Morelia’s Best Regional Specialty Restaurant

Just south of the Cathedral on Calle Abasolo in Morelia, this inconspicuous doorway is the gateway to the best regional food in town.

Entradas (appetizers) include frijolitos (beans), queso fresco del rancho (freshly-made farm cheese), salsa, and hot tortillas.  The red drink is a conga, a mix of freshly-squeezed fruit juices and grenadine.

Salsa, frijoles, and a tortilla…

Conjunto "Vargas" plays and sings terrific música abajeña (music from the lowlands) as they stroll around the restaurant.

Even the photo of this carne asada (grilled steak) plate still makes my mouth water.  Two huge pieces of grilled steak, grilled onions, rice, sliced ripe tomatoes, avocados, and crunchy cucumbers are accompanied by fresh limones (Key limes) to squeeze over everything.

A common home-style dish, aporreadillo, is hard to find on a restaurant menu.  The dish combines cecina (dried beef) and egg with a very spicy broth.  It's not for the faint-hearted, but oh my, it's so good.

Toqueres!  Mexico Cooks! has eaten in hundreds of Mexico's homes and restaurants and has never before seen these on a menu.  Similar to corn gorditas (thick tortillas), they are unbelievably delicious.  You can try making them at home if you have access to fresh field corn.

TOQUERES

Ingredients
5 ears fresh white field or dent corn (don't try to use sweet corn, the recipe won't work)
1 egg yolk
1/2 small white onion, sliced thin
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of white sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
lard

Equipment
Blender
Sharp knife
Bowl
Spoon
Griddle

Procedure
Cut the corn kernels off the cob and grind in a blender together with the egg yolk, sliced onion, baking soda, sugar, salt, and butter. 

Heat the griddle and grease lightly with lard.  Pat the corn dough into rounds approximately 4" in diameter and 1/4" thick.  Grill until golden brown on one side; flip and grill until golden brown on the other side.  Be sure to keep the grill well-greased with lard or the dough will stick.

Serve with pure Mexican crema (or substitute creme fraiche) and a salsa de mesa muy picante.

Provecho!

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico?  Click here: http://mexicocooks.typepad.com/mexico_cooks/2008/05/rinconcitos-esc.html