Good eats in Tapalpa, Mexico

One of the fun parts (and perhaps the most stressful) of traveling in a foreign country is trying to figure out what to order from the menu. I am a little picky…tending to steer clear of meats whenever possible.  If you had to buy your meat like this, wouldn’t you want to become a vegan, too?

 I’ve learned to accept the fact that if I find a meat-less dish, it probably has cheese.  Cheese is also sold on open counters, and not refrigerated at markets (but surely at Walmart and other grocery stores). Mexican cheese is NOT like US cheese…not even close. It is generally chewier, stringier, less salty, and overall…not as good!  Sometimes it even tastes a bit sour to me.  My kids generally do NOT like quesadillas here (who would have thought you could “get them wrong”?). Overall, I think eating Mexican cheese is kind of a waste of money, calories, and cheating points…not only is it not that good, but it isn’t good for my body, either!  Alas, I digress!!

One meal I’ve found I can handle is a chile relleno. It is a green chile (not hot) stuffed with cheese. Simple as that! Not especially tasty, but not bad, either.  And usually pretty predictable.

The restaurant we visited in Tapalpa was short on vegetarian dishes, so I settled on getting a chile relleno. When this was served to me, I was surprised!  They prepared it in a way I had never seen before!  This restaurant’s version of a chile relleno was a cheese-stuffed chile (normal) coated in something almost slimy and fried or cooked up in a red sauce (not normal).  I couldn’t figure out what the coating was…it was yummy, but it seemed almost like chicken skin.  It couldn’t be, could it? How would you put chicken skin on a chile?  So, I asked…and luckily I was told it was battered in egg!  Whew! Overall–not bad!

We all enjoyed a meal together, and surely stood out as seemingly the only gringos in town that day…

A view of the chapel behind Ella.

Dennis enjoying his comida.  Something about him (the hat…the smile…the way he talks?) reminds me of Indiana Jones…

Some of the typical fare at the table. This is meat-something with beans, guacamole, and pico de gallo made with nopales (cactus that has it’s spikes cut off, and is usually cooked until it is soft like a green bean). I happen to really like pico with nopales!Every meal in Mexico seems like an adventure. Perhaps because it is a battle of the brains trying to figure out what is on the menu, and if I will like it!  For Jared it is easier…he doesn’t mind eating meat when we are out and about. Me?  I have to look closely for the few vegetarian dishes that are served in Mexico…they are certainly carnivores in this country!