Good restaurants in Oaxaca!

I've noticed the blog posts haven't been nearly as well written as some in the past, nor have I posted as often as I usually do.  That only means I'm having too much fun to spend time at the computer!  Here are a few pics of some beautifully delicious meals we've had:

A delicious salad at MexIta, an Italian restaurant at Martirez de Tacubaya 314, just south of the intersection with Abasolo.  The owner is Italian, he doesn't speak spanish, which makes our conversations pretty funny.  They make the pasta and bread daily, by hand.  We shared this meal with Joy and Rick.
  

A first course, above, I think it had carne inside the tasty wrap, with a picante salsa; below, chicken rellenos, stuffed with potatoes and carrots, the salsa is crema and veggies.  At Santo Sabor, a good comida restaurant.

This is chicken dorados, at Misael's restaurant, on the corner of Rayon y Fiallo, I think!  It's very close to Villa Maria's, and we eat there often!

 Pecan pie.  Dessert, at Paraiso  which is spanish for heaven.  And heavenly it is!  The Best desserts in the city, and good coffee, in a pretty courtyard.  In Col. Reforma

Stuart's shrimp, at La Teca.  I had  mole colorodito, but didn't take a photo!

 

Rajas, for tamales!

Gio is a new discovery for Stuart and me this year.  It's in Col. Reforma, on Eucalyptus.  Pretty, small, with about 4 tables in the back patio overlooking someone else's garden.  The chef, Miguel, is Oaxacan, but cooks in the french style.  He has one or two choices every day for comida, and when it's gone, he goes home!  Snowbird friends hosted their 50th anniversary party there, and it was very elegant.  Salad, and below, chicken and roasted potatoes.  Yummmy!

Another meal at Gio....the fruit dessert with crumbles, and the chocolate desser, and a pastel de fresat:

Another of our favorite, high-end restaurants is la Biznaga.  We usually eat there once.  The pretty central courtyard of what was apparently a Very Big Colonial House is open to the stars during the dry season.  There is a canopy they pull over during the rainy season.  The artwork is very good, as is the music.  We enjoyed Brent's last night there.  Tamales in banana leaves and ceviche.  Very good!

Every Friday and Saturday, the tianguis called the Pochote Market sets up in the courtyard of a small church by the old aqueduct, north of the periferico.  Organic foods, mostly, nicely executed artwork, good coffee and artisena mezcals, along with a few food vendors, very good street food. Last weekend, I had a to-die-for dish:  a sort of chinese pastry bundle filled with shredded veggies, heated on the comal, and served on top of a bed of greens.  With salsa.  No pic, what was I thinking?!?  But, here is a photo of the delicious little seed cakes that are available everywhere, but these were particularly tasty:

 From Tito's, on Garcia Vigil (I think!).  We'd passed this place several times, and finally went in for lunch.  Upstairs, pretty.  I ordered chicken crepes, with a really good poblano salsa.  The waiter was good enough to ask the chef out to make it.  Roast the poblanos, peel and put them in the blender with a garlic and onion.  Add some crema (nothing compares with crema in the States) and a little milk.  I made it last weekend at home, and it was tasty!  Oh, add salt, too.

Comala, on Carmenalta, is pretty jumping at night, but the comida is tranquil and very good.  70 pesos, which is very cheap!  Last week, we had this salad, and then a piece of grilled tuna and roasted potatoes with tons of garlic.  A piece of very light cake, like a sponge cake, for dessert.

Last Friday was the annual Dia de Samaritana.  The Good Samaritan Day.  All along Garcia Vigil, churches and restaurants and government agencies set up brightly colored booths, everyone dresses in their best fiesta clothes, and at noon the short church service begins.  Afterwards, the priest walks the 3 blocks with a straw brush and a comala of holy water, throwing the blessed water over everyone and everything in sight, signaling the beginning of the fiesta.  Line up early!  The fruit drinks and jamaica tea, free, go quickly.  A few pics from that fiesta:

A tour of the best restaurants in Oaxaca wouldn't be complete without a stop at Los Danzantes.  Comida Wednesday and Friday, the rest of the time you order from the menu.  It's a snowbird restaurant, which means it's a little pricey, so we eat there about one time.  It's memorable!  Below, the ceviche starter, and the roasted fish and roasted veggie main course.  Mezcal to begin, of course!

This last photo is all about how we really eat most of the time here:  on the street or at home, with food that is local and fresh.  Papayas like these grow in almost every yard or garden here.  I took this photo in Santiago Apoala last weekend.  That trip is another story!