Mexican food: much more than just beans & tortillas

Anyone want to share my molcajente?

I love Mexican food.

I think I have always loved Mexican food, ever since I ate a bowl of chilli while watching The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The first dish I ever learned to cook from scratch - chilli con carne - was one that at least has its roots in Mexico.

(And it's still one of my go-to dishes after 40 years; a favourite to cook, to share - and to eat.)

It does seem at times, that at least part of my life is a constant quest to find a good, authentic Mexican restaurant in my home city (currently Vancouver). Not easy in a city that is dominated by Asian cuisine.

I have managed to find a few pretty good ones, and some not so great.

And when I say "Mexican restaurants," I'm NOT talking about Taco Time or Taco Bell - despite claims, fast food places like that do NOT take you "south of the border" or anyone near it, for that matter.

However, after a recent trip to Mexico - my first to that country - I may have to re-think how I define "Mexican cuisine."

Yes, I did enjoy some traditional hearty fare associated with Mexico: fajitas, refried beans, taquitos, that sort of thing.

But even within that class of food, I discovered something new, a breakfast staple served in most Mexican restaurants: chilaquiles.

This dish mainly consists of corn tortillas cut in triangles or totopos, lightly fried and covered with green or red salsa, then simmered until the totopos are soft. It's usually garnished with a form of sour cream, and may or may not include onion rings, avocado slices, and pulled chicken. They're often served with refried beans, eggs, and guacamole. You'll find them in almost any Mexican breakfast buffet.

That aside, for the most part, I enjoyed a very different, in some ways, entirely new level and style of exquisite dishes prepared by Mexican chefs, cuisine you would not normally associate with Mexico.

Part of the reason for that was because of where we were on the Pacific coast - in Puerto Vallarta; that location influences local chefs, who have easy access to a huge variety of fresh seafood available regularly.

It all began the first night at a special opening gala for the event I was attending, the North American Travel Journalists 2015 conference. We dined alfresco, feasting on escargots, lamb shanks, lobster ravioli, Chilean sea bass, and cheese empanadas.

Some fun with food, at the River Cafe.

The trend continued the next night, during a dine-around event. I ended up at an eatery called the River Cafe, where we enjoyed live music and a tasting menu that included smoked salmon crostini, Pacific jumbo shrimp, and Sonora beef tenderloin.

It just kept getting better. The next night, we were wined and dined at La Leche, a very uniquely decorated eatery which consisted of high ceilings, and shelves along all the walls that went up to the ceilings. The shelves contained tins and canisters, all done in white with the restaurant's logo/name emblazoned on them. There, I had the opportunity to try a variety of different dishes in their seven-course line-up. The menu changes nightly, and it's written on a chalkboard.

You really have to be inside La Leche to appreciate it.

About an hour's drive out of Puerto Vallarta lies Canopy River Adventures. We enjoyed our final meal of the conference there, on a covered patio. It was a bit more traditional, with an option for beef, chicken or fish entrees, accompanied by tortillas, guacamole, and roasted peppers.

As you can see by reading the above, the cuisine in this country is incredibly varied.

But wait, there's more...

As part of my stay in Mexico, I spent two days in Riviera Nayarit. Our first day's lunch was in El Brujo (obviously a very popular name for a restaurant in the village of Bucerias, as there were three different eateries going by that name). This one fronted on the beach.

That was quite a unique experience, in many ways.

Never expected to be eating "Asian" while in Mexico.

For one thing, there was a steady stream of peddlers trying to sell us their wares, everything from necklaces to hats, massages to music (we were serenaded by a pair of Mexican troubadours who wouldn't stop until we paid them!), cigars to postcards.

Then there was the Tim Horton's sign on the beach, offering fresh coffee, smoothies, beer and Caesars on the beach, each day. Hmmm....

The food provided me with something different, too. I opted for the "Mixed Molcajete" - a mixture of grilled chicken, shrimp, beef, guacamole, cheese and peppers served in a broth contained in a heated stone dish called a molcajete (as pictured at the top).

That night, it was back to fine dining at the Marival. Again, the food was matched only by the view from the balcony dining room. We were served a variety of dishes in "threes," including a dish of Asian delicacies that included spring rolls, a Mediterranean trio that included a lamb shank, and one with three different types of seafood.

La Palomas sent us home in style. Not only was the ambiance and decor distinctly Mexican, the food was all based on Mexican-derived dishes.

Not sure I'll be able to conquer this dish like Huitzilopochtli.

I enjoyed Aztec tortilla soup (chicken broth, corn chips, cheese, avocado and sour cream), Aztec salad (mushrooms in sage oil and honey with arugula and cottage cheese), and Huitzilopochtli's Conquest (essentially ground tenderloin beef, some fruits and vegetables and a creamy sauce served up in a roasted bell pepper).

All this incredible food made it really hard to go back to Vancouver and the standard Mexican fare prepared by even the best restaurants (or even my own Mexican menus!).

Yep...I've been kicked up to a "new bracket" of Mexican food. Nothing will ever be quite the same again.

So now I'm not really sure if I should be thankful for this - or maybe just a little bit ticked off at Puerto Vallarta...

A pair of Mexican troubadours on the beach at Bucerias,

to send you on your way.

One man's snack is another man's...nightmare?

Say the word, "piranha."

Now what images does that conjure up in your mind?

If you're like a lot of people, you're probably envisioning a swarming frenzy of blood-thirsty, flesh-eating fish that will strip you to the bone in a matter of minutes.

The fact is, not all piranha are like the ones you see chew up the bad guys when they fall into a pool of them during a James Bond movie.

While some species can indeed strip larger animals to the bone, they are not always in "attack" mode.

And sometimes you even get to eat them.

That's right - to quote Judges, "Out of the eater came something to eat." (Sorry, Samson).

I've had piranha. We caught them off the dock at La Selva Jungle Lodge in Ecuador, using a bit of bacon as a bait.

The house of Cuy.

The chef cooked them up for us. They didn't taste bad, although they were a bit bony. You'd have to catch quite a few to really have a feast.

Piranha is just one of the weird or unusual foods I've eaten during the course of my life and travels. (And you're right - there is another list coming up!)

Here is a list of some of the weird foods I've eaten (and some I still refuse to eat) around the world.

1. Piranha (see above.)

2. Cuy. Otherwise known as guinea pig. That's right - those furry little rodents sold in pet stores as pets are considered delicacies in places like Peru and Ecuador. I've had it deep-fried at a place called Mama Clorinda's (think, EFC - Ecuador Fried Cuy), and also served as a "con fit" in a higher-end restaurant in Cuzco, Peru. The former was a bit dry and greasy (the legs and head came to the table, deep-fried in batter; the latter, you couldn't tell what it was, it was so well prepared).

3. Alpaca. Again, this was in Peru (it does seem that Andean cuisine serves up more than its share of odd foods, doesn't it?) I had an alpaca steak at a little roadside cafe in a small town near the larger centre of Aguas Calientes, during a trip with Mountain Lodges of Peru. It was quite good, very rustic and simple, but very tasty, a bit like veal. Again, I tried it prepared slightly differently at a higher end eatery in Cuzco, and it was superb.

4. Ants. Back to Ecuador. Ate a bunch of small ants from the "lemon-ant tree" in the jungle during a five-day kayak trip. Just licked my finger, wiped it down the small tree trunk and popped them into my mouth. They really did taste lemony - but they were not very filling. You'd have eat a LOT to be even close to filled up.

5. Eland. Okay, taking a break from South America. Eland is a deer-like animal found on the plains of Africa. I had it in a restaurant in Zimbabwe called Ramambo's, which specializes in African game (NOT endangered species) that is farmed for the purpose of food. It tasted very much like venison.

6. Warthog. Also in Africa. Very strong flavour, like ham, but much gamier. not my favourite.

7/7a. Guinea fowl. African bird, very tasty, much like chicken. Not as tough as ostrich (which I also tried).

8. Crocodile. I ate this at a restaurant in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Deep-fried in batter, with a texture very much like fish - but it tasted more like chicken than fish.

9. Alligator. When people ask me what alligator tastes like, I say, "It tastes like ... (long pause)...crocodile." Of course, they're expecting me to say "chicken." I've had it in jerky form in Florida and cooked at Vancouver's Ouisi Bistro, a Cajun restaurant on Granville Street. I prefer the cooked version to the jerky.

The green stuff is mushy peas. "Brains" is Welsh beer.

10. Mushy peas. A traditional British side dish usually served alongside fish and chips in pubs around the UK. A friend of mine who had travelled in Wales suggested I try it when I went there, so, of course, I had to do so. The first time, it was awful. I don't know what they did to it, but an entire table of us could not eat more than one or two bites each. A few days later I had a chance to try it in another pub - much better, thank you!

11. Jellyfish. I ate this at a traditional Chinese restaurant in Richmond, B.C.'s Aberdeen Centre during a TMAC banquet. Never again. The taste and the texture were gross. Ugh!

12. Bear, grizzly and black.

13. Lynx/Cougar.

14. Beaver.

15. Deer/moose/elk.

I've lumped the last five together, sort of... Deer, moose and elk is not really odd or unusual if you have grown up or lived in rural areas for any length of time, particularly in the northern part of Canada. As for the bear, cat and beaver samplings: I ate them at the 1998 B.C. Wildlife Federation wild game banquet, held as part of their annual AGM in Fort St. John, B.C. It was actually the last event I covered for the Alaska Highway News before moving to Calgary.

Deer and elk, I like; moose, not so much (although my wife grew up eating it). Bear, wildcat and beaver - I can really live without.

16. Chicha - the good. It is supposed to be the equivalent of a traditional Peruvian beer, made from maize (corn). I had it in nice a restaurant in Quito, Ecuador, so it was not made traditionally (I hope). It was thick and sweet - more like a milk than a beer.

WEIRD NO-NO'S

There is plenty of food I have not tried - and probably never will:

1. Balut. A Philippine delicacy, a cooked fertilized egg with a partially developed fetus inside.

2. Durian. A very popular fruit in southeast Asia, it reportedly "smells like hell, tastes like heaven." The first part of that description is why you see signs in hotel lobbies all over SE Asia: "No durian allowed in the room." Someone told me if you can get past by the smell, you'll love it. No thanks.

3. Bird's Nest Soup. The "nest" in real bird's nest soup is made from bird spit. No thanks.

Thai market offering: can't eat it.

4. Eel. Can't wrap my head around it. Sorry.

5. Kim chi. I guess it's supposed to be good...and maybe the stuff they sell in stores and Vancouver-area eateries is not made in the traditional way - but I don't even like sauerkraut, so forget this.

6. Most Mongolian dishes that involve brains, eyes, stuff rotting in the ground, etc. I would not do well at the Temple of Doom.

7. Bugs, slugs or anything else I've seen at traditional Thai markets. Especially if it's still alive.

8. Chicha - the bad. Had the chance to drink this traditionally-made brew in a Huaorani village in Ecuador. "Traditionally" made means the maize is chewed up in people's mouths then spit into a container, allowing the saliva to help it ferment. No, thank you!

So I guess one man's food is another man's reason for ... reaching for a bottle of Pepto Bismol and a packet of gravol.