Oaxaca

OAXACA

THE STATE OF OAXACA, IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF MEXICO, HAS EVERY INGREDIENT TO SATISFY EVEN THE MOST DEMANDING VISITOR.

It has a tropical climate, miles of all but untouched coastline, perfect sandy beaches with some of the country’s best surfing swells and spectacular scenery across forest-clad mountains. There is also a thriving, cultural capital – Oaxaca City – which has long attracted artists and artisans to its beautiful melange of narrow streets, courtyards, plazas and Baroque architecture.

But for all that, Oaxaca’s recent reputation has blossomed overwhelmingly because of other special ingredients – those put to work in the region’s kitchens.

It has become the epicentre of a spectacular gastronomic boom, with foodies from across the world now flocking to the region to sample food that draws on the finest traditions of Mexican cooking, with unique and sumptuous twists.

Oaxaca has restaurants and street food markets that stand comparison with anywhere in the world, and rarely can visitors feel so much a part of the scene and so close to the source. Oaxaca is known as the “land of the seven moles” after its famous tangy sauces. But that is a vast simplification of how diverse the food is here. Particularly in Oaxaca City, it feels as though the whole town is either cooking or eating: it is a unified celebration of flavour.

The sheer range of food, and places to eat it, is what really distinguishes Oaxaca from all other destinations. There are high-end fine-dining restaurants across the city and state, serving thrilling interpretations of traditional dishes alongside innovative new recipes. But the hole-in-thewall eateries and market stalls also serve outstanding rustic fare.

At the more formal end, Pitiona restaurant, yards from the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán and its museum, focuses its cooking on apparently simple dishes – soups, salads, sandwiches, with locally sourced ingredients – but pushing them all in surprising directions. Its head chef, José Manuel Baños, picked up a trick or two as a former employee at the legendary elBulli restaurant in Catalonia.

Meanwhile Criollo, which is housed in what seems to be an unremarkable, unmarked colonial mansion away from the city centre, is where esteemed chef Enrique Olvera, a darling of the New York culinary scene, plies his trade in his native Mexico. It has no sign outside, nor even a website to entice people in. But pilgrims to Olvera’s dining room include food critics, who have been persuaded away from Manhattan and Mayfair for a trip to the south of Mexico.

Although almost all restaurants in Oaxaca are affordable in comparison with what you would pay for a similar standard of cooking in Europe or the United States, mouth-watering food can also be found on the streets for staggeringly low prices.

Exploring the markets of Oaxaca is a snacker’s delight – and rewards experimentation as you dive in to discover the exhilaratingly vast breadth of local cuisine.

The Mercado 20 de Noviembre has been described as the culinary heart of Oaxaca. It occupies an entire city block and attracts locals, tourists, office workers and students alike to its endless array of stalls. Most are family run enterprises, serving meats, fish and vegetables, all seasoned and cooked to your specific tastes. There are more than 500 edible herbs grown across Oaxaca state and seemingly all of them are blended in the air above the market.

It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and one need never run out of new dishes to try.

However, it is not the only option for street food in Oaxaca. El Pochote opened for the first time in 2003 and has since become another landmark in downtown Oaxaca. This market is focused specifically on organic produce, welcoming vendors who make a special commitment to serving locally sourced, seasonal fare.

Often the food is sold by the families who grow or cultivate it, including rich coffee harvested from the surrounding mountains. As ever, the sights, smells and sounds that mingle throughout are unmistakeable.

Further afield, restaurants such as Pascale or Almoraduz in the coastal town of Puerto Escondido share the same commitment to bright and original cooking, but have the added advantage of being only a short walk to the ocean. The fish here is some of the freshest and tastiest in Mexico.

Much of Oxacan street food centres on the corn tortilla, including tlayuda, which are sometimes known as the “Oxacan pizza” and combine many of the flavours familiar to fans of Mexican cooking. A flat tortilla is smeared with refried beans, then topped with meats, tomato and avocado.

Enfrijoladas, on the other hand, also comprise tortilla, beans and avocado, but this time the beans are stewed with avocado leaves, and the tortilla is rolled before being served with onion and topped with cheese. Memelas (or memelitas) are a breakfast favourite: a slightly thicker cornflour base is again piled with beans, cheese, egg and meats. Tetelas are folded, triangular parcels stuffed with similarly tasty ingredients.

There can be little doubt when someone is cooking barbacoa: the smells of a whole sheep being slowcooked over an open fire fill the surrounding air and leave a deeply flavoured, rich meat, which is then shredded and served with coriander and onions.

Adventurous gastronomes should also not leave Oaxaca without having tasted chapulines. They might sound a little like potato chips when you eat them – they are crisp and covered in salt – but chapulines are actually fried grasshoppers. With a squeeze of lime and garlic, they are yet another outstanding snack from the region.

Oaxaca also has its own take on the traditional tamale. Tamales Oaxaqueños replace the corn husks of the more common variety with banana leaves, all wrapped around succulent meat and any number of distinctive mole sauces.

Oh, and to drink? Of course, there’s tequila, but also why not try tejate, a frothy local speciality comprising maize flour and cocoa beans, among other ingredients, drunk in the region for centuries.