Food is Art in Oaxaca

          A short post about food.  And, art.

Lunch at Gio, in it's new location.  Not as pretty as the previous place, with the gardens, but this one is funky, bright and airy.  Get there early:  he only has four tables.  This photo is Stuart's lunch: a curried fish pie, and delicious salad. The chocolate dessert was heavenly, but no photo.  Next time.  I had hand-made pasta, with beef in red wine.  The pasta was beautiful.  A Very Good Chef, with a beautiful smile.  Gio.











The next day.  Lunch at Los Danzantes.  Pescado tempura.  Agua de mandarinda, y poco de mescal.  Fish tempurar, I think the batter is the same as the one for chile rellenos.  A drink made from tangerines and water, and a little mescal to whet the appeitite.  Provecho!







ah.  The dessert made me forget all manners I've ever had.  I did not lick the slate plate, but I did lick my fingers!  That caramel was perfectly done:  not too sweet.  Mexican crema is the secret, I think.  The apple tart was perfect.  The pastry was very "short", and buttery.











After lunch at Gio, Francine and I walked for a while, and went into a gallery she knew and admired, and had bought a pretty mescal cup a few weeks ago.  I recognized the work immediately.  Vicente Hernandez is a National Treasure potter.  Last spring, at the exhibit at the Governors Palace Museum ( a great museum, upstairs), Sr. Hernandez was demonstrating in the room beside an exhibit of his remarkable work. His daughter runs the store, and invited Francine and me for a private tour of his workshop. A rare invitation, he's very private about his space.  We'll go in the next couple of weeks.  What a treat! oh, I bought these pretty mescal cups!  Aren't they great?  Francine and I met a friend on the street close to Sto. Domingo, and we stood talking, rooted in that pretty ambiance for an hour!  We laughed later, saying we could have moved 20 steps into a restaurant for a mescal.

A couple of photos from our last visit to San Augustin Etla...the pool just off the main gallery was filled with wire figures. I love this one, which I call, "Reflecting".

And, a photo of the sink in the ladies room...such a clever, efficient design! 

Next post:  a lesson on making chile rellenos.