Find Your Fonda

( Xhico in Mexico City )

Morning breakfast at ¿Qui'hubo Cuando? fonda in Mexico City

Whether your you're going to be in Mexico City for a few days or a few months, I recommend finding your fonda. What's a fonda? I asked Angelita, who along with her mother, made me breakfast several times in a month. Her response to the difference between a fonda and a restaurant was that a fonda offered traditional Mexican food and was akin to a home-cooked meal. A restaurant was a place that specialized in a particular meal or international cuisine. On my international excursion to Mexico, I was fortunate enough to have the fonda of Angelita and her mother, Angie, just two blocks from my apartment near Chapultepec park.

Angelita, me and Angie.

Mole enchiladas, my favorite!

Menu changes daily

Super hot pickled habanero salsa

 Small kitchens and dining rooms make the perfect digs for an authentic Mexican meal. Going to a fonda is just like having a mother cook for you. So for the first month in Mexico City, Angie fed me in the mornings. I would go early for a quick bite and to have a coffee a fresh squeezed juice before work. Sometimes I would order something to-go so I could eat while I work. My choice was usually mole enchiladas filled with chicken, chilaquiles or mollettes - they are like mini Mexican pizza breads topped with beans, cheese and pico de gallo.

I would walk up early to a sign with the menu of the day. I would instantly be hungry reading the amazing choices... Enchiladas, Enfrijoladas, Tacos de guisados, Sincronizadas, Tinga Res, Bistec en Guajillo, Milanesa pollo, Ejote con huevo, consomé, huevos al gusto... everything was just delicious.

I eventually made my way into Angie's little kitchen to see where all of this magic was made. I followed the hypnotic smells wafting from behind a curtain. Behind that curtain was Angie, often aided by her daughter working hard to make home cooked meals for the people.

The name of the fonda, ¿Qui'hubo Cuando? is a
reference to the movie "Dos Tipos de Cuidado"

One last note. When I asked Angleita what the name of the fonda was from, she said it was a reference to a joke in a movie called "Dos tipos de Cuidado". Make sure to stop by Angie's fonda ¿Qui'Hubo Cuando? and have breakfast near Chapultepec park at the corner of Tampico y Sinaloa.

¿Qui'Hubo Cuando?

Tampico 37 (Sinaloa), Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico

Taco Tasting Pop-up Food Photography

Thank you to everyone who came out to my Chow with Xhico Taco Tasting in Silver Lake at the beginning of the month. Photographer Jennifer Jaimes aka @photojeninc was on hand to take photos of the event. She just sent me these wonderful photos. Thanks Jenn!!

El Papón: High or Hungover, This Is What You Need

(Xhico in Mexico)

The Tradicional Papa Rellena at El Papón in Mexico City.

 I may have been slightly hungover after too much mezcal from the night before as I stumbled out of Superama with some aspirin. Along the exit of the parking lot were the usual food carts selling tacos, tlacoyos and quesadillas. This one cart stood out to me, with a heap of foil wrapped objects. As I began to examine the menu and these odd shaped foil entities, I realized that they were two baked potatoes wrapped in one. Of course they were... I was at El Papón.

Potatoes wait to be smothered in goodness.

Chiles roasting

I didn't take me long to realize that these siamese-twin astronaut potatoes were going to get extremely insane with mounds of delicious toppings. An overloaded potato - this is what I really needed instead of aspirin. My belly begged to to quickly scan the menu and make a decision on the level of overload I would be achieving. How much cheese? How much butter? What combination of meat and other tidbits?

The dudes from El Papón, Mexico City.

El Papón, Food cart in Mexico City.

Two extremely friendly guys were eager to get to work on my potato. I decided to go with the Tradicional. I thought it would be the lesser of the evils. It turns out that it was a whole lot of evils together. First the potato master (as I like to call him) took the potatoes nested together and foil and began to beat them. He beat them and turned them and beat them some more until they formed a thick potato disc. Then with the precision of a surgeon, he slit an "X" into the foil and gently pulled the foil away from the center. He then began to fork the potato! He worked that fork and mashed up the inside. This was the beginning of a magical transformation. Possible more magical than the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly.

Making baked potato magic at El Papón.

This once ugly potato began to be mushed with butter, then manchego cheese and it got prettier by the second. Then some jamón serrano. This potato was getting seriously sexy as it oozed before my eyes. Wait, then more cheese? Yes, more cheese - this time some ooey-gooey cheddar. Then how about some bacon and cream to top it off? This is some xrated potato action. I went into a foodgasm. I had to wait to get home to share it with Tanya, as I thought she may be in need of the same medicine. I won't lie, I did finger some of the cheese.

A few days passed and I was going to show Tanya where this potato cart heaven was to be found. But it wasn't there. After a quick drive around the block, we discovered that they opened a restaurant on the corner in addition to the cart. So make sure if you have a hangover in Mexico City and there isn't any birria around, to go get your self a potato orgasm to soak up all that alcohol.

El Papón is sometimes out side the Superama on Fernando Montes De Oca, The restaurant space is right down the corner on Fernando Montes De Oca and Jose Vasconcelos Circuito Interior in Condesa, Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City, Distrito Federal.

Grub on Vegan Burgers

I'm generally not a fan of vegan restaurants, tho I love my veggies. But if you're a meat eater and ever dragged to Flore in Silver Lake, go for the BBQ Bacon Sliders. The patty is made of black beans and it is delicious. I'll be back for more.

WHERE:

FLORE VEGAN CUISINE

3818 W. SUNSET BLVD. SILVERLAKE, CA 90026

(323) 953-0611 

Deal of the Day - 50% Off Yuca's

Yuca's is a LA favorite for Mexican food. They have delicious asada and their tortas rock. There is the smaller Yuca's stand on Hillhurst where you will find the owner sitting outside the kitchen taking your order on a paper plate or paper bag. Your order will be served on or in your order tag. There is also the larger Yuca's on Hollywood across from Umami Bruger. It has indoor seating and a patio area.

They both serve great food and you can save today with Groupon. Today's deal is $20 worth of food for ONLY $10 from Yuca's.

Get the deal here on Groupon

Video: Berlin Currywurst

First look at opening day of Berlin Currywurst in Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. See more photos and read the blog here.