Nights at Nanishe

Wednesday to Sunday evenings, Nanishe takes over the kitchen at firm favorite Maíz Canela y Cilantro. A family-run affair, Javed, his sister María de los Ángeles, and their mother Sebastiana started the business 10 years ago, moving to Santiago last April.

The family takes pride in serving authentic Oaxacan food prepared with ingredients they bring directly from the region. The menu is short but punchy: chilaquiles, tlayudas, tortas, and molotes, washed down with natural fruit juices, guayaba being the star of these.

We decided to share two dishes, the first of which was the molotes. The best way we can describe these is crisp corn torpedos filled with soft chorizo con papa. They sit on a bed of shredded lettuce and are bathed with beans, a creamy green sauce, and a sprinkling of queso fresco. The real magic happens though, when you add a dab of salsa macha to each bite, really making all the flavors and textures sing.

An icon of Oaxacan cuisine, the tlayudas are made with either white or blue corn filled with a thin layer of refried beans, asiento (pork lard) that adds a very characteristic flavor, quesillo, and either tasajo (dried beef), chorizo, cecina (pork with a dried chili pepper rub), or chapulines (dried grasshoppers). Think of this as the most delicious, brittle, 30-centimeter corn “quesadilla” you’ll ever eat.

Food prepared by locals with strong convictions and ties to authentic ingredients and traditions never fails to delight the taste buds.

Nanishe, at Maiz Canela y Cilantro, Calle 70 464, between 55 and 55A, Barrio de Santiago, Centro, Mérida. Open 6 to 10:30 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday. @tlayudasnanishe