Tequila and Goat Stew

Text from JM's log on the Feb/March 2010 buying trip to Mexico. Photo captions by Kathryn.

February 18, 2010 – AN EARLY START

The alarm went off at 1:30 AM, and in less than an hour we were on the bus – headed past the cozy little Chiripa shop on Madison’s South Park Street, and on our way to Chicago O’Hare. It is cold and dark, and we are thinking of the warm sun and friendly faces of Mexico.

Bus terminal driveway in Puerta Vallarta.

This is one of the reasons I love Mexico.
Artisan crafts are everywhere.

February 19, 2010 – TEQUILA AND GOAT STEW

We started our first full day in Mexico with hot coffee and a good breakfast.

A breakfast buffet awaits us at Hotel San Francisco in Guadalajara.

My two favorites were on the menu: fresh papaya and fish fillets.

Yes, breakfast. But you will only find the fish on Fridays (I think)

and maybe only during Lent. It was my first "Chiripa" (happy accident) of the day.

Our buying activities included an afternoon visit to the Tlaquepaque workshop where our friends Tina and Carlos produce colorful hand-blown glassware (possibly for your table).

Carlos Perez Castellanos and Tina Ruiz of Vitro Disenos Artesanales.

No, the red glass bulls are not coming to Chiripa, but some of the hearts are.

Carlos offered us a glass of tequila. He had made hand-blown tequila bottles for an artisan tequila producer, but the producer lacked cash to pay. So the producer paid with barrels of tequila, one of which stood in the back of the shop. Carlos drew us a big glass (“the tap closes slowly,” he said). Inspired by the fine tequila (we shared the glass), we ordered a lovely selection of hand-blown glassware. Tina and Carlos were happy, and you will be too.

In the evening, we had dinner in an old part of Guadalajara, at the Birreria las 9 Esquinas. This restaurant specializes in goat meat stew and lamb barbecue with all the trimmings (including pickled vegetables, onions and garlic). The stew bubbled in big cazuelas. For dessert we had fresh strawberries covered with thick cream.

I was sorry to have left my camera back at the hotel.

The restaurant was recommended by a Chiripa customer.

Check out their website. (You can view it in English.)

Home Again

Those following this blog will have noted that I did not post anything while on the Chiripa buying trip to Mexico. We set an almost impossible schedule with little time to find and use a computer.

Future posts will lead you through some of the highlights of the trip. But, because it is still tourist season in southern Mexico I wanted to promote a favorite artist and a favorite restaurant.

Maria and Jacobo with their new Chiripa caps!

Jacobo and Maria Angeles of San Martin Tilcajete, Oaxaca, Mexico create stunning alebrijes and run one of the finest workshops in Oaxaca. And we will write more about it in a future post. But, who would have guessed that their restaurant (at the junction of the main highway and the road that leads into San Martin) offers some of the finest food we've tasted in Mexico.

Azucena Zapoteca
Cocina Tradicional Oaxaquena
Carretera Pro. Angel Km. 23.5
San Martin Tilcajete
Ocotlan, Oaxaca
Tel. 52 49 227 / 52 49 228
email: angeles@tilcajete.org

DON'T PASS BY. STOP, EAT, ENJOY.

This was one dish that included a delicious mole and that amazing stringy Oaxacan cheese. What a treat!

Next to the restaurant you'll find a gift shop with a wonderful sampling of Mexican artisan crafts. You may also get to watch some of the master painters working on their alebrijes.

And in the near future you'll be able to see some of their fine pieces at CHIRIPA.