Mexico City: Eating Worms at El Rincon del Conejo

Making fresh tortillas at El Rincon del Conejo.


We're on the road to Teotihuacan and we're hungry.

On this Sunday morning, myself, Joseph, Pablo and Reg have joined up with Sylvia's family to visit the pyramids of Teotihuacan. As we leave the urban congestion of Mexico City behind for the one hour journey to Teotihuacan we start to see the real Mexico. There's grass and mountains. There are trains with people riding on top of box cars.

But we need to eat and Sylvia's dad has just the spot: El Rincon del Conejo. The Corner of the Rabbit.

Walk in and it's all Mexico. The festive paper cutouts hang from the wall. A machine pumps out fresh tortillas onto a comal. It's rustic and festive at the same time - and evidently the food here is delicious.


Delicious nopal salsa.

Without much delay, we get right to it. Some salsa and nopal is dropped in front of us. The nopal is prepared with lime juice, tomatoes, chiles and onions, and it's absolutely delicious. In fact, it's the best I've ever had. Unfortunately, most places don't clean their cactus very well, which leaves a slimy film covering the surface that detracts from the flavor and experience. This is fresh, clean and fantastic.

First up, is a round of sopes, formed and shaped tortillas filled with refried beans, onions, chiles and cilantro. It's warm, fresh and the tortilla is slightly crisp. From here, things take a very interesting turn.


Sopes.

I've always maintained that I'll try anything. At least once. Put it in front of me and chances are that I'll eat it. Maybe it's an open mind for culinary adventure, or maybe it's just a macho thing. Either way, I'm about to be put to the test.

Two hot, sizzling ceramic bowls arrive with accompanying tortillas. Chinicuiles in one and Escamole in the other. That's Maguey Worms and Ant Eggs to you and me.

Yes, you did read that right: Maguey Worms and Ant Eggs.


Sylvia's aunt offers some Escamole.

Actually, the ant eggs look pretty innocuous. Little while things that could pass for cooked caviar. But nothing can hide the odd look of the red Maguey worm. They look like worms - no ands, ifs or buts about it, they're worms sauteed with chiles, cilantro and onions.

Eating them is pretty straightforward. Just take a scoop and put it on a tortilla. Add some salsa and eat. Again, the ant eggs are pretty innocuous. Simple. Easy. There's an interesting flavor to them that I can't really describe, but it's not offensive. The worms, on the other hand, are something else.


Taco de Chinicuiles.

There's no way around it. They're worms. And you know it. Perhaps it's the fact that you know they're worms and your preconditioned to think that eating worms is gross - because you can't separate yourself from the gross factor in your mind. Scoop it out, add some salsa (maybe a lot), roll it up and take a bite. The flavor is odd. Different. Not bad. Just different.

The weird part is the slight crunchiness that comes from the fried skin of the worms. You can't get over it. It's there. It's crunchy. You know it's not chicharrones. A part of you wants to cry but you press on.


Taco de Escamole.

Aside from the weird crunchiness, it's really not that bad. The flavor is mild and I have to wonder if my reaction isn't fueled more by social conditioning than by the actual experience of eating worms. In American culture, eating worms is gross and disgusting. You just don't do it. And I wonder: if I had eaten the worms without being told that they were worms, what would my reaction have been? Perhaps the less I know about the food I'm eating, the better.

El Rincon del Conejo is known for their odd selection of cuisine. On the menu, they've got crocodile, birds, buffalo, deer, goat, ostrich and more - including their namesake rabbit. The menu is large and varied, making it difficult to choose. I ask the guy what is his recommendation and it's for the deer.


Pan Dulces

Some pan dulce lands on our table and it's always the highlight of my Mexican meals. Pablo beats me to the chocolate covered concha so I opt for the regular. It's light, fluffy and moist. Pablo notes how it's hard to find concha in the States (he's in L.A.) that's moist and delicious because of our American penchant for making everything large. I think about the Mexican bakeries in Maryland and, they too, make the conchas a bit too big - and perhaps that's why they're usually dry.

But these are delicious. Almost perfect. I wish I had coffee. But our food is coming and I don't want to load up too soon.


Corte de Venado a las brasas

When the deer arrives, it looks tasty. Simply seasoned and grilled, the meat is thin and not as tough as the waiter predicted. There's a slight gamey-ness to it but it's barely noticeable. It's served with grilled nopal and cebollitas with fresh tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, jalapeno and hot tortillas. Quite simply, it's fantastic.


Arrachera - con frijoles, nopal asado, cebollitas y chile toreado.

Both Pablo and Joseph have opted for the steak Arrachera. Simply grilled with some cactus and beans. I had a taste and it too was delicious. Down at the other end of the table, Reg and the family went for the mixed special that featured just about everything this place has to offer. It was the smarter move. One that I didn't think of but wished I did.

The rest of the meal went smoothly. More bread and more deer and I was stuffed. Time to move on and visit Teotihuacan.


Parrillada Especial - cordoniz, filete, costillitas, chistorra, puerco, pollo, cecina, cebollitas, 1/4/ conejo, rodajas de queso y chiles asados.


Sylvia eats a rabbit leg.


The coffee people in us compels us to shoot this vintage Faema E61 Lever espresso machine they're still using.


El Rincon del Conejo
Carretera Lecheria Texcoco 19.5
Chapingo 56230
Texcoco, Mexico

Phone: 9558602

Mexico City: Barista Party

Salvador, Aleli and Ileana at the party.

Every good barista competition has to have a barista party. It's de rigeur and CMB hosts Arturo Hernandez and Cleofas Arreola know how to have a good time. They've set us up in a the beautiful home of their friend and caterer who produced a tasty Japanese-inspired buffet and open bar (read: tequila abuse).

Unlike some barista parties I've attended, the CMB is small and by invitation only. Only barista competitors, their friends and judges are invited - and you must bring the printed invite because there's a doorman. While it makes for a more intimate gathering, it's so much easier to sit down, chat with new friends and talk story and drink tequila all evening. Other, more lavish (and larger) affairs are so huge that the competitors are lost in the crowd and it's just a big party and you spend half the night just searching for the person you'd like to chat with. Then, by the time you've found each other, it's so loud that you can't talk - not to mention that the food is gone in the first 45 minutes because they've opened the doors and allowed the entire city into the party.


Jesus and Laura.


With Samantha Espinosa from Cordoba, Veracruz.


The Pancake Maker: Alvaro Carrasco and his esposa.


Diana Sanchez and Brenda Hernandez from The Lord of Coffee.


With fellow judge, Chef Hugo.


My buffet plate. Nice.


Alejandro Ortiz from Xalapa, Veracruz.


His sister, Ileana...

Mexico City: Pandemonium

Brent and Sonja toast with french pressed Ecco Caffe.


Imagine yourself standing on the stage of Bright Lights, Big City, facing an audience of thousands both in front of you and across the Internet. The tension is palpable. You've spent months and months developing your skills, figuring out a signature drink and rehearsing your performance over and over.

You've experienced the joy and exhilaration of making it into the finals, past thirty of your peers. It's now down to the final six in a winner takes all battle to the death. The action is fast. It's furious. Half point assessments separates you from the losers. This is your time to shine. And then you pass out because you're so overcome with joy the moment the 2nd place finisher is announced.

Pandemonium.



The finals audience at the CMB. It was always this packed.

By now, I've been involved with quite a few barista competitions around the world and I've never experienced anything quite like the CMB - the Competencia Mexicana de Baristas.

As a Finals Technical Judge, I knew the score. Based solely on technicals, I knew who would be named winner. The difference between first and second was razor thin, but I knew. First and Second were trained by the two time Campeon de Mexico and they were tough.

Monster, I thought as I watched her technique. There was nothing out of place. Near perfection in dosing and distribution. Her tamping routine rattled off like a Marine drill sergeant. It never changed. While some baristas wasted up to one gram per dose, she lost nothing. Flawless.



Alvaro and Aleli as they announce the third place finisher.

How does one score flawless? With a perfect score of six? I couldn't give her a six. What if someone came up later with even better technique? I'd have nowhere to go. Five point five it would have to be.

The second place finisher was equally as impressive. Smooth, calm, comfortable. He managed not only to produce the usual three flights of espresso drinks, but whipped up some fresh pancakes to go along with his signature drink. Impressive.

He was good. Damn good. Really Damn Good. But he wasn't her equal. There were twelve coffee grounds on the table next to his grinder at the start. He hadn't stuck his polishing cloth in the crevice where the handle is welded to the steam pitcher. He lost maybe .5 gram of coffee more. Lots of five point five scores, but a few five point zeros. And that was the difference that made the difference.

Add up a few half points and suddenly the winner is walking away with five thousand pesos, a two-group Bezzera espresso machine, a Compak K-10 grinder, a Reg Barber Tamper, a large trophy and a trip to Atlanta in April 2009 to compete in the World Barista Championship.

I knew the score.



Salvador springing into action.


As I stood on stage as Cleofas was announcing the order of the finalists, I pulled out my camera and trained in on Salvador Benitez, who was sitting in the front row hoping for the best. What he was about to receive was something none of us could have expected.

The CMB is the first barista competition to be held under the new August 15, 2008 WBC Rules. A number of changes, large and small have been made. Competitors no longer have to serve all four drinks at the same time. Archaic scores for "Understands Grinder" have been eliminated for the comprehensive "Station Management" score. On the sensory side, the "Judge's Total Impression" is an overview of the barista's skills, taste of beverages and presentation. With a score multiplier, its' potential 24 96 cumulative points can make or break a champion.

The CMB is also the first national competition outside of the United States to offer the event live on the Internet. With a direct feed from the official website, people all across Mexico, North America and the world followed the events as they unfolded. None of them could have predicted what was to come next and I wonder what the stream of conversation was as the events played out.

Standings (as they were announced):

6th - Carlos Delgado Delgado (488.5 points), Independent - Distrito Federal

5th - Arturo Cuevas Ortiz (489 points), Cafe Europa - Morelia, Michoacan

4th - Lancelot Macias Ferreyra (507 points), Cafe Europa - Morelia, Michoacan

3rd - Aquiles Gonzales Pereyra (545 points), Cafe Etrusca - Distrito Federal

As the final two remained, I trained my camera on Salvador, who had trained both of the remaining competitors. Either way, his legacy as champion and now champion trainer was secure. The only question remaining was: which one?

Reg Barber showed me his string of photos that he shot as the 2nd place finisher was announced:

2nd - Alvaro Carrasco Lopez (560 points), Mecafex - Distrito Federal

In Reg's images, an exuberant Alvaro raises his arms in celebration as a wave of joy and happiness washes over Aleli's face. As the three frames progress, you see her smile and joy grow, her head tilting back and by the end of the series, Aleli is falling out of frame.

From my camera's point of view, as Alvaro's name is announced, Salvador is jumping up and out of his seat to cheer, and then is suddenly leaping over the rope separating the audience from the stage.

It is at this point that pandemonium erupts.

Like the moment President Reagan was shot in 1981, it's a mass confusion. People are jumping up and over each other, scrambling towards the new champion. The audience is on their feet. Some are rushing the stage. Members of the press, cameras and cell phones are in a shooting frenzy. The video camera is flailing wildly about. Even the typically well-composed emcee Cleofas is at a loss for words. The champion is down.

Moments drag on like hours. What's going on? No one seems to know. People are yelling. They need help. Some are crying. A nurse and medical team rush into the middle of the fracas and work to restore the peace. In the middle of this, I notice that the on-screen video has switched to a logo and I wonder what the Internet feed looks like and the reaction of the viewers in the chat room.

It's a combination of exhaustion and exhilaration that caused the new champion to faint. After a few minutes, the medical team has done enough to move her from the stage. In about twenty minutes, she'll be back and on her feet looking exhausted, but happy.

Aleli Moreno Labastida (604 points), Cafe Passmar - Distrito Federal



Anette and I with Aleli and Salvador - three years of Mexican Barista Champions.


The 2009 World Barista Championship Season has begun and Mexico has a new champion and perhaps the emergence of a barista dynasty. We'll have to wait until Atlanta in April to find out.

Mexico City: The Hunt For Lunch

Sheets of warm chicharron to nourish the soul.

Our story today begins in the late morning as our intrepid crew piles back into the Chrysler Caravan Minivan for the quick trip to the Del Valle Mercado where we hope to visit and have a coffee at reigning Mexican barista champion Salvador Benitez' Cafe Passmar. The sun is out and the day is bright as we make our way past colorful vendors selling the red, white and green in celebration of the approaching Mexican Independence Day on September 16th. Independence Day here is when the entire nation seems to gather in the Zocalo and the Mexican President traditionally sings from the balcony.

It's 11:30am and the market is surprisingly quiet. A number of vendors are surprisingly closed. At first, I'm not totally 100% sure that Cafe Passmar is even in this market. All I know is what I've been told and what I've been told is that Passmar is in a market and that Salvador lives in Del Valle. It's a slight gamble, but checks out with a quick phone call to Sylvia.


Sarah, Sonja and flowers at the Mercado Del Valle.

The mercado is like a Mexican Food Dream - vendors of all sorts selling just about everything you could need to make mole or fix your car. Fresh chickens, fresh tuna (the cactus fruit, not the fish), freshly ground mole paste in all sorts of colors. Over there is fresh calabasa flowers, to the left are large sheets of chicharron, down a bit are a complete assortment of chiles, or how about some pinatas? Of course, there's freshly boiled tripe, pig's heads and fresh hearts.

In a far corner, I spy a couple of guys hacking away at fresh pig quarters. It's a sight to warm the heart - until you notice the Swift brand cardboard boxes. American commercial pork in the mercados of Mexico City. NAFTA really is evil.

Along the way are quite a few food vendors selling cheeses, menudo and the whole assortment of Mexican cuisine. It's the kind of food that excites me but causes some stomachs in our party to shiver and we must press on.


Andrew gets a bib.

Like I said, I don't really know exactly where Passmar is located. I just know it's somewhere here and guess that it's inside the market since the pictures I've seen of the place look like it's inside the market. I know, I know, it's not hard science, but that's how I roll...

After querying more than three vendors, whose directions I can barely understand, much less remember, I find a security guard who promptly tells me exactly where to find Passmar (down this aisle) but it's cerrado. Closed. Damn.

I don't know if they're simply closed on Saturdays or because Aleli is competing in the finals today.


Anette hungry for chilaquiles con salsa rojo.

Undaunted and hungry, we make our way over to the Delta Parque Mall for lunch at one of my favorite Mexico City restaurants, El Bajio. I had come to believe that I wouldn't make it back here this trip so I was more than happy to persuade our group to eat here. Not surprisingly, it turns out that Sonja had also been to El Bajio on one of her previous visits. With fond memories of great food, we were on.

If you ever get down to Mexico City, I always recommend El Bajio. The food is traditional, originating from Oaxaca, and just delicious. For lunch, we had chilaquiles, nopales, huevos, enfrijoladas, tamal, and more. Andrew even got a complimentary bib to cover his judging tie.


Sonja and her chilaquiles negro.


More on our trip to Mexico City:

Competencia Mexicanas de Baristas

Sarah's Barista Magazine's Blog.

Anette's Square Mile Blog.

Mexico City: Kissing In Dark Places

Sonja, Andrew and Anette at our noon staff meeting.

Day Four in Mexico City starts with a lazy morning in bed. The beauty of the CMB is that the competition doesn't begin until after 1pm, which means that we can sleep in late and catch up on our beauty rest. In what is starting to develop into our routine, we stay in late, have our "staff meeting" in the lobby at noon, eat lunch and then off to the competition.

Lunch today is next door to Don Buche at El Regreso. They've got photos of enchiladas on the wall so we decide to take a chance. Inside, we're greeted with baskets of tortilla chips, bread and butter. I'll get more in-depth with the food later but my chicken enchilada in mole verde was quite good.


Brent's Mole Rojo Enchilada de Pollo at El Regreso.

At the competition, things are rolling along. Competitors are busy practicing and battling nerves. The competition is being held inside the Expo Cafe trade show. It's the largest coffee trade show in Mexico that offers a trade show, barista championship and a variety of workshops like the SCAA. Unlike the SCAA however, it's a smaller trade show flow with fewer vendors but greater attendance.

In fact, the show is so well attended that by the time we start the competition, the audience seating is nearly full. Throughout the afternoon, there's an audience - not just the sixteen people hanging out supporting their friends, like at the USBC, but these are passers-by or interested people who watch for awhile or all afternoon. After surviving the comatose-like environment that is the USBC, seeing a full audience of people is both shocking and exciting.


Adriana and Sylvia at the competition.

Coming from America, one can't help but to expect that Mexico would do things to a lesser degree. In the United States, Mexicans suffer from the image that everyone is poor and ready to swim across the Rio Grande in search of a better live. That the entire nation must be wallowing in some sort of third water backwater. As the CMB proves, Mexico is nipping at the heels (if not surpassing) the USBC. The audience size is greater, they've got a boatload of enthusiastic volunteers and runners, they've got live Internet coverage and they're fending off so many interested barista competitors that they have to hold regional elimination rounds.

Not bad for a third world backwater.

Compared to yesterday, the competition has picked up and getting busy. I had the opportunity to tech judge one of the techs from last years' CMB, Alvaro who came out in what Sarah has dubbed a "Jon Lewis-esque" performance. I mean, how many baristas do you know come out and make pancakes live on stage?



The six finalists of the CMB.

At the end of the day, six tough and deserving finalists were named to tomorrows' finals - including the first-time entry by Aleli, the novia of two-time Mexican Champion Salvador Benitez. Considering the man behind the scenes, Aleli is going to be the one to beat tomorrow.

As with the announcement of any finalists, the room is filled with the disappointment and crushed dreams of those who didn't make the cut. As a judge, this is the time you take to meet with the competitors, answer any questions and explain the scores you gave them. One competitor I wanted to chat with with the last competitor of the day, a young lady who was involved in a car accident that prevented her from competing in her earlier time slot.

She started off her performance with very strong tech scores but started having grind problems during her cappuccino round. She ended up pulling and re-pulling one set of shots five times. Painful. But she was a trooper, maintaining composure and always maintaining a very consistent dose, distribution with almost no coffee waste. Problem was that she didn't change her grind, just kept re-pulling the shot. It cost her an extra four minutes in time, resulting in disqualification. I wanted to make sure she understood that she was amazing in keeping her composure and consistent techniques - and to try again next year.


Secret Tamping Pistons and The Reg Who Made Them.

Our day at the competition didn't end until after 8:30pm and it was back to the hotel to freshen up and meet in the lobby at 9:15pm for dinner. After being whisked away in our minivans to Polanco, we ended up at a restaurant named Biko.

Biko is the logical continuation of our restaurant adventures here in Mexico City. After nearly a week of Italian, French, Chinese and Mexican, we move to the world of Spanish haute cuisine. At Biko, we're served a tasty and delicious multi-course degustation menu offering all sorts of new and interesting combinations. But I'll go into depth with those at another time.


Private dining at Biko.


Callo de Hacha y Camaron con Recaudo y Ensalada.


For now, it's time to hit the bed and get ready for our 11am role call before heading off to Del Valle to visit Salvador's coffee shop in the mercado.

Meanwhile, remember to check out the live Internet coverage starting at 3pm Eastern Time or 2pm Mexico City Time.

I'm sure Sarah will be continuing to offer her view of our activities on Barista Magazine's Pasteboard Blog.

And don't miss Anette's take on things at The Square Mile Blog.

Mexico City: All Good Things

Annette



They say good things come to those who wait.

It's Thursday in Mexico City and the first day of the Competencia Mexicanas de Baristas where our call time for judges isn't until 12 noon. This means that we can sleep in, lounge around or do absolutely nothing all morning. That is, unless you've agreed to help someone get ready for their performance.

That's why on our day off, at 8am, I've dragged myself down to the show floor (and bypassed the chilaquiles lady) to taste the coffee Ana is using for her competition performance. She's using EccoCaffe's tasty espresso and while Andrew himself was supposed to come along, he's still recovering from our very long night.

Quite frankly, I too need to spend more time recovering.

And since my wake up call rang at seven and I've dragged my ass down to the show floor at 8:30am, it would have been nice if she were on time too. Frick.


Brent

Finally, the coffee is flowing and the Ecco is coming out with nice notes of chocolate, honey and tobacco. It's sweet and tasty. The crema is delightfully brown, if slightly on the gassy side (it was roasted seven days ago). It's easy the best espresso I've tasted since I arrived in Mexico City and I think should perform quite well in competition.

Speaking of competition, the Mexican government does not allow the importation of green coffees from outside the country. This means that just about everyone competing is limited to Mexican coffees for their espresso blend, and while there's some great Mexican coffees, it's difficult to develop an espresso blend that can match the complexity of other blends that are able to utilize coffees from anywhere on the planet. This, I think, can give Ana a definite edge against the other competitors.

Once finished with the espresso tasting, I'm off and back to bed for an hour to rest before meeting the rest of our crew in the lobby at noon.


Sarah

At noon, we meet and it's time to eat. At first, we head off looking for the man and woman selling the chicharrones but they're not there. I'm confounded. It's noon and they're nowhere to be seen. Then I remember I ate there around 4pm and maybe they're only there in the afternoon, so I suggest Don Buche.

We descend on Don Buche like a gale force wind. It's carnitas tacos all the way around. Like Monday, they're delicious and the salsa verde is still kicking. We tear through the tacos and Sarah suggests a round of quesadillas. We tear through those as well and then it's time for a round of costilla tacos (rib meat tacos). Again, these tacos are muy delicioso.

After three rounds of tacos and quesadillas, we're stuffed and ready for a full afternoon of judging.


Eating a la ventana

The competition starts a bit later than expected but goes smoothly. Ana pulls off a solid performance - the best I've ever seen her. She's practiced, ready and focused. The shots look good and I think she's got a good chance to make it to the finals. I didn't see everyone but two other competitors stood out: Samantha and Aleli (current champion Salvador's novia), both of whom look like solid contenders for the finals.

Within our little crew, we've been wondering just when we're finally going to eat real Mexican food - even plotting on how to convince our hosts that Mexican would be an ideal choice when they announce that we will indeed be going to a real Mexican restaurant tonight. We rejoice as angels cry.

Paraphrasing something that Jon Lewis talks about, here in Mexico City, we've found our "tribe." And each night, our tribe grows larger and larger. New friends and old gather to celebrate our time together. Thirteen of us pile into two minivans for the nearly one hour trip (because of traffic) down Insurgentes Sur to the neighborhood of San Angel - the onetime home of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.


The Reg eats Chile en Nogada at the San Angel Inn.

In fact, we end up at The San Angel Inn, right next door to Diego and Frida's famous homes that are connected by a bridge. The San Angel Inn is a gorgeous restaurant housed in an old Carmelite Monastery. The food is decidedly upper-class Mexican with a mix of traditional Mexican cuisine and European continental.

September in Mexico means one thing: Chiles en Nogada and half the table goes for it. For the uninitiated, it's a roasted and peeled poblano pepper stuffed with spiced ground beef, potatoes and walnuts, covered in sweet walnut sauce with pomegrates and more chopped walnuts and served cool. It's a delicious savory and sweet dish that begs a coffee pairing.


Annette succumbs to the "take pictures of your food" madness.

Our tribe has grown into a diverse and eclectic group of people and we have a great time. A Mariachi trio comes by our table to sing for Andrew, who is celebrating his birthday today. We rejoice.



Sarah tastes the flamed Cafe El Diablo.

NOTE:
I know these are rather abridged entries but we're jamming here in Mexico City and I'll have to follow up later with more in-depth write ups of our time at all of these great places. In the meantime, be sure to watch the live video feed Friday and Saturday - it's the only national competition outside of the USBC and WBC to offer live coverage.

Also, for an alternative viewpoint of our activities, be sure to check out Sarah's entries on Barista Magazine's Pasteboard Blog.a



Annette and the community dessert.

Mexico City: Continues

Annette, Brent, Andrew, Sonja, Me and Terry at the Museo de Frida Kahlo.

So far, it's been nothing short of a whirlwind 48 hours here in Mexico City. We spent our day yesterday , and half our day today, at the judges training workshop. It's interesting to watch the judges develop their skill because it's a struggle to balance the judges desire to score accurately and sharply with the need to reward the barista competitors appropriately. The days are long and jammed with information, and somewhere you find balance.

Outside of the workshop, us "foreigh" judges have been making camp at the Crowne Plaza Hotel where we start off with morning buffet breakfast at the hotel, then buffet lunch at the workshop site and then dinner out on the town - all of which have been taken care of by our gracious hosts Arturo and Cleofas.

From my perspective, there's been a positive angle to the judges training. In the meeting room next door, they were holding a practice session for the upcoming Miss Mexico / Miss Universe pageant. That means our workshop hotel has been flooded with some of the most beautiful girls this nation has to offer. It's been a visual treat - even those most of the girls are a bit too emaciated for my tastes.


Victor of El Jarocho pulls some coffee for us to see.

At night, our small clan gathers and heads out for dinner. The first night, we walked down the street to a restaurant called La Strega - The Witch, serving quite good Italian food. Last night, we were taken to one of the most outrageous and amazing Chinese restaurants called Hunan where they prepared the peking duck not in the traditional rice cake but in Mexican corn tortillas. Quite delicious.

Tonight, we were whisked off to Polanco (the Beverly Hills of Mexico City) to eat Alsatian/French food at L'Alsace. Again, the food here was quite good. One of the girls recommended their steak tartare over the ribeye and I went for it and was handsomely rewarded. I just wish the portions were slightly smaller.


The judges review Victor's coffee.

But after three nights of fantastic meals at some of the citys' best restaurants, we're beginning to wonder when we're going to try some traditional Mexican cuisine. All of this great food is nice, but we're in the home of Mexican Cuisine. I'm hoping we'll be eating some great Mexican soon.

Meanwhile, we spent this afternoon touring parts of the city. First, down to Coyoacan and the Museo de Frida Kahlo. It's an excellent stop and highly recommended - especially if you know anything about her and her famous husband Diego Rivera. From there, we walked around the zocalo where they've closed the plaza while repaving the streets around it with concrete faux cobblestone.

After walking around a bit, we headed over the famed El Jarocho where our incessant picture taking attracted the attention of the owner Victor who brought out an apron for some of us to wear in the photos and showed us samples of his green coffee. I guess he was happy to have a bunch of roasters from Santa Rosa, Iceland and London hanging out at his cafe.


Waiting for the boat at Xochimilco.

After some of the girls did some shopping, we made the long trek down to Xochimilco where we hired a boat for an hour and took a lazy cruise down the canals while being tempted by transient vendors hawking everything from grilled corn to silver jewelry to dolls to blankets, roses and more. Some would come alongside in their own boat while others would hop aboard ours. Since it was a slow tourist day, everyone was in a selling mood and it was a bit odd to take on passengers whose only mission was to sell you something.

And as luck would have it, it started to rain while we were on the water. First, light drizzles, then the downpour. And just as Annette was saying that she heard a forecast for thunderstorms, the rumble of a thunderstorm trembled in the distance. Happily, there was no lightning.


The girls ready for dinner. Men around the world are insanely jealous.