Sunday, October 28, 2012

Market, Zocalo, Great Food and Amazing People

Otherwise known as last Saturday :)

Nicholas did not have to work last weekend, so we got to spend the whole weekend together!

Saturday morning we splurged on overpriced room-service of chilaquiles (which were delicious) before we met up with Miguel and his parents, nephew and great-nephew. After we spent a good hour having coffee and eating pan de muerte in our lobby with everyone, we piled into their two cars and headed to the famous San Angel Saturday Bazaar where local artists had beautiful canvases on display and loads of vendors selling cool decorations, clothes, sarapes, jewelry, and delicious food!
Pan de muerte; The pieces on the top are supposed to look like bones and are eaten around this time in honor of el dia de los muertos. It is a sugary, sweet bread. 
Before we got to the Bazaar, the family made a detour to the best barbacoa in the city. And holy moly, that was a delicious meal. First thing you do upon entering a restaurant like this one, is to wash your hands at the public sink. Then they serve you a plate of hot, tender and unbelievably flavorful barbocoa, along with fresh tortillas and a variety of toppings such as salsa verde, avocado, fresh cheese, cilantro, and nopal. There are no utensils, you use your five chopsticks :) We also had the pleasure of tasting something called 'jugo de la olla' literally translates to juice of the pot. I had never heard of this before and they insisted everyone must have it. We each got a steaming cup of... barbacoa drippings. They put a pot below the meat while it is cooking underground to catch all the fats and juices. Then they sell this juice to be eaten alongside your barbacoa. Don't get me wrong, the flavor was super smoky and quite good, I just had trouble drinking straight fat. When we finished our meal, we had to be rolled out.
have you seen a happier pair? YUM!
In front of restaurant
We arrived at the beautiful neighborhood of San Angel and were able to walk off our enormous lunch. Nicholas and I, luckily, didn't bring much cash to buy, so we just window shopped and admired the work. Miguel and his family did some damage and bought plenty of great things for the upcoming birth of his son (!) then we sat in a beautiful cafe to have another coffee and some typical Mexican desserts. From there, we piled back into the cars and headed to El Centro. To see the main square, Zocalo, and cathedral before having dinner at a typical Mexican Cafe.
Nicholas and Miguel's mother Salsa dancing off the square
We ate many delicious things, we saw beautiful art and crafts, we spent time with a wonderful and warm family and saw great sites. If we had only one day in Mexico, I think this would have been a perfect way to spend it and to get a real feel of the beautiful country and people.

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