Animal Farm

My niece (by choice) was visiting over the weekend and she loves animals. To that end, we trekked up to Lynnwood just north of here to visit a lady named Tess who keeps bunnies, a few goats, a couple of ferrets, and a pig in her very large yard, and anyone who wants to hang out with them is invited to come on up (for a small fee).

Too Much Food: Mexico City

This morning, Brenda and I had some spectacularly rich and delicious French toast for breakfast, a spectacular lunch at Contramar, and dinner at Pujol. #imfull.

Contramar

tostadas: shrimp and tuna

fish tacos

And then it was time for dinner. I confess that I wasn't even remotely hungry but I valiantly stuffed myself with some of the most exquisite food I've ever had.

roasted and smoked baby corn

chayote squash slices with lobster ceviche 

softshell crab, cucumber, daikon, shiso leaves

sea bass with some details I don't remember - but the combo, whatever it was, was utterly delicious

the dark mole had been aged 1,777 days, the light mole was made that morning.
Mole is one of my least favorite parts of Mexican cuisine, but this was interesting. 

coffee tamale, ginger ice cream, honeycomb

the lightest churro ever made

I absolutely LOVED Mexico city and can't wait to go back.

New Years Day: Mexico City

For one of the world's largest cities, this place is quiet and calm (at least the corners we've been hanging out in), and most places are closed today due to the holiday, but Brenda and I booked a street art walking tour in the Roma neighborhood and had a great time seeing another slice of Mexico City.

Our tour guide, Chris, started by explaining the difference between street art and graffiti (legal/often commission vs. illegal; image-based vs. letter-based; for the viewer vs. for the artist - and a few other interesting finer points), and then we walked around the neighborhood viewing pieces done by artists from around the world.

commissioned by Jet Blue promoting a non-stop from MEX to BOS. Art meets commerce. 

 

I LOVE the cat part of this piece!

made with stencils

done after the 2017 earthquake in Mexico City - Frida and Frida the dog. 

Frida the dog worked search and rescue after the quake and is credited with finding and saving 35 people
who were buried in the rubble.

Can't remember which famous Mexican artist lives here - gorgeous house and studio. 

another symbol of Mexican strength and solidarity post-2017 quake.

commissioned by the owner of the restaurant property who is a huge fan of Haya Miyazaki.
Fittingly, the restaurant is a BBQ joint.  

New Year's Eve: Mexico City

Mexico City has been very close to the top of my list for a long time so when my pal Brenda said she was coming here after Christmas and I was welcome to tag along, there was no hesitation. So many of my friends have been here and loved it, and I was tired of not having that pin in my map. I arrived yesterday and met up with Brenda. We walked around our neighborhood of La Condesa for a bit and then met up with Seattle friends Dave and Annabelle who also happened to be here - it's the hot spot - I'm telling you. The four of us had dinner and walked around some more and had drinks/dessert at another place before calling it a night. This city is sprawlingly huge, I know, but our little area is very beautiful and very... 'livable' keeps coming to my mind. There are charming old Colonial-style buildings, the parks are beautiful, the dogs are groomed, the boutiques are cool and there are intriguing restaurants, bars, taco stands, and ice cream shops everywhere. 

mobile dog-groomer: genius

Today we went on a bicycle taco tour and tasted four tacos from four different regions of Mexico.

at Molina El Pujol (a hole-whole-in-the-wall offshoot of the fancy restaurant):
Oxacan style with cheese, avocado, wrapped in a tortilla
with hoja santa leaf

doesn't look like much, but this Yucatan-style carnitas taco
was the tastiest one on the tour.

Mexico City-style: beef braised in a vat of beef fat