One of the things I learned during our trip to Emilia-Romagna was the value of a good food tour when visiting the culinary centers of countries. Not having had too much exposure to the cuisine of Oaxaca, I thought that finding a good food tour would do us good. And after doing some research, I found Me Encanta Oaxaca. It just seemed like a good fit for us, so I made reservations. This would turn out to be a fantastic tour as we learned a lot, not only about the cuisine, but the history, and other fun "stuffs" about Oaxaca. One of the owners and the person who would lead our tour Betsaida ("Betsy") contacted us several times to give us info on the tour and also some advice beforehand……"don't eat breakfast….or just enough so that you will be hungry, but not 'hangry'." Along with safety guidelines, etc.
The meeting place was in front of Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán and Betsy was easy to find. We loved that there were only five of us on the tour. We sampled and covered a huge amount of food; so from this point on, I'm going to keep it brief.
First stop was just a block away.
Tacos del Carmen, a very popular street stall.
Man, that Empanada de Mole Amarillo con Flor de Calabaza y Hierba Santa was soooo delici-yoso!
We also got to try the "Taco" de Chile Relleno.
Tacos Del Carmen
Jesús Carranza 110
68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico
We then headed up a block-and-a-half to the colorful Mercado Sánchez Pascuas.
Here Betsy went over some of the more interesting produce and we had tastes of Aguacate Criollo, Nanche, Curuba, Tuna Roja, and Jiotilla which you see below.
Betsy took us to various stands and we got to meet the folks who made what we'd be tasting….
The tamales were delicious; though the Missus still didn't care for the mole negro….
We got our caffeine fix from one of the stands along with some dulces.
The tour wasn't just food; there was history and sights as well. In fact, Betsy would quiz us on some of the history. I actually answered one of the questions correctly. Of course, I'd already learned a bit about Porfirio Díaz when we were in Guanajuato.
We headed off a block away to Rufino Tamayo.
Did you know that Oaxaca has an aqueduct?
And to go even beyond the history, this "famous" movie was filmed in the area.
In fact you might just recognize the scene filmed here.
We walked over to Plaza Cruz de Piedra.
Where there's an interesting stone cross.
As we headed down to Mercado Benito Juárez Betsy went over some history and quizzed us.
Once we got into the bustling market we headed to a bustling stand.
Where we got to try Tejate which was soooo good.
And Betsy took the time to show us some of the other vendors she likes in the market.
We then headed across the street to Mercado 20 de Noviembre where Betsy said "I hope you're hungry now!" And soon enough we were in the famous "Pasillo de Humo" ("Hall of Smoke"). Yes, this is the place that one of our favorite restaurants in CDMX is named after. And when say "hall of smoke" they ain't kidding.
Here you can choose your meat…..
And they grill it up for you…..
Betsy got us a table and we just enjoyed…well, pasillo de humo……
And soon the food started arriving…..
Gusanos, Chicatanas, and Chapulines. Good stuff!
The proteins….Tasajo, carne, chorizo, tripa…..
A huge Tlayuda…..
A sampler of Mole…..well, the Missus still didn't care for mole, it was too sweet for Her tastebuds, so this was going to be interesting.
She did enjoy the Pan de Yerma and Chocolate de Agua……in fact we'd go shopping for some of that before we returned home.
This was a fantastic tour.
We even got a list of places to try and areas to visit. And best of all, we asked Betsy where to buy hats…….and she gave us a recommendation. So here's the deal, I've never looked good in hats…..never, ever. But we headed to the place she recommended after our tour and I found a hat!
We ate so much that we didn't even bother with dinner. We just took a short walk.
Of course I wore my hat…….
So, if you're ever in Bay Park and you see some middle aged Asian dude wearing a Cowboy Hat and a "Ojai Psychic Friends Network" t-shirt…..well, that would be me.
Make sure to say hello, ok?