) Dairy is not handled well in general. I have seen large cans of milk in the back of a truck being dipped out by hand with a ladle into a container and taken into a restaurant. That was in San Miguel. So I think it's best to avoid dairy when eating out. It may not be pasteurized either. Even our Mexican architect warned us off dairy.

These factors make food unsafe. Two of you have told on this thread have feel that safe food handling is the norm in Mexico. I don't buy it. I think you both have iron stomachs.

If it's the water, I would be sick all the time. And Queretaro is noted for it's higher water quality. I haven't seen anyone drink it but many people tell me they brush their teeth in it. Not us.

I am trained in food safety through my chef training. Bacteria multiplies exponentially in the right environment. It can happen very fast. And I have seen people with iron stomachs who can eat anything, anywhere. One couple we know, the man gets sick often and the wife never gets food poisoning, an iron stomach type.

So as soon as I can, I'm going back to cooking a lot. That will solve many problems. And I thank you for your input. It made me think. If anyone has any tips that they use to eat safely, please let us know.

sfmacaws

Jan 3, 2006, 2:53 AM

Post #13 of 37 (4753 views)

Re: [zoeq1000] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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Well, if there are iron stomach types I probably am one but if so, then there are no doubt also sensitive stomach types and you and your husband must qualify. I still say that getting food poisoning 4 times in one year is not the norm for any group of stomachs. If anyone else on this forum has had that much food illness I hope they will speak up, I just don't think it is common. Almost all of us here eat out a lot, it's easy, inexpensive and interesting, also where I am usually it is hot and cooking is not often what I want to do. I'm much more likely to cook when in the US than when in MX.

The other thing that you are not acknowledging is that food poisoning is not something you get used to or that locals are not going to get as well. If a restaurant is popular night after night then it is really unlikely that these people are getting food poisoning and then returning. I know when Mimi and I got food poisoning at Phyllis's Burgers in San Anselmo we didn't report it but we never ate there again and it had been our favorite burger place.

If all of these dangerous food conditions are commonplace then you are not going to be the only ones getting sick. How do you explain that? It just all sounds rather odd to me, makes me not want to go to any restaurants in Queretaro, that's for sure.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

Bloviator

Jan 3, 2006, 4:59 AM

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Re: [sfmacaws] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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I'm not sure what food poisoning is. Is it your good old fashioned Montezuma's Revenge or something more lethal?

In the year that we have lived in Mexico, we have eaten at a wide variety of restaurants in Los Mochis, Mazatlan, Santa Ana/Magdalena, Guaymas, Hermosillo, Manzanillo, Sayula, Tapalpa, Mazamitla, Zocoalco, Barra de Navidad, Guadalajara, Tonola, Tlaquepaque, Gueretaro, Puebla, Vera Cruz, Villa Hermosa, Laguna Bacalar, Cozumel, Merida, Coatzacoaclos (A true armpit of a city. If any loathsome disease lurks in Mexico, I'm sure it is present there), Cuernavaca, Everywhere lakeside, on rare occasions at restaurants at Pemex stations or cuota booths (Though we try to avoid them as the food is always terrible), and a few out in the boondocks roadside restaurants (We look them over very carefully before eating in them).

We've even eaten at home a couple of times.

My wife has had two mild half day bouts with revenge and I have had one similar experience. Though years ago, when visiting Mexico, we both had serious stomach problems.

We only drink bottled water except at home where we drink tap water protected by Villa Nova's clean water and our purification system. My wife buys most of our vegetables at the tiangius and treats them. We avoid street vendor food, though often eat at restaurants that cater primarily to Mexicans (as opposed to tourist restaurants).

My wife is firmly convinced that people who think they are going to get sick from Mexican food and water will do so. She has seen it among a number of people who are visitors, afraid of the water, vegetables, and any restaurant that is not 100% tourist.

Jan 3, 2006, 6:28 AM

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Re: [zoeq1000] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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We had food poisoning in France despite the fact that I was born there and lived there, same in New York Seattle and a few other towns. A friend from Connecticut just got amoebas in France in a chateau in Bordeaux not once but twice etc .
Mexico is not the only place where food poisoning and bugs happen. If you have not gotten sick in Europe or in the States you probably have been very lucky.
I second Gayla on food cleanliness in the States. I had to routinely enter restaurants and hotels through the kitchens and I still remember that smell (not the pleasant food one) Many restaurants could use a good cleaning: I am not speaking of the cheapos either, Some restaurant kitchens are incredibly clean but many others are pretty gross and you encounter the filthy kitchens in the most unexpected places sometines.

(This post was edited by Bubba on Jan 3, 2006, 7:05 AM)

esperanza

Jan 3, 2006, 7:41 AM

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Re: [zoeq1000] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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Several years ago I contracted E. coli in a well-known foreign-owned restaurant at Lake Chapala. Three of the five of us who lunched together that day ordered the same dish; all three of us fell ill, although I was the only one who literally almost died. The restaurant went out of business not long after that incident. I was among many who contracted food-borne illnesses there. Apparently the food handlers' bathroom hygiene wasn't high on the list of importance. All it takes is one carrier who fails to wash his/her hands to infect hordes of people.

Two years later, I contracted typhoid in (drumroll) France. The source, according to my doctor, was probably cheese made from unpasteurized milk. It took me six months to recover from that illness.

I have lived and eaten in Mexico for 25 years. Once in a blue moon something gives me a temporary problem with my stomach, but I have been known to eat at almost any sort of restaurant, market stand, or street cart. I eat cheese and yoghurt from my favorite street market. I brush my teeth with tap water. If you're coming for dinner, of course I disinfect anything to be eaten raw. For myself alone, I rarely bother. And IMHO, there is no purpose in disinfecting anything that is going to be cooked for any length of time.

Sometimes foreigners have the idea that harmful bacteria don't attack Mexicans--that foreigners are the only ones susceptible to them. My Mexican friends complain about as often as I do (i.e., rarely, but once in a while) that something they've eaten has caused an intestinal problem for them.

Zoeq mentioned having seen food handlers also taking money. In my long sojourn here, I've seen this situation change drastically. At one time, consciousness about money handling was very low. Now, it is rare--very rare--to see this happen. From the ladies at tortillerías to the taco guy on the corner, I now see one of two things: either the food seller puts on a plastic glove to receive money and make change or there is someone else in the booth--not the food preparer--who takes care of the money. At the taco stand around the corner, Don Raúl cooks and delivers the tacos but his sons take the money. At the torta ahogada stand on the next street, one of the ladies makes the tortas and the other deals with the money.

Zoeq says two posters have said that food handling in Mexico is by and large safe. Make it three.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

sfmacaws

Jan 3, 2006, 10:04 AM

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Re: [dlyman6500] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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Quote

I'm not sure what food poisoning is. Is it your good old fashioned Montezuma's Revenge or something more lethal?

I think you've hit on part of our problem here, we probably aren't all talking about the same thing.

In my mind, food poisoning is very serious and you are extremely sick usually within 8 hours of eating. Symptoms include continued vomiting, diarrhea that is often uncontrollable and liquid, chills and clammy or sweaty skin, and nausea with stomach cramps. Dehydration is a serious side effect and yes, some people can die from it. If it doesn't stop within 12 hours I would get myself to a hospital. Those were the symptoms Mimi and I had after a bad burger in Marin.

On the other hand (or end perhaps), occasional loose stools can signal that something you ate did not agree with you. I can get that occasionally and don't consider it food poisoning as it is not accompanied by any of the other symptoms above. I almost always get it when returning to the US because I am not as considerate of my system when heading that way and usually cross the border and have a greasy hamburger with fries at Burger King. When crosssing south I am careful to give my system time to adjust to new flora and fauna before loading it down with high fat stuff so I don't get the same symptom coming south. As we travel all the time (since we primarily live in an RV), I've also gotten that quesy feeling and loose stools when arriving in an area of the US that is not normal to us. Got it when we got to Texas from California once and on arriving in Minn one summer. I would not count this as food poisoning nor do I think it has anything to do with food handling or cleanliness, I think it is just that I am not used to the local bugs. I also would not call this any of the various phrases used for tourista, it includes no cramps, no vomiting, no nausea.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

wendy devlin

Jan 3, 2006, 2:26 PM

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Re: [sfmacaws] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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A cast-iron stomach!

Where can I order one of those?

Everywhere I live, I try to ease myself into new foods and regimes, giving the flora and fauna in my gut time to adjust.

Also find that people and their resistence and/or suspectibility to illness as individual as the people themselves.

And eating 'out' in any country...a kind of Russian food roulette.
Where usually I 'win' but occassionally lose:)

Like Jonna, I'm not sure we're all talking about the same bacteria or illnesses here. There are quite a few different gastro-intestinal 'bugs'.

I actually have gotten to appreciate what I term, 'mild' food sickness. The body in its wisdom, often has quick response to poisoning, ridding itself of the offender from both ends. Have had it a few times eating out both at home and in Mexico.

But compare those 'bout's to case of salmonella poisoning that I got near San Cristobal. One sick puppy!

The other seven members of our party including four young children, who ate the same meal all got sick over-night and better the day after.

But I, for some reason, developed a nastier illness that knocked me out for weeks.

Making me forever in the debt of the Mexican doctor who so swiftly diagnosed my condition once, my sorry carcass was carried into his clinic.
(Something he diagnosed by looking in my 'eye's. He performed no tests but did prescribe two medications, one to kill the nasties and one to restore the natural flora and fauna destroyed by the first medication.)

Ditto for my bout with Hepatitis many years ago.

A year later after my own illness, where I turned the color of daffodils and weak as a kitten, I nursed in a situation where over a hundred members of a community, man, woman and child came down with a similiar strain of hepatitis.

There was a great deal of difference in both individual symptoms and length of hospitalization and recovery time of the people affected.

This experience marks the beginning, of my current theory of the variable nature of resistence and suspectibility:)

Be well. Saludos de canada

Jan 3, 2006, 2:49 PM

Post #19 of 37 (4703 views)

Re: [sfmacaws] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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I'm putting together a guide for my guests, many of whom will be new or returning to Mexico. This is what I have so far. I would like to know how you all decide to eat at a certain restaurant.

To keep you food-safe during your visit, here are some guidlines we've found helpful

- Don't brush your teeth with the local water. Use the purified water provided.
- Wash your hands often and, more, if you handle money all day.
- Drink only bottled water and other bottled cold liquids such as beer and juices.
- Do not eat from another's plate or drink after them since bacteria is contagious.
- Do not eat food offered for sampling in public areas such as markets.
- Avoid uncooked foods such as fruits and salads.
- Avoid dairy unless at a recommended restaurant.
- Avoid beans that could have been sitting out for long periods.
Observe a restaurant before eating there:
- Do they have soap in the bathrooms so employees can wash their hands?
- Do they handle money and food at the same time?
- Do they have refrigeration for food?
- Do employees touch their faces, then handle food?
- Do leftover rolls on tables go back into baskets for serving?
See our list of recommended restaurants locally. These restaurants have been tested by local Americans including ourselves for safe-eating. And because the food is good.

I can also talk to our doctor and get her recommendations. What do you think? Anything to add or take away?

Me, I get Krispy Creams when I cross border. We brought some back for our workers and they devoured them.

(This post was edited by zoeq1000 on Jan 3, 2006, 3:23 PM)

Jan 3, 2006, 3:22 PM

Post #20 of 37 (4696 views)

Re: [sfmacaws] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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You are right. It's good to define what level of sickness we're talking about and if it is actually food poisoning. I'm not talking about the trots which I've had a few times as well.

I'm talking about maybe not throwing up but diahrea and weakness and fever that kept us in bed for two or three days. One time it involved out both ends - this was passed from my daughter to me two days later to my husband two days later. Since food poisoning is caused by bacteria, it is highly contagious. So, a few of the sicknesses we had, we got from each other. I no longer drink from my husband's glass or eat from his plate. We sometimes forget, but as a rule, we don't do it.

And Mexicans get it, too. One man I know passed us on the street and said he was going to eat. Where? I asked. He said the taco place on the corner because it doesn't make his stomach hurt.

Our bouts occurred mostly after going out of town and eating in strange restaurants. And a couple of times, we got it from each other. So I wouldn't say Queretaro restaurants were the main culprit. Only that my paranoia has made me a lot more cautious about where we eat.

Now would I want to leave Mexico because of this? No way. Part of moving to a new country has to do with getting used to the new flora and fauna as well as cultural differences. We've learned that eating out in Mexico takes more awareness than eating out in Los Angeles.

(This post was edited by zoeq1000 on Jan 3, 2006, 3:27 PM)

wendy devlin

Jan 3, 2006, 3:45 PM

Post #21 of 37 (4691 views)

Re: [zoeq1000] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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Zoe...I hear you.

I'm in your court. But then I play in a lot of courts:)

For example the story below. The thing is I've just come home from the library. I was researching recent Mexico-related literature like I used to do when I used to write more. So many authors had a birth...and a 2005 DEATH date!

Again, it made me realize that TIME waits for no (wo)man!

Please accept this little story in the spirit in which it is offered.

My step-father was a gastro-intestinal surgeon who began his career, performing surgery in a hospital in war-time Britain.

He continued in private practice late into his 80’s although most of his life-long patients had a habit of dying on him. He was my grand-mother's doctor which is where we got to know him.

After my mom died suddenly of lung cancer in 1989, I began visiting Dr. D, coming and going on my annual migration with my family south to Mexico by plane or Rv.

Dr. D’s habit was to take a nap in the afternoon. We would sit up together into the night after my children were in bed, watch the late news and talk over a couple of slow drinks. We were worlds apart on the political spectrum, the medical spectrum and perhaps a couple of other spectrums. We would talk, argue, debate, postulate before....hugging in the wee hours.

Dr. D was thoroughly appalled, for instance, that I, an ‘educated, experienced registered nurse’ kept a small herd of dairy goats and raised all three children on unpasteurized milk and didn’t believe in immunization

Given the organs he had excised, he seriously advised that I STOP eating organ meats immediately.
And he thought going to Mexico…in the style with which we did…by road…for months at a time…somewhat .beyond the pale:)_

The good doctor died at home at 93 before I could say good-bye on our return trip to Canada.

Que te vaya bien, doug.

But that there were more people like you in this crazy old world.

julietl

Jan 4, 2006, 5:16 PM

Post #22 of 37 (4663 views)

Re: [Gayla] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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My favorite food memories for 2005:

Dinner at Casa Oaxaca in Oaxaca City

Taking a cooking class from Iliana de la Vega, chef/owner of El Naranjo in Oaxaca

Thanksgiving dinnner at Izote

Dinner at Aguila & Sol

Margaritas with my aunt at San Angel Inn

My suegra's Chile Rellenos & Pozole

Hosting a mole fountain for a charity event at Hacienda de las Morales

Wine & Pasta with my friends at 'Non Solo Pasta'

My absolute favorite Japonese place. I am lucky enough to be walking distance to this mecca, so we go at least once a week:
http://www.nagaoka.com.mx/

I totally agree with Bubba that "Japanese" cuisine in Mexico is crap. But this is the real deal, no *&^$% cream cheese here. It's always filled with Japanese families and is one of the best places I have ever been to.

Restaurant I am excited to try in 2006:

Ivoire - Chef Bruno Airagnes, fusion of colonial African & Asian/French
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Jan 4, 2006, 5:58 PM

Post #23 of 37 (4655 views)

Re: [julietm] Mexican Food Highlights of 2005

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julietm:

Thnks for the restaurant hints including the sushi place. When we visit DF later this year we will take a copy of your list. Keep us informed on your esperience at Ivoire. The fusion of West African and Asian food sounds like a bit of a stretch but might be quite good. We love both West African and Asian cuisine.

Any experience in DF with East Indian restaurants?

jennifer rose

Jan 4, 2006, 6:03 PM

Post #24 of 37 (4653 views)

A mole fountain?

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Is that like a chocolate fountain or ???

Anonimo

Jan 5, 2006, 2:50 AM

Post #25 of 37 (4641 views)