Devouring Oaxaca City

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In all my years of traveling, I've always dismissed Mexico as being "too close" or maybe even "too easy." While a few regions here and there interested me—mainly Oaxaca and Chiapas—whenever some vacation time dropped in my lap, I would always choose somewhere a little more off-the-beaten-track. It took a friend's unfortunate change of circumstances to convince me fate had chosen Oaxaca as my quick summer trip.

Our friend Lindsay was living in Oaxaca studying midwifery, and Rubina was all set to visit her in April. When Lindsay's grandfather got sick, she had to cut her time short. Rubina was debating on whether or not she should still visit Oaxaca alone, but when I started considering the amazing food possibilities, she was all too happy to simply change her ticket to May. Jasmine soon jumped on board.

Together we explored the best of Oaxaca...the best food, that is. With three people we could share food and experiment with more dishes. We rarely saw other foreign travelers due to recent unrest in the region, so having a built-in travel network was great for walking around at night or hitting the local bars.

Oaxaca's best feature is truly the food. For those who have only ever had mole poblano or mole negro, Oaxaca's variety in these complex sauces simply astonishes. Seven major moles are represented here, and unique versions made with fruits are amazing as well. Even the humblest street taco was so delectable I felt like I were tasting Mexican food for the first time. I really started wondering why this culinary culture had not spread further into Central America, where food tends to be bland and simple.

In addition to its boggling range of savory treats, Oaxaca is justifiably proud of its chocolate. Chocolate con leche (or con agua) is drunk daily and is available in dedicated chocolate shops, market stands, and restaurants. Chocolate is also sold in paste or block form for cooking.

Oaxaca is a shopping wonderland. I've saved souvenir money on many a voyage to countries without a culture of handmade, locally-produced crafts; but in Oaxaca, I wanted to buy everything. From beautifully-designed rugs to delicately-carved pottery, from decorative skeletons to ceramic jewelry, Oaxaca is filled to the brim with gifts any visitor would love to take

Quick Tips:

Oaxaca can be experienced on a variety of budgets. The best-known (and likely for good reason) restaurant in town is Casa de Oaxaca. My estimate is an amazing dinner there would be under , so pretty reasonable for most first-world travelers. However, scrumptious food can be easily found on the streets, in the markets, and in simple eateries; for just a few dollars and untold times better than Mexican food available in your home country. We decided we could skip the super-fancy meal and make do with semi-fancy.

We carried both the Moon Guide Oaxaca and Lonely Planet Mexico. For a weeklong trip, the section in Lonely Planet is probably sufficient, but I like not being dependent on any one guidebook publisher. Moon's is currently the only Oaxaca-focused guide I could find.

The guidebooks provide good starter ideas for food, but anecdotal advice for a place like Oaxaca is the way to go. While it's impossible to have a bad meal, we definitely appreciated having Lindsay's advice on places that were not listed in either guidebook.

But I stress that you cannot have a bad meal, and finding our own favorite spots in the 20 de Noviembre Mercado and stumbling upon El Baresito were memorable experiences.

Oaxaca is a really well-rounded state to visit. Apart from the amazing city itself, there are mountains and ancient ruins nearby, and beautiful beaches somewhat less nearby. Easily combined with a short visit to Mexico City, Oaxaca makes a great vacation for a variety of travelers.

Best Way To Get Around:

Oaxaca City is tiny. In general, you can walk everywhere in town. The only time we took a taxi (which was pretty cheap) was to go to the bus stations. The local bus stations are relatively easy to get to by walking without much luggage. The second-class long-distance station is sort of in walking distance, but not pleasurable with luggage. The first-class station is definitely worth a cab.

From Mexico City, we took the first-class bus through a company called ADO. There may be other options but I was very happy with this service. For 6.5 hours, we got a working bathroom, nice seats, movies, and a very smooth ride. Baggage is stored securely underneath the bus and requires a receipt to get back.

Buses are frequent throughout the day, so we were perfectly happy taking an overnight bus immediately upon flying in. But for those more pressed for time, Oaxaca can be reached by domestic flights as well.

We'd chosen this hotel (based solely on the price in Lonely Planet) before getting to Oaxaca, since our overnight bus arrived at about 6:30AM. Our taxi driver stayed with us while we knocked on the door, and eventually a sleepy man appeared, rubbing his eyes.

Hotel Posada el Chapulin was run by a sweet elderly man—with whom we had very little contact—and his two sons. There were women, but we were never sure whether they were sisters or wives. For three people the hotel was a bargain—at 280 pesos, we were paying less than $9 each. Internet was available on the lobby computer for 10 pesos; cheaper elsewhere in town but not this convenient! The hotel is well-located on Aldama near 20 de Noviembre mercado.

The room occupied the second floor of the cheerfully-colored hotel, with 2 comfortable beds and a clean private bath. There was a large TV but only 3 channels, Spanish only. (We did manage to catch a mesmerizingly bizarre dating game). We had plenty of natural light, towels, toilet paper and soap, which compared to some of the places I've stayed meant rolling in style.

Eventually all our transactions were handled by the other brother, Adrian. Adrian took a special liking to Jasmine, but when she was unreceptive, he moved on to Rubina. It was sweet when he offered us mangoes and flagged down multiple taxi drivers to ask directions for a particular café, but a bit uncomfortable when he talked about taking us dancing, kissed our cheeks repeatedly, and inquired after our boyfriends.

We did eventually run into a few problems at the hotel. Occasionally the water turned off. There were a couple times when nothing came out of the sink or the toilet wouldn't flush, but it usually came back quickly. Once it shut off right as Jasmine was taking a shower and did not come on for the rest of the night.

On our last day, we asked to store our precious souvenirs at the hotel while we hit the coast for a couple days. It was $1/day to store it in the lobby, but Adrian promised he would move everything upstairs where it would "safer" for a bit more money. We paid in advance and headed out to the coast.

When we returned, Adrian was cold. Perhaps he'd finally figured out Rubina wasn't going to settle in Oaxaca and run the hotel with him? As we left, he ran out and accused us of underpaying, even though he'd never moved the bags from the crib in the lobby where we'd left them, and we had paid in advance! I ended up feeling I couldn't whole-heartedly recommend this hotel because of Adrian's actions, when his relatives were so sweet; after he'd turned nasty on us, the flirting that previously seemed harmless now seemed disgusting.

Potential guests can easily view graffiti'd praise covering the inside walls of the lobby; it was basically a good place to stay with a few minor issues.

Email: hotelchapulin@hotmail.com

Los Pacos was our first dinner in Oaxaca, and exactly what we'd been dreaming of since we bought our tickets. Specializing in mole, this restaurant supposedly sets out a sampler of moles to guests on arrival, to help them make a decision. Oddly, we didn't get this, but instead received a few delectably spicy salsas with chips, including a creamy one with lots of cilantro and a smoky chipotle salsa; but other recent visitors reported definitely getting the mole sampler.

Los Pacos is in the historical district of Oaxaca, far from the hustle & bustle of the markets; about a 25-minute walk from our hotel. Very cute place with a well-trained staff...would be great for dates. The restaurant features all the famous foods of Oaxaca, so even though it looks a bit fancy, street food like tlayudas and even the chili powder-dusted fried grasshoppers called chapulines are on the menu, albeit at elevated prices.

Rubina and Jasmine both got sampler platters with two moles of their choice, meat of their choice and rice. Between them, they got negro (black, and the most chocolatey), colorado (red, sometimes called coloradito or rojo), and amarillo (yellow). I got the enmoladas, which was chicken in folded tortillas, smothered in mole negro and topped with crumbles of Oaxacan cheese, quesilla. Basically, enchiladas but with mole instead of chili sauce.

Everything was superb. I've never had a mole so complex, so delicious that even after I'd thoroughly stuffed myself with my enmoladas I couldn't stop soaking up the sauce with more tortillas. I tasted my friends' dishes as well, and as much as I loved the intense chocolate flavor of the negro, the colorado seemed to have a slight edge.

For dessert we got nieve (snow), a local type of ice cream. I didn't like it...it was quite icy and a bit grainy. I would love to visit this restaurant again, especially to try the elusive seventh mole, but might seek out a different place for dessert.

Restaurant Los Pacos

We needed a special meal for our final night in the city; with Lindsay gushing that La Biznaga had the best cheese soup she'd ever EVER tasted, it was an easy choice.

The space was beautifully-designed, and if not for its VERY large size, would easily fit into the New York restaurant scene. Very romantic atmosphere with an artistically-written menu (check the http://www.labiznaga.org/menu1.htm" target="blank">website...it's hard to read!) and a exceptionally attentive and polite staff. Truly classy joint, and priced accordingly of course...not expensive, but hardly street food!

The cheese soup was everything we'd heard, basically a tortilla soup with sweet onions and 4 luscious cheeses—not overly creamy and thick, just delicious robust flavor. After chips & salsa (incredible flavor) and this soup, our creatively unique mole dishes were almost too big. Almost.

I ordered the mestiza rellena based purely on seeing zaramoras in the description, thinking mmm...berry mole! Unfortunately I didn't realize hongos was another word for mushrooms and I hate mushrooms. It was pretty easy to eat around them, though. Rubina had the absolutely delectable zandunga, which was a guava mole presented with rounds of plantains and drizzles of cream. Jasmine had a moist delicious fish filet with salsa.

With a couple beers, dinner ended up being about $15 each. The food runner was a boy about 12 years old, who surveyed tables with a very professional air, hands clasped behind his back. The waiter was quite friendly; he hovered a bit when taking our dishes away but not in a bothersome way. On the way out he asked us to come to his party on Saturday, but we'd be in Mexico City by then.

Great place, very interesting take on the usual moles—which in Oaxaca, are already quite varied as is. I'll admit it...I would return for that cheese soup alone.

We'd gone looking for this bar based on our friend Lindsay's recommendation, but weren't too sure what to expect when we saw the small, almost empty place. I'm so glad we stopped here instead of seeking out some of Lindsay's other favorites.

We could get either Leon or Modelo at 2 for 25 pesos...Modelo being the Mexican equivalent to Anheuser-Busch, manufacturing almost all brands of beer including Corona. The sweet young waiter brought our beers in a bucket of ice...we hadn't realized we would be getting 2 at once. The beers also came with a pile of some odd crispy fritters, great with hot sauce.

We were the only ones downstairs at one of perhaps 3 tables, but a couple guys were upstairs having a little karaoke night. The waiter tried to convince us to sing, pointing at the 5 English songs on the list which all happened to be disco. We thought we'd stand strong.

Hilariously, the guys upstairs started singing "Back on the Chain Gang" with fully rewritten Spanish lyrics; we happily joined in at the chorus and puzzled over the changed meaning. During a song that used liberal amounts of bouncy wood-block, Jasmine got up to do her horse-riding impression. It turned out a bit more...thrust-y than she probably intended. The guys upstairs loved it of course, and sent us even more (unnecessary at this point) beers and compliments on her "amazing" dance.

Eventually our table was covered in beer bottles, as our benefactors came to join us. They were young law students, although they looked older than they were. After a few more $1 beers, we conceded to trying some karaoke ourselves...even though the English songs were not only disco, they were bad disco. Jasmine mangled "Gloria" (the only sort of non-disco song), Rubina realized she didn't actually know the words to "I Will Survive," and I got stuck with one of my most-despised songs, "YMCA."

By the end of the night, I was pleasantly drunk and had spent most of the evening laughing. It was a great reminder why, as much as I love my solo journeys, there's something really special about traveling with fantastic friends.

I was getting cranky as we were long past lunchtime, although part of it was a mental block against the idea ANY meals in a place so full of deliciousness should be skipped. After splitting up to wander around the colonial churches and various galleries in the area, we stumbled upon a brightly-colored bar called El Baresito on Quetzalcóatl & Garcia Vigil. Yellow and blue on the outside, with cute red stools on the inside, the design just made me happy.

On the drinks menu, there was a note that food came with drinks. We didn't know if that would just be the Mexican equivalent of pretzels, but were so hungry we figured we'd get by. Rubina & I ordered beers and Jasmine got some bizarre fruity green drink. We were alone with staff outnumbering us, in a very pleasant bar to spend the afternoon. But it was the amount and quality of the food that blew us away.

It soon became clear that the longer we sat there nursing our drinks, the more food would come. First was peanuts tossed in lime juice and chili powder...yum. Next up we had sliced jicama coated in chili sauce, a great flavor combination. Then we received bowls of spicy meat stew, plus more peanuts in a crunchy coating. Meanwhile, the bowl of chili-and-lime-coated peanuts was constantly refilled. Finally we got some tasty chicken tacos. All this for the price of 3 beers?

El Baresito's staff was very friendly. When the older sister found out we were heading out to the coast, she raved on and on about the handsome men in Puerto Escondido. She eagerly practiced English on us while Rubina insisted on practicing her Spanish. It was pretty funny to watch...sort of the reverse of how I speak to my parents in Chinese.

It was a Wednesday, so likely the reason for emptiness in the afternoon was school or work...but by 6PM the place was much busier. We hated to leave but we had a bus to catch. Would definitely recommend all visitors to Oaxaca check out El Baresito!

We love chocolate...that's a given. And while my preference is usually for either creamy luscious Belgian truffles or super-dark bitter bars, there's something special about visiting the magical cacao bean's original source.

Mexican chocolate is a bit gritty and sweet, and often comes mixed with almonds and cinnamon. It's not that great for eating, but whenever we found ourselves with a chunk of chocolate and an underserved sweet tooth, we certainly took our nibbles. Mexican chocolate is versatile, put to good use in Oaxaca's famous moles and as a soothing drink.

Chocolate Mayordomo is the most famous of the Oaxacan chocolate makers. With two free-standing shops downtown (considering how small Oaxaca is, this is on par with the Starbucks proliferation in New York), a stall in the 20 de Noviembre market and the bus station, it's hard to escape Mayordomo. The bigger shop seems more used to tourists, giving us samples of various chocolate pastes as soon as we entered; there's also a seating area in the back for enjoying chocolate in the store.

The choice is for hot chocolate made from a paste mixed with almond, sugar and cinnamon, or cold creamy chocolate milk (chocomil) made from their own brand of mix, Choco Mio. Hot chocolate can be made with water or milk. For the first day we all got it hot, and I opted to try it con agua out of curiosity. It's actually quite tasty, not as decadent as with milk but still very chocolate-y. It's a nice lighter option for drinking chocolate on a more regular basis.

While we sat at the bar, the counter girl whipped up a frothy batch of the Choco Mio and gave us samples...it was like having dessert. We knew we'd be getting the cold version next time. We watched the chocolate being ground and mixed with other ingredients, and left with heavy boxes of chocolate tablets. Next time I may try to buy the paste...it looked easier for melting.

Mayordomo was a clear favorite, but we also gave Guelaguetza down the street a try. Not quite as brilliant, but still damn good! It wasn't nearly as popular and seemed to be family-run, while Mayordomo is a much larger operation. We tried a few pieces of the chocolate straight here, as well as a few steaming cups of chocolate con leche. At Guelaguetza we were offered pan dulce for dipping into the chocolate, so it was a great stop when we also needed a light snack. The kind proprietor made a little extra, so when we were about halfway finished she refilled our cups. On the way out we got delicious, foamy samples of their brand of chocomil.

We ran into Pedro Martinez, our tour guide for Cuajimoloyas, during our final hour in Oaxaca City. He wanted to take us to dinner, but after a long afternoon at El Baresito, we were stuffed. He took us for more chocolate instead.

We stopped at a VERY popular street stall, a little further out of the center. While we hadn't noticed this corner before, there was a whole crowd of locals that obviously loved their tacos and tlayudas. Pedro ordered either champurrado or chocolate atole—not totally sure what they were calling it at this stand, but either way, it was chocolate mixed with ground corn. Rubina loved it, but Jasmine and I were less sure. It reminded me of when I was younger and my grandmother would try convincing me to eat my oatmeal by spooning some cocoa into it. It never really improved the situation. The flavor was hearty but the texture wasn't that pleasant. Much later, on the twisting road to the coast, both Jasmine and I were fighting to keep from getting sick and blamed it on that damn "chocolate corn."

Chocolate is served everywhere throughout the state, in markets, in fancy restaurants, even in the tiny comedor we visited in Cuajimoloyas. It's definitely one of the highlights of Oaxacan cuisine.

Our hotel was well-located near several markets, although in a tiny market town like Oaxaca perhaps there are no bad locations. 20 de Noviembre Mercado specialized in food stands and received our business on a daily basis.

We began every morning with a fresh juice. Our favorite stand was right by the entrance nearest our hotel, a favorite both because it was convenient and because the options were clearly described on various signs. One time we tried a different juice stall without a menu, so we had to simply ask the owner what was available and what combinations she thought might be good. For anyone with weak Spanish skills, this might not be a great alternative. I had to play it safe there and got papaya and pineapple, but at our regular stand the pre-planned combos were more interesting. At "our" juice stand, we could get delicious sweet fruit mixed with spinach or other veggies and oatmeal (avena) for extra nutrition, and waited faithfully until the final visit to get a smile from the gruff owner.

Our first meal here was at Comeder los Jarritos, where we got to try an Oaxacan specialty, tlayudas. A very large thin tortilla was piled thickly with cheese, beans, avocado and a topping of our choice, and then grilled open-faced. I've also seen them folded over and grilled in a kind of metal trap in other places.

We got one with just cheese, one with tasajo (grilled beef), and one with "chorizo," but instead of sausage it appeared to be chorizo-flavored pork, more like pork enchilado. They were fabulous: a crispy base, incredibly flavorful meats and generous amounts of Oaxacan string cheese, quesilla. 3 tlayudas and 2 sodas cost just 130 pesos.

Another visit introduced us to the most amazing tamales any of us had ever eaten. Ma. Alejandra's, just a couple stalls down from Comeder los Jarritos, had an extensive menu but we zeroed in on the tamales Oaxacaqueñas. Perfectly, freshly made, the exceptionally flavorful masa contained moist chicken mixed with mole negro. The chocolate taste was subtle compared to the mole I'd had at Los Pacos, and excellent in its own way.

I was most impressed by the masa itself...sometimes tamales seem to rely more on their fillings, but this tamale's masa was so tasty alone that we were hunting through every fold of the banana leaves to make sure none was wasted. Tamales at Ma. Alejandra's are just 25 pesos each and quite substantial.

Of course, everyone can have an off day, and when I ran to the market to squeeze in one more tamale Oaxacaqueña before returning to Mexico City, I wasn't quite as impressed. The masa didn't have that "more-ish" feeling of the first tamale, and the chicken contained bits of gristle. Still, it was better than any tamale I'd had in the States.

Tacos are practically the symbol of Mexico. Quick and cheap, these little parcels of meat, cheese and salsa are perhaps the world's greatest snack food.

Tacos Alvaro is a somewhat dive-y joint, and one of the few places open semi-late in Oaxaca City. Right upon entering we found a counter laden with fresh meats and veggies, with a painted flame backdrop and a cook—possibly Alvaro himself—mugging for the camera.

Everything on the menu looked great, and the enticing smell made me want to try them all, especially as the tacos are on the small side; but I restrained myself to one lengua (tongue) and one al pastor (roasted pork), feeling completely full afterwards. We also ordered sodas but the waitress instructed us to pick them ourselves out of the case.

The table was set with delicious spicy salsas and chunks of lime that made a good thing even better. The lengua was incredibly tender, and al pastor is one of my constant-favorite taco fillings. At just 7 pesos (60 cents) each, these were an amazing deal.

Oaxaca's a small town, so many restaurants are closed by 9 or 10. With so little activity it's quite possible most people have no reason to be out late anyway, but when we ended up having a long night of dollar-beers and karaoke, we were grateful for the nighttime taco stands.

The stand we visited was near our hotel, and its painted sign declared its owners had 40 years of experience. I wasn't sure if that was cooking experience in general, or if this actual stand had been in this same spot for 40 years. There was no written menu so we just got chicken.

These tacos were truly snack-sized, as they contained juicy dark-meat chicken and nothing else. Each cost merely 6 pesos, which is dirt-cheap but seemed like less of a bargain after we'd seen the variety at Tacos Alvaro.

The fluorescent lights from the taco stand shined onto the cobblestone streets in this quiet, contemplative moment. Oaxaca trudged through a great deal of unrest in the last year, in the form of strikes and riots, and lately saw very few tourists. Sitting at this weathered wooden stand, rubbing elbows with cowboys as the cook half-watched her telenovela, I felt as far removed from resort-lined Mexico as possible.

I love Oaxaca.

Oaxaca is a market lover's town, and we were in shopping paradise.

The sprawling, dark Benito Juarez Mercado has EVERYTHING. My favorite item were each store's special vinyl shoulder bags and totes, generally decorated with the shop's name and address plus a graphic like the Virgin Mary, Frida Kahlo, or smiling fruits and vegetables. Cheesily cute, sturdy and practical, these bags are actually used by locals, not just tourists.

An unforgettable product was the ceramic penis. We could not figure out who the target audience was for these bizarre creations. Some were straight-up penises painted in an uncomfortably realistic way, some were handguns with a penis tip, and one in particular had to be Jesus clasping his hands in prayer, but unmistakably shaped like an upstanding dildo. One stand had these arranged thoughtfully around a naked ceramic woman, back arched, lips parted. It was truly mystifying, especially with sweet-looking elderly sellers carrying whole trays of these around.

Lucha libre wrestler masks had us entertained for a solid 30 minutes. The sheer variety was hilarious...there were some with fake hair, some that glittered, some that looked like animals. We eventually narrowed it down to one relatively simple mask each, as we really couldn't spend too much money on a novelty item like this.

Other great souvenirs Jasmine and Rubina picked up were miniature piñatas and wooden marionettes dressed in mariachi gear. The market was also full of cool skeleton paraphernalia and beautiful pottery (not just the barro negro type), but we ended up buying our pottery and skeletons elsewhere.

While Benito Juarez had plenty of cheeses, sauces and moles for sale, we ended up only buying chipotle paste there. I was very happy with the purchase, as the lady selling it didn't even have her own stall—perhaps couldn't afford rent?—but made a little space for herself in one of the aisles. We had a much better buying experience in 20 de Noviembre when we wanted to buy mole.

20 de Noviembre Mercado is less crowded and cramped than Benito Juarez. There are actually two sections, one that has less natural light, where stall proprietors seem slightly more competitive and perhaps a bit desperate. Located on the brighter side was our favorite juice seller, some really amazing tamales & tlayudas, a Chocolate Mayordomo outlet and the incredibly friendly mole stand.

Simply called Mole Oaxaca, this well-stocked shop carried several mole pastes including multiple varieties of negro and colorado, as well as many powdered moles in a colorful display. The salesman was eager to explain all the differences between the moles, tell us how to cook the mole sauce, and let us sample every paste he had—each tasted better than the last! He also sold chocolate, not quite as tasty as Mayordomo's but certainly good for cooking. As the chocolate in Mexico errs on the sugary side, it was nice that also had a "diet" version in his selection. He kept handing us samples, and we all left with more low-sugar chocolate (still very sweet) than we could eat during the trip. We enjoyed him so much we bought things available elsewhere from him, like chocolate disks, in addition to the pretty boxes of tablets we'd purchased at Mayordomo; vanilla, which was very cheap but later discovered to have an unusual flavor despite the ingredients listing nothing but "pure vanilla;" and coffee in adorable small woven sacks.

Another great shopping experience was in MARO, a store sustained by a collective of women artisans. No bargaining in here, but we were happy to know our money went directly to the source of the crafts.

We finally bought the beautiful vinyl bags here because MARO's graphics were extra-awesome: I got one with a drawing of a human heart on it and we picked one with a mermaid for our friend. They had tons of adorable skeletons here, including ones in small clear boxes acting out hilarious scenes.

The design of the store was lovely as well, well-organized by different products. The sellers did not push here and in fact were almost too laid back...but it made for a more relaxed shopping experience. Highly recommended that visitors to Oaxaca check out MARO and support the artisans.