Dining in Mexico City – Paxia

Everyone says Mexico is booming except Mexicans living there.  Still  if you go to  markets in Mexico City, such as my newly discovered San Juan Exotico ,where chefs shop they are busy  and the restaurants I was able to visit during my short stay recently  are full and serving wonderful food .

If you read me my posts regularly you know that I am not a fan of modern Mexican cuisine but the other day I visited the much recommended and well-reviewed  Paxia and was pleasantly surprised.

The amuse bouche was a showstopper: a chocolate painted “gourd” arrived at the table  looking pretty. The waiter appeared and poured an intense but not thick mole on it, melting it to reveal a crispy little taco inside..  And it was good!

The food is clever but good, not deconstructed, the menu features  recognizable dishes fancied up. I ordered the Jalisco classic torta ahogada and  it looked like and tasted like the original even if it needed more assertive seasoning. It came with a disposable glove to pick up the sandwich with the hand and not get dirty. I giggled.  My chicharron lasagna with the thin pork crackling skin taking the place of pasta was exciting and memorable. Yes, Ada’s fideo had foam on it but ours is not to wonder why and her duck was delicious. Jan was ecstatic to have an excellent real wine list to pick from with a knowledgeable somelier to guide us. He ordered his food  wisely.  After a week of not  a veggie-to-be-found his beautiful arugula salad was manna from heaven and the robust roasted bone  marrow a welcome respite from all the fish we ate in Veracruz .  Melissa’s cochinita pibil was presented artistically but probably was not at an ideal temperature when it arrived  but reportedly was delicious and the spare ribs and pork skin  was also good. I’m missing the description of the salad pictured on the bottom but it looks delicious!

 

Thank God, I broke with my tradition and  ordered dessert. It was a theatrical reenactment of Day of the Dad Traditions that is hard  to capture in a photograph because each element came on the scene with its own raison d’etre. The point of this 4-year old tradition is for the diner to share the moment and the dessert with his own departed loved ones.

First, a plastic tablecloth is laid on the table and a clothing line “arch” is affixed to the table from which sugar skulls, miniature bread for the dead in the shape of flowers and animals , and small fruits are hung. Traditional elements such as the fragrant copal on the incense burner, small new pottery mugs for coffee, and enamelware dishes are laid out on the table .  A mirror is placed before each diner to make him part of the scenario.
The desserts make their entrance. Frozen custard (jericalla) ice cream, chocolate-mezcal cigarettes, a marigold made from a tangerine, pumpkin gel,  caramelized guava mousse, a candied orange blossom skull and at the  very end a chocolate  papaya is cracked open  and out spill all sorts of goodies . It’s all quite spectacular but I don’t remember a single thing I ate.  The experience is deeply rooted but not the flavors! Still it was worth it.

www.danielovadia.com.mx
operaciones@danielovadia.com.mx
Av. De la Paz 57-17 Col. San Ángel
Tel. 56-16-13-25

Daniel Ovadìa is a young, a very young chef, with a generous spirit and talent to match . He is a grandson of a dearly departed friend Celia Cherter who I remembered and honored that night. She would be so proud not only of his cooking but also his hospitality.  He treated us to this sensational meal that introduced  two young  reporters who had done beautiful articles on me in El Universal (Adriana Silvestre) and CNN en espanol.com’s   22-year old rising star  reporter Melissa Rodriguez to his work first hand. Chef de cuisine Làzaro Ramos did a great job and is pictured below with Jan and me. (I wonder how long it will take for me to lose the weight I gained on this gastronomic tour to Veracruz and Mexico City?)

 

Left  to right: Ada Valencia Solana. Jan Birnbaum, Melissa Rodriguez, Me, Adriana Silvestre