In a recent L.A. Weekly article, J Gold proclaims the excellent state of authentic, regional Mexican redtaurants here in LA.
I've spent the greater part of my 7 or so CAY (Chowhound Aware Years) exploring the glories of the San Gabriel Valley but I am sad to say that I am still relatively ignorant of the diverse regional styles of Mexican cooking (I have heard that Mexico's culinary diversity is on par with China's... and after spending upwards of 3 months backpacking Taiwan, Mainland and Hong Kong last year I now have a profound sense now that I am missing out on a hell of a lot of excellent Mexican food.
J Gold states that the states of "Jalisco, Zacatecas and Sinaloa, Oaxaca and Guerrero, Colima, Veracruz and the Yucatán, Baja, Puebla and León (with the possible exception of Chiapas)" are well represented here.
The question that I am therefore posing to my fellow Latino/Latina 'hounds then is this (and to J Gold if he happens to be reading this).... Please pick one, two or all of the states listed above. What is a dish that represents the region well, and where is a restaurant that serves up a great representation of that dish?
I can start with one... I've had the chicken in black mole at Guelaguetza (Oaxacan) as well as a huitlacoche quesadilla. Impressions... mole tasty at first but surprisingly monotonous to eat te entire massive plate, which looked like an oil slick on a plate. Huitlacoche quesadilla was better, musky and funky, but underdone and ultimately not something I would go out of my way for (and Guelaguetza is generally out of my way).
Please know that I have no fear of traveling for food... truly my 7 months in Asia last year was fueled by an intense desire for delicious regional grub.
Many photos of our exploits (and lots of food porn) if you're curious at: http://www.travelpod.com/members/adam...
(one of these days I'll get around to posting the China and Korea photos
Looking forward to your replies!
Chowhound since 2001
(Chowhounding but unaware of it for much longer)