So now it was Friday and we only had three days left…….  🙁

Day 6, Lunch:  We walked East to El Biche Pobre, which means “The Green-Eyed One” and not what you might think.  This is another restaurant that has been featured in too many guidebooks, has gone up-market and no longer does a comida corrida, and seems to be a wee bit self-important (with stuffy waiters to match).  All of which I can overlook, because this was the single best meal we had during the entire trip.

The usual condiments were brought to the table, including some hellaciously hot peppers & onions:

I’ve had chalupas in the past, but no two Mexican restaurants can seem to agree on what they are. El Biche Pobre’s were thin fried tortillas, with potatoes in a tomato and chile sauce, with (again!) lettuce and cheese on top. Perfectly balanced, the tomato/chile didn’t overwhelm the flavor of the potatoes. This won’t be the last time I use the word “balance” 🙂

I ordered the pig’s feet in vinegar to share with B, but he didn’t care for them, so luckily I got most of that dish. So tender that you could almost slurp the gelatinous goodness off the bones, while the vinegar (assertive, but in no way overpowering) acted as the perfect foil and balanced the richness of the pork, and made the dish very moreish.

For his main, B got chicken in mole coloradito. Moles are the claim to fame of Oaxaca…supposedly there are seven distinct varieties, each containing up to 30 ingredients. B’s plate looks so simple, a bit of rice, a bit of chicken, some sauce and some sesame seeds, but the taste was amazing…a little sweet, a little tomatoey, and a lot complex! I don’t have the vocabulary to describe it. Second best dish of the trip. If my own main hadn’t been so good, I might have fought B for a few more bites of his 🙂

Best dish of the trip? Mine, of course! Beef tongue in “sauce”……it wasn’t described as a mole, but was similarly complex. Less sweet than B’s coloradito, in fact just a tiny bit bitter, and a perfect foil for the richness of the tongue (you might say it was very “balanced.”) Without exaggeration, one of the best things I’ve ever eaten, even though it didn’t look like much:

$300 pesos (about $24 US for two) for one of the best meals I’ve ever had, and for me, the food highlight of the trip.  But we still had some excellent meals to come.

Day 6, Dinner.  At The Italian Coffee Company, the Mexican equivalent of Starbucks.  Good coffee but but not very good paninis.

Day 7, Lunch. B spotted this rotisserie chicken place. I had my doubts, especially after noticing that it was called “El Gran Gourmet Oaxaqueño,” (“The Great Oaxacan Gourmet”) but it turned out to be really good, and our best comida corrida, for $75 pesos each.

We were immediately brought a pitcher, not a glass, of guayánaba (that spelling may be incorrect) juice, pickled veggies, and fresh tortillas. I started off with cream of broccoli soup (really good) and a green salad, while B had the steamed vegetables and something I’m forgetting. We both had the rotisserie chicken, but B’s was a slightly dried-out breast, whereas mine was a tender, juicy leg quarter, with some rather good pasta salad with ham and herbs.

So while not being typically Oaxacan, this was good, solid tasty food, the kind I’d be happy to eat every day.

1-1/2 half days left.  I can’t NOT do a separate post about hamburguesas………