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Las Bodegas Del Molino
Calzada del Bosque 12 , Puebla (Mexico)
A 15-minute taxi ride out of Puebla's historic center lies Las
Bodegas Del Molino, a palatial restaurant housed in a former hacienda.
The taxi ride costs 70 pesos each way (about $6.50).
Las Bodegas is clearly one of the fanciest places in town; the
service is attentive, the restaurant has a good wine cellar, and the
building itself is splendid, but ultimately, we did not find the food as
good as the meals we had at the Mesones Sacristia and La Quinta Luna.
Part of this wasn't entirely due to Las Bodegas itself -- we ate here
on one of the evenings of the Day of the Dead celebrations, and the
place was EMPTY. It was kind of creepy, really -- my friend Tammy and I
were the only customers there, sitting in a picturesque, glassed-in
arcade that, on a normal night, would have held roughly 60 customers.
Somewhere behind us, in one of the restaurant's many, many dining rooms,
a pianist played, which increased the sensation of weird solitude.
After adjusting to the Twilight Zone atmosphere, we perused the menu
and chose our dishes. The waitstaff, for their part, took having to work
on a holdiay in stride, and were cheerful and patient with my minimal
Spanish.
Tammy started off with Las Bodegas' special mushroom soup (about 35
pesos), with lots of portobellos in a rich chili-spiced broth. It was
something like French Onion soup, only with mushrooms in place of the
onions.
Along with the soup came a basket of dry wholegrain rolls and cute
pats of butter wrapped in cornusks, so that they looked like tiny
tamales--one of those presentations where the sheer amount of labor that
went into it makes you feel slightly guilty about acually eating
the food.
We considered ordering the salt-baked red snapper, a house specialty
(350 pesos for two), but found the prospect of waiting 35 minutes in the
empty restaurant for it to be prepared a bit daunting. In the end, we
both chose another house specialty, thin sliced steak topped with
sauteed mushrooms and cheese, garnished with a small serving of refried
black beans.
The steak was tender and the mushrooms fine, but Tammy and I found
the thick blanket of melted cheese that covered the steak a bit too
much. The quarter inch layer of salty cheese (Oxacan string cheese
perhaps? It tasted a little like store bought block mozerella.)
overwhelmed the taste of the mushrooms and thin slices of steak. (100
pesos).
Once we had finished eating our entrees, I ordered espresso, which
was quite good. Note that an espresso in Puebla seems to be about four
times the size of an American espresso, so prepare yourself for the
caffine buzz.
Coffee consumed, we gladly headed through Las Bodegas admittedly
charming central courtyard and back to our taxi--and civilization.
Mesones Sacristia de la
Compania
304 Callejon de Los Sapos , Puebla
(Mexico)
Situated in the charming Mesones Sacristia de la Compania hotel in
Puebla's historic district, this award-winning restaurant serves
traditional Pueblan cuisine, including the famous Mole Poblano (the
national dish of Mexico, which originated in the convents of Puebla).
The romantic dining areas take up much of the hotel's first floor.
You can opt to eat in the lovely courtyard, decorated with religious
painting and lit by candles, or in one of two cosy rooms off the bar.
They are decorated with antique furniture and Talavera pottery and
festooned with colorful streamers of papel picado -- tissue paper with
lacy cutout designs.
The restaurant's chef, Alonzo, turns out delicious, subtly spiced
dishes that are unlike any Mexican food available in the US. The
restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and is open from 8am to
11pm. The breakfast menu includes traditional Mexican favorites such as
chocolate caliente, enchiladas, chilaquiles (corn tortilla chips and
shredded chicken in either red or green sauce, garnished with onion,
fresh cheese, avocado, and creme fraiche), and molletes naturales
(refried black beans with fresh cheese and crusty rolls). You can also
have American dishes, like pancakes and waffles or scrambled eggs with
ham.
For lunch or dinner, the menu's standouts include perejil frito, an
appetizer of crispy, deep-fried parsley garnishing bacon and shrimp,
served with a chipotle cream cheese -- it's really delicious and one of
the chef's family recipes. If you like soup, be sure to try the sopa
sacristia, a brothy soup with chiles, chicken, tortilla strips, and
avocado, served with cubes of fresh cheese (not unlike Indian paneer)
and crispy, fried pork rinds (chicharrones) for garnish. Also don't miss
the Carne Franciscana, tender marinated skirt steak garnished with rajas
(grilled poblano peppers and onions) and fresh guacamole, traditional
Pueblan pipian verde, an herb sauce that's thickened with toasted
pumpkin seeds and served over poached chicken breast, or Alonzo's own
Cazuela Poblana, a dish of flank steak cooked in red sauce with black
beans and cilantro.
If you have a sweet tooth like me, try the crepas de cajeta for
dessert -- crepes covered in goat's milk caramel and served with vanilla
ice cream. You can also opt for a plate of sweets that are Pueblan
specialties, including the famous camotes -- fruit-flavored candies that
are made with sweet potato. The restaurant also has a full bar (the
Sacristia cocktail is particularly tasty) and good espresso and
cappuccino.
Quinta Santa Elena
Km 5 Carr. Federal a Atlixco, Col. Emiliano Zapata , Puebla (Mexico)
, (2) 284-0335
A genuine Mexican buffet with lots of home recipes that
would please anyone that likes genuine cuisine from Mexico. The
restaurant has a huge patio and different salons, just in case you have
a special event to celebrate in groups ranging from 20 persons to up to
300. The patio is a perfect place for kid to run and have tons of fun,
but just in case they still have energy left, they can visit a small zoo
and horse rides at about $1 each, all within a safe and secluded site
with lots of landscaping for your relaxation.
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