The man who operates this cart in Mexico City's Centro Histórico (Historic Center) wheels his baked plátanos y camotes (bananas and sweet potatoes) around during the day. In residential areas, when downtown businesses are closed, you are most likely to hear the steam whistle's raucously, riotously eardrum bursting high-pitched TWEEEEEEEEEEET during mid-to-late evening hours. Each plateful is either a roasted banana or a sweet potato dripping with La Lechera, a brand of sweetened condensed milk. Either one is just right for your cena. Enlarge the photo to get a better look at the front of the vehicle, where the bananas and sweet potatoes are kept warm over the cart's firebox. See the can of La Lechera?
Cena (supper) in Mexico is a mixed bag. For an ordinary cena at home, it's a tiny meal: a cup of hot chocolate, herbal tea, or hot milk, a pan dulce (sweet bread), or a quick taco made with what's left over from comida (the main meal of the day). Comida being the large meal that it usually is, cena is meant only to tide you over from just before bedtime till early the next morning.
If you're out partying till the wee hours, a few tacos al pastor (shepherd-style marinated pork tacos) on the street might be just the ticket for your cena. See the whole pineapple at the top of the trompo (vertical spit)? The pineapple cooks along with the meat–see the gas grate behind the cone of meat?–and the pastorero (the guy who prepares tacos al pastor) tosses a few small sweet slices into your grill-warmed tortilla. Top your taco with red or green salsa (remember the green is almost always the hotter one!), a pinch of sea salt, and a shower of minced onion and cilantro for a taste of heaven.
Buñuelos are another favorite food for cena, either eaten at a cenaduría (supper spot) or purchased from a street vendor. Some people still make them at home–the dough is very similar to that of a wheat flour tortilla, stretched until thin over the rounded bottom of a clay pot. Traditionally, the dough was stretched over the maker's knee to achieve each buñuelo's large size and round shape! They are usually served either whole, dusted with granulated sugar and cinnamon, or broken into pieces in a bowl and drizzled with piloncillo (raw brown sugar) syrup.
Conchas (pan dulce), reposted from the breakfast article: food for cena is often the same food we eat for desayuno.
Just as an aside: in addition to cena, some people in Mexico still partake of merienda, a light snack that can come sometime between comida and cena. This 'light snack' can be as simple as a couple of cookies and a cup of té de manzanilla (chamomile tea) or it can be a more complex offering similar to an English tea. Mexico Cooks! will leave the question of how to find stomach room for merienda up to you.
Not all food eaten for cena is sweet. Case in point: this Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, specialty is atole de grano, a savory fresh-corn soup that's colored and flavored with anisillo, a wild anise that grows in this region. Atole de grano is one of my favorite things to eat in Pátzcuaro. Come touring in Michoacán with me, we'll have our cena there.
For an elegant and really delicious cena in what was originally an early 18th century home, an excellent option is Restaurante La Conspiración de 1809, located in Portal Allende near the corner of Calle Abasolo, Centro Histórico, Morelia, Michoacán. While you're there, be sure to get the story of why the restaurant is called "La Conspiración". You'll be glad you did.
Several Februarys ago, Mexico Cooks! and a group of friends attended a gala Valentine's Day cena at Restaurante Los Danzantes in Coyoacán, Mexico City. The dinner was presented by chef Cynthia Martínez and a team from Morelia, Michoacán.
If you are invited to a late evening cena baile (dinner dance) or a cena de gala (black tie dinner) at a restaurant, events center, or private home, your hosts will pull out all the stops. Champagne, beautiful entradas (appetizers), a superb multi-course meal, snazzy dessert, alcoholic beverages and music are de rigeur.
Mexico Cooks! researches possibilities for an elegant cena at Restaurante JASO, Colonia Polanco, Mexico City. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.
Above, my all-time favorite cena. You can pretty much tell the size of the plate by comparing it to the normal-size forks stuck into the food. These are enchiladas placeras (plaza-style enchiladas), as prepared by one special street stand in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. Open only in the evenings, there is nothing like them anywhere in Mexico. Others try to imitate them, but forget it: these are the best. I've been eating here for about 30 years. Your plate (the photo is a normal-size order) will hold eight enchiladas stuffed with mashed potato. The enchiladas are topped with freshly sautéed carrots, potatoes, and onions–the vegetables are just slightly caramelized. On top of the vegetables, crisp fresh cabbage–and on top of the cabbage, pickled chile perón, Michoacán's favorite chile. On top of the chile, shredded Oaxaca cheese! Ask the waiter for the piece of chicken you want: leg and thigh, or breast. The skin will be crisp, the meat tender. If you're splitting this platter full (and you should!), you can request two pieces of chicken. No matter how big an eater you are, when you've finished eating all you can hold, the platter will still look full. Takeout on request.
From eating tacos on the street to dining in stilletos and tuxedos, cena in Mexico will keep you going till morning. Provecho!
Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.
Leave a Reply