Oaxaca: Markets

(Note: If it isn't already obvious... 2009 has been quite the year for me. I apologize for basically abandoning the blog and will try to return to some semblance of regularity after two more things: getting married and honeymooning in New Zealand. :))

I love markets (street markets, marketplaces, etc.) and I've always lamented the lack of them in Southern CA. I'm not talking about a supermarket, which is a whole different thing. I'm talking about a big place with various stalls, manned by vendors who sell one thing or one type of thing. Southern California has farmers' markets, but they aren't permanent fixtures. One of my favorite American marketplaces is Reading Terminal Market in Philadephia.

Oaxaca is filled with markets. There are some really big markets that draw tourists and locals alike and several smaller ones that have the homier feel of a neighborhood deli. After breakfast at La Olla, we started wandering towards 20th de Noviembre. On the way, we wandered into the Benito Juárez market.

My first, of many, encounters with quesillo, which is fresh Oaxacan cheese very reminiscent of mozzarella. In fact, the coils have the texture and taste of string cheese, only a whole lot fresher.

I didn't take a photo, but Benito Juárez was where I first saw chapulines, or grasshoppers. I consider myself to be a brave soul when it comes to food. I thought I was fazed by nothing, but when I looked down at the pile of thoraxes and striated abdomens, I froze. The kindly vendor offered me a sample, but I could only smile weakly and say, "No gracias, Señora."

Epic fail. I blame sleep deprivation.

I did recover my sense of adventure to try them at a later point.

Tons of mole paste for sale. I'm told that you can bring the jarred stuff back to the States, but this freshly packed paste? Not sure if it would clear customs.

Carne (meat)... lots of it. I loved the variety, the links, the fact that it doesn't come shrink-wrapped in pre-cut, unidentifiable pieces. I love that the smell, while a bit overwhelming, was actually of fresh meat. I know that elicits a scathing duh from some, but if you grew up in suburbia like me, that smell isn't always part of the meat-purchasing experience.

Chiles... the sheer variety was stunning.

We headed a couple of blocks south to 20th de Noviembre.

We walked through that bright blue doorway and promptly found ourselves in a glorious hall of meat. Lots of it. Grilled to perfection with real charcoal.

We were a little full from breakfast, majorly sleep-deprived, and a little overwhelmed by both the crowds and the warm weather. Grilled meat wasn't exactly appetizing at that moment, but boy, did we miss out.

Surrounding the markets and dotting the Oaxaca City center were Mayordomo chocolate stores. We watched a young man feed cacao beans and cinnamon into a hand-cranked machine to make chocolate paste. The paste fell onto a pile of sugar, which was hand-mixed.

Later in our trip, we had a chance to visit the Sanchez Pascual market, which was smaller and located in a quiet residential neighborhood.

It was far less crowded and hectic than the other markets, filled with fruits and veggies of all kinds.

These look like the perfect stereotype of an heirloom tomato. Perhaps they're just "tomatoes" (or, more appropriately, tomates) in Oaxaca.

We were at Sanchez Pascual because of our cooking class at Casa Crespo. Our instructor mentioned that a lot of the vendors grow the fruit and veggies at home. Talk about local.

Ah, who can turn down a sugared pastry filled with custard. Not me.

We also visited the huge Abastos market, which was incredibly overwhelming and we didn't spend enough time exploring it. Unfortunately, our short visit also precluded pictures, but it was an incredible and chaotic mass of people, products, and activity.

My favorite online resource for Oaxaca markets was Planeta. The interface isn't the most user-friendly, but the information was detailed and excellent.

Oaxaca: La Olla

Could there be anything wrong with an airline that serves complimentary booze?

I'd say no, except I did find one thing. The airline could serve it on a red-eye flight, the people behind yours truly become trashed and start talking REALLY LOUDLY all. freaking. night. long.

With that said, however, I do have to give a massive shout-out to Mexicana Airlines. Fantastic service, decent food, tons of leg room, and the aforementioned free booze. Top all of that with a great fare and our trip to Oaxaca was off to a boozy and thrifty start.

By the time we arrived, we were massively sleep-deprived and needed some calories and caffeine. La Olla has been mentioned on many food and travel sites, so we decided to stop there for breakfast. The one thing we loved about Oaxaca was the strong coffee. It's strong and beautifully balanced, so we were chugging mug after mug of black coffee without cream or sugar. Even though I'm not a big fan of adding cream and sugar to my coffee, I usually do it when I think it'll help. In Oaxaca, however, it would have ruined the perfectly pungent brew.

The bread was delicious... sweet with a vaguely wheat-y earthiness.

The condiments? Yes, that's right... jam, salsa, and the best butter on this planet. The butter was so rich and so flavorful that we considered trying to sneak it back into the States. Or take regular trips across the border to Tijuana to buy butter. Jam and salsa seemed weird at first, but they paired surprisingly well. We probably weren't supposed to pair them, but hey, they were there...

I ordered a tortilla de flor de calabaza (squash blossom frittata). The egg was mixed with squash blossoms, zucchini, onion, and epazote, a herb that is supposed to be pungent, but seemed to blend seamlessly with the other flavors. I could also have been so sleep-deprived that my brain wasn't processing unfamiliar flavors.

I don't normally like omelets for breakfast because they can be really heavy. Yet, this one was light and refreshing and was still heavy enough to stave off hunger for a while. All and all, a worthy stop in Oaxaca. La Olla is part of the Casa de los Bugambilias B&B and is also linked to the La Casa de los Sabores cooking school, which was highly recommended in our research for Oaxacan cooking classes.

La Olla
Reforma No. 402-1
Col. Centro Oaxaca, Oax. Mexico, 68000

Where I've been...

Oh, crap... it's May. Almost June.

After many attempted comebacks, I'm starting yet another one. It's been a while and life has been incredibly busy. The first half of 2009 has been filled with travel, some great projects, and amazing food... here's a mini-scrapbook:

Land of seven moles...

Land of enchantment...

Land of 10,000 lakes...

Land of insanely fabulous cheese...

Land of fabulous food...

Lastly, we've been scrambling to get things done by August. Someone once told me that wedding planning was busy at the beginning, a lull in the middle, and scrambling at the end. I agree, because once we had a venue, we procrastinated like hell.

Now we're scrambling like crazy to get things done... it feels like we're planning the wedding in three months!

In the midst of all of this, I found out that grad school wasn't going to happen this year. I was waitlisted at a couple of schools and finally formally rejected at the end of April. Oh, well... my consolation is another year in beautiful San Diego and another year of fabulous eats.

Let's hope this is the return of semi-regular posting... starting with that long-overdue recap of our Oaxacan adventure.