Our gastronomic food tour of Puebla began at a glass boutique. Martha appended this to the beginning of our epicurean experience because Joan wanted to see samples of work from artists unique to Puebla. You’ve all seen the clear Mexican water glasses with the blue rims, and this design originated in Puebla.
I was overwhelmed by the variety of glass offered here and its history. The family opened their shop in 1935, and although they have moved the glass blowing to a new location, they still sell their glass from the original shop. There are glass molds on display, and they explain how that’s how the blowers maintain uniformity with their pieces.
After the glass shop, we crossed the street, and headed to Salón Mezcalli. It turns out it was inside the same hotel where we’d had our rooftop lunch experience the previous week. Their specialty is mezcal, which unfortunately I don’t care for. It’s a shame, and frequently a difficulty, that I don’t like any of the three alcohols Mexico is famous for: mezcal, tequilla, and cerveza. I have learned to enjoy some higher end tequilas, however, so I capitulated to a tasting. The waiter poured me one mezcal and two tequilas. I’ll be honest, I didn’t care for any of them, but I did found a tequila with complex flavors that did not blow me away with alcohol and chose a glass of that.
Having looked around at the other tables, I was excited when it came time to order our food. We agreed to share, and I was delighted when her husband said he wasn’t hungry as I got to double up on the foods I liked most. I used my personally developed pantomime to avoid food from any parts of the animal I did not care for. I ask the waiter to point to the part on his body that represents the part of the animal that the food is coming from. Fortunately, prairie oysters weren’t on the menu so we avoided that awkward gesture.
After turning down meat that had our waiter pointing to his head or stomach, we finalized our food sampling order. I suppose some of you think I’m not being authentic by not trying the local delicacies, but it’s not for lack of being adventurous. In the past I’ve eaten scorpion, worms, and even turkey testicles. There are just some things I choose not to repeat, like anything that has to do with the last part of your body that processes food before it becomes excrement. On that note, I find it interesting that people will eat chicken feet or pigs feet considering the environment that those foods spent most of their time marinating in.
There was a bit of a surprised gasp from my meal companions and the waiter when my eyes lit up at the mention of a dish with chapulines. I love grasshopper. Whenever I come to Mexico, I use them as a snack alternative to potato chips, especially on long days hiking. Like escargot, the grasshoppers are deep fried in oil and covered with spices that make them taste more like BBQ potato chips than anything else. Unfortunately, I was not able to taste them in the fried noodles appetizer we ordered, but it was delicious.
After the mezcaleria, we walked through Callejón de los Sapos (Alley of the frogs), a colorful alley filled with antique shops and popular with photographers. We stopped in for a palette cleanser I’d never hear of called Pasita. It comes in a tall shot class, and the decoration is a toothpick with a pat of butter and a raisin. Our server told us the taste of the two complemented the alcohol, and as unbelievable as that sounds, it really did. It was kind of like the lime and salt with tequila. Personally, I think that’s more for show, but the butter really did go with the Pasita.
As we downed our shots, the bar tender told us to look at the floor. He pointed to an outline of a man who once won a drinking contest by downing 1000 shots of Pasita in a row. Perhaps I misunderstood 1000 for 100, but either way, the dead guy was the winner!
The next stop on our epicurean adventure was a winner for the best food presentation I’ve ever seen. Martha arranged for us to do a five course tasting at Maizal. It is her favorite restaurant in Puebla, and when the dishes started arriving, I couldn’t argue with her assessment. It was food delivered in a way I’d never seen before, like a tamale dusted with blue spirulina. I love the idea of eating traditional Mexican food presented in a non-traditional way, though the taste was disappointingly not equal to the appearance.
What did not disappoint, however, were the baked goods from the bakery that was part of the restaurant. They looked and tasted like the light pastries you get from a french bakery. We got a couple for ourselves and one for her husband before heading off to our last stop.
Martha led us on a 10 minute walk to the Zocalo at the center of Puebla. We rode the tiny elevator four stories up to the rooftop patio of Áttico 303 with a view straight across to Puebla’s main cathedral. We each ordered a drink, and Martha’s husband, finally hungry, ordered a steak. I have to admit it looked so delicious I wished I could bring myself to eat one, though he was kind enough to share a couple bites with me. It appeared like that was the food he’d been holding out for all night.
As we reflected on our time in Puebla, I had to admit that I’d seen it in a new light and shared that Joan and I most certainly planned to return to rent an apartment there in the future. As if to celebrate my declaration to adopt the city as our own, fireworks began to explode above our heads. Martha was quick to take credit for the choreographed coup de gras of the evening with one last display of color.