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jennifer rose

Dec 29, 2005, 6:28 PM

Post #1 of 9 (2387 views)

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Your Favorites?

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PLACES

Favorite City: Morelia

Favorite City Not My Own: D.F.

Favorite Town: Patzcuaro, followed by Uruapan

Favorite Colonial Town: Santa Clara de Cobre and Tacambaro and Tlalpujahua

Favorite State: Michoacán (although Guanajuato, Edo. de Mexico, and Chihuahua have their parts)

Favorite downtown architecture (not Morelia): Puebla

Favorite Natural Lake: Lago Zirahuen, Michoacán

Favorite Mountains: the ones that I see every morning from my bedroom balcony

Favorite Beach Resort: Kino

Favorite Weekend Getaway (outside of Michoacán): Valle de Bravo

Favorite Hotels in Mexico: Virrey de Mendoza, Villa Montana, Las Mananitas, Mansion Iturbe, La Casa de la Marquesa, Camino Real chain.

Favorite Mexico City restaurant: Hacienda de los Morales, Le Mustache

PEOPLE

Favorite former President of Mexico: Adolfo Lopez Mateos

Favorite composer: Juventino Rosas

Favorite journalist: Guadalupe Loaeza

Other favorite journalist: German Dehesa

Favorite Mexican Artist: Alfredo Zalce

Second Favorite Mexican Artist: Juan Torres

Favorite Non-MexicanWriter on Mexican Themes: Sam Quinones and Ruben Martinez (tie)

Favorite Foreigners in Mexican History: Maximilian and Carlota

Favorite Rock Band: The Band

Favorite Comedian: Brozo (he’s not just a comedian!)

THINGS

Favorite Taqueria: The place by OOAPAS in Morelia

Favorite Italian Restaurant: Pasta Nostra in Morelia

Favorite Restaurant Owned by an American: Cha Cha Cha (Patzcuaro)

Favorite Sport: Pelea de gallos

Favorite soccer team: Monarcas! (Is there any other?)

Favorite Holiday: Dia de Independencia (In Santa Clara de Cobre, everyone shoots guns off in the plaza) and Noche de Muertos (it’s a tie)

Favorite Cheese: I don’t like cheese.

Favorite Mexican Food: Pavo en mole rojo. On second thought, make that just about anything in any mole. Tacos de huitlacoche. Pescado blanco, as prepared at the Café Dona Paca.

Favorite Mexican Candy: Jamoncillo with pine nuts AND candied chilacayote

Favorite Mexican Salad: Ensalada Navidena

Favorite Mexican Christmas Food: Bacalao Vizcaina and Romeritos en Mole

Favorite Breakfast Place: Villa Montaña

Favorite Car (made in Mexico): Chevrolet Suburban

(This post was edited by jennifer rose on Dec 29, 2005, 6:31 PM)

manda405

Dec 29, 2005, 7:28 PM

Post #2 of 9 (2370 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] Your Favorites?

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PLACES

Favorite Town: Arteaga and Uruapan

Favorite State: Michoacán, Guerrero, and Colima

Favorite Mountains: The Blues in Oregon

Favorite Beach Resort: Ixtapa Zihuantenjo

Favorite Weekend Getaway (outside of Michoacán): Manzanillo

Favorite Hotels in Mexico: Hotel Playa Azul, the Barcelona in Ixtapa

PEOPLE

Favorite former President of Mexico: Lazaro Cardenas, ask me next year and I'll say Fox
Favorite Foreigners in Mexican History: Cortez

Favorite Rock Band: Mana

Favorite Comedian: George Lopez

THINGS

Favorite Taqueria: Los Lobos

Favorite Sport: Hockey

Favorite soccer team: Monarcas, UNAM, Chivas Favorite Holiday: Dia de la Independcia, Dia de las Madres

Favorite Cheese: the kind I make on the ranch.

Favorite Mexican Food: enchiladas, carne asada

Favorite Mexican Candy: dulce de leche

Favorite Mexican Salad: ensalada de pollo

Favorite Mexican Christmas Food: tamales

Favorite Car (made in Mexico): Nissan Platina

What happens down in Mexico...Stays in Mexico.

Miguel Palomares

Dec 30, 2005, 6:25 AM

Post #3 of 9 (2324 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] Your Favorites?

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Favorite Mexican: The lovely Marta de la Salud Palomares Perez de Dickson.

Favorite foods: Thai and Vietnamese. It ain't Mexican.

Favorite country. It ain't Mexico.

Favorite residence: The Ranchito Palomares-Dickson in the Village of the Darned.

Favorite motorcycle: Harley-Davidson Sportster, 1977 edition.

Favorite decade: The 1950s.

Favorite decade: My 50s, which have skedaddled.

Favorite musical group: Dead Can Dance

Favorite sports team: Who gives a rat's patooty?

Favorite mind-altering substance: It ain't booze. Chocolate is a contender.

Favorite view: Right over the top of this computer here. Mountains, trees and egrets.

Favorite hotel de paso: My neighbor, the Hotelito de Mal Reputito. When will it open? I hope to see you there one day in a state of sensual disarray.
From Tzurumutaro, Michoacan, "The Village of the Darned."
_______________________________________

The nuts and bolts of moving to Mexico:
http://michaeldickson.blogspot.com/
The dark side of living in Mexico:
http://mexicopeeks.blogspot.com/
Scintillating life in a Mexican pueblo:
http://tzurumutaro.blogspot.com/
http://tzurumutaro2.blogspot.com/

(This post was edited by Miguel Palomares on Dec 30, 2005, 7:43 AM)

Bubba

Dec 30, 2005, 12:38 PM

Post #4 of 9 (2266 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] Your Favorites?

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Well, this kind of a fun idea so here are some of my favorites in Mexico so far. There is much more to see after four years so this is definitely subject to change:

City to Live in if I Had to Live in a City: Guadalajara
City to Visit Excluding DF (an incomparable place): Merida with Veracruz a close second
Town: Tlacotalpan, VER.,
State: Chiapas
Downtown Architecture: Queretaro
Mountainous Setting: Monterrey (spectacular)
Beach Resort: Mismaloya, JAL.
Restaurant (excluding DF): Casa Oaxaca in Oaxaca City - no contest, no runner-up
Best Restaurant in Jalisco: Brasil in Puerto Vallarta (a branch of a chain)
Coffee Shop and Roaster: Cafe Sureste in Ajijic
Best Cut of Beef in Mexico: Arrechera. (In a country where the domestic beef is generally dreadful)
Best Seafood Region: Gulf Coast from Veracruz to Merida.
Best Regional Cooking: Yucatecan
Best Domestic Booze: Herradura Blanco Tequila
Best Domestic Beer: XX Lager
Best Music: Musica Veracruzana
Worst Music: (Tie) Mariachi and Ranchero
Most Overrated Cuisine on the Planet: Mexican food.
Best Cheese: In Mexico this is an oxymoron. The best cheeses in the world are unpasteurized French cheeses* which are too numerous to mention but a sample would include Roquefort (the king of cheeses) Boulette d'Avesne, Alsatian Munster, any number of fresh and dry goat cheeeses and wonderful soft-ripening cheeses of immense variety that would blow your mind. I should also throw in English Stilton. (If you buy any of these cheeses in Mexico, they will never be as good as if bought in France. If you buy soft-ripening cheeses in Mexico, read the maturity date on the package carefully as merchants here have absolutely no idea what they are selling and will sell you soft-ripening cheese that is over the hill and inedible.)

* I would advise against unpasteurized Mexican cheeses as unsafe.

I don't particularly like people or rock bands so I'll skip those categories.

(This post was edited by Bubba on Dec 30, 2005, 2:45 PM)

zoeq1000

Jan 1, 2006, 4:35 AM

Post #5 of 9 (2159 views)

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Re: [Bubba] Your Favorites?

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First, I would like to visit all of Mexico with its infinite variety, beauty and character. That said, I like to live where there is a lot of action so I love big cities and my favorite is Queretaro. When I first saw it, it looked like Rome after having just made a trip over there. It is the best walking town I've ever - fairly flat and the streets are cantara bricks, not cobblestone - so they is easy to walk on as well as to drive on.

Favorite restaurants - Sushi Itto for (cooked) sushi (I would not eat raw fish in Mexico or anywhere for that matter), Bogatti's for fine pizza, 1810 for Chateaubriande and profiteroles

Favorite coffee - Chizaro on Juarez - not a coffee house but retailer and roaster of fine Mexican coffee

Favorite plaza - Jardin Guerrero - go to Arcangel just across the street for the best hot chocolate

Favorite place to walk - the green and beautiful Alameda on Zaragoza complete with huge walkways and 1 block from my house.

Favorite shopping - Costco for food and a variety of other American products. The pizza and hot dogs, too. Sam's Club is excellent also.

Favorite bank - Santander Serfin because there is no charge for Bank of America ATM withdrawals

Favorite dancing spot - Jardin Zinea on Thursday and Sunday nights

Favorite architecture - Queretaro buildings and parks

I'm not suggesting you move to Queretaro because it is a Spanish speaking town. But do visit to study Spanish or cooking at my place or for a wonderful vacation with plenty to see and do and, best of all, you don't need a car. Taxis are plentiful and cheap.

Bubba

Jan 1, 2006, 9:11 AM

Post #6 of 9 (2122 views)

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Re: [Bubba] Your Favorites?

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I should mention, since I made fun of the generally boring variety of insipid Mexican cheeeses that goat cheese in Mexico is an exception to the rule. There is great domestic goat cheese industry here and I compliment the various manufacturers whose products I have sampled.

Obviously, Zoeq is quite fond of Queretaro and it is a nice, if somewhat provincial and conservative town but, for those of you planning to move down here, I would not be put off by her comment that Queretaro is a "Spanish" town. English is not widely spoken in many large Mexican cities including such cities as Guadalajara, Cuernavaca and Veracruz, all of which are fairly cosmopolitan places. That doesn't mean you should avoid these places. You will find that you will, of necessity, apply yourself more vigorously to learning Spanish if you are challenged to simply get by in your every day life. If you live in a place such as the Lake Chapala area, it is too easy to shirk the responsibility of learning the local tongue.

One more comment since Zoeq brought up "sushi". For those of you not that familiar with Mexico, so-called "sushi" is very popular here but what we are talking about here is akin to touting the virtues of Mexican food at Taco Bell in Peoria. There is nothing wrong with it and it can be quite tasty but "authentic" Mexican food it ain't. The same thing is true of sushi bars and Japaneses restaurants in Mexico (Guadalajara is awash with them - some very fancy) which are quite numerous and often jammed with patrons. If you like such inauthentic pop variations of Japanese food as California Rolls, warm sake in the box with and greasy tempura, sushi joints and Japanese cuisine Mexican style are for you and you needn't speak Japanese although some Spanish would help.

(This post was edited by Bubba on Jan 1, 2006, 9:41 AM)

belgique

Jan 1, 2006, 2:59 PM

Post #7 of 9 (2064 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] Your Favorites?

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Dang, this is a great thread that we cannot participate in since the closest we have gotten to MX is the South of the Border complex on the NC/SC border! :-) BUT, next year, we WILL have some input to this...in the meantime, we will study the inputs here and make notes. Happy 2006!

sfmacaws

Jan 2, 2006, 12:33 AM

Post #8 of 9 (1996 views)

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Re: [Bubba] Your Favorites?

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State: Jalisco, it has everything

City: Mérida & San Cristóbal - it's a tie, runner up is Guadalajara

Food: Chiles en Nogada, any kind of tamale, sopa de limon, mole with anything, tacos al pastor

Cheese: I like cheese, a lot. I don't have Bubba's sophisticated palate though so I like Oaxaca and dry doble crema

Booze: Centenario tequila, Membrillo, Ron Añejo

Beer: Leon Negra, Pacifico - same palate problem - I love lime in both of them.

Biggest food rant: I love lime in just about everything except mayonnaise. I damn hate lime in mayonnaise, it makes it taste like the dreaded Miracle Whip. Yuck!! It is a bloody treasure hunt to find some mayonnaise without lime. Impossible!

Ocean/Beach/Sand: Caribbean, absolutely! no contest from the Pacific, which is nice however, and particularly not from the Gulf which is not nice.

Music: Mariachi, Veracruzano

Least favorite: Norteño rap, Banda

Diving: Chinchorro Banks, Dos Ojos cenote, deep reefs at Cozumel

Road: #307 from Palenque to Frontera Corozol in Chiapas

Lakes: Lagunas de Montebello

River: Rió Usamacinta

Mayan ruins: Yaxchilán because it is well preserved but not reconstructed and because of the ride on the Usamacinta to get there.

Mountains: these wonderful, pointy, Dr Seuss ones in Chiapas

Zapatista chant: "¡Viva Los Mujeres Zapatista!"

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

esperanza

Jan 2, 2006, 10:36 AM

Post #9 of 9 (1922 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] Your Favorites?

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PLACES

Favorite City: Guadalajara

Favorite City Not My Own: Distrito Federal

Favorite Town: Pátzcuaro

Favorite Colonial Town: Zacatecas

Favorite State: Michoacán

Favorite downtown architecture: Puebla

Favorite Natural Lake: Lago Zirahuen, Michoacán

Favorite Mountains: Las Cumbres, Monterrey

Favorite Weekend Getaway: Pátzcuaro

Favorite Hotel in Mexico: Total Luxury: Quinta Real Guadalajara
Standard use: Gran Hotel, Pátzcuaro.

Favorite Mexico City restaurants: Azul y Oro at UNAM, Casa Lamm

PEOPLE

Favorite former President of Mexico: Lázaro Cárdenas

Favorite composer: Armando Manzanero

Other favorite composer: José Alfredo Jiménez

Favorite journalist: Leonardo Tarifeño

Favorite novelist: Elena Poniatowska

Favorite Mexican Artist: Rodolfo Tamayo

Favorite Non-Mexican Writer on Mexican Themes: Earl Shorris

Favorite Mexican Band: Mariachi Vargas

Favorite Female Singer: Tania Libertad

Favorite Male Singer: Alejandro Filio

THINGS

Favorite Taquería: Doña Mago, Ajijic--only open during the fiestas in November

Favorite Italian Restaurant: Ma Come No, Guadalajara

Favorite soccer team: CHIVAS! (Is there any other?)

Favorite Holiday: (1) Día de Independencia; (2) Reyes Magos

Favorite Cheese: Manchego, Chihuahua, Oaxaca, panela, de cabra--mmmm, cheese.

Favorite Mexican Food: ONE thing? Rajas con crema.

Favorite Mexican Candy: Candied biznaga, glorias, obleas

Favorite Mexican Salad: Pico de Gallo

Favorite Mexican Christmas Food: tamales, tamales, tamales

Favorite Breakfast Place: Café Reencuentro, Guadalajara

Favorite Car (made in Mexico): VW Lupo

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com