267130 Thu Nov 17 01:49:12 -0800 2005 6 26 International 0 1408604 The depth, breadth and sheer diversity of food in Mexico has always amazed me. I learn something new with each trip. This time I learned that fine dining is alive and well - no, make that thriving - in Mexico City. And nowhere is that more evident than at Pujol, one of the best new restaurants in D.F. At times it seems like Mexico has the market cornered on big, barn-like restaurants capable of serving small armies of customers. Think La Catedral in Oaxaca, El Chololo in Guadalajara, El Gran San Carlos in Monterey or any one of the thousands of haciendas or convents that have been converted into restaurants of a grand scale. Though each one of these restaurants is vast in size and scope, they do what they do remarkably well. But fine dining is different. The scope may be as vast, but the scale is considerably smaller, where the chef can concentrate on detail and providing the guest with a dynamic eating experience. And so it is with Pujol. Located in the Polanco district of Mexico City, Pujol occupies a small, sleek and very elegant space on a side street. The room is a study and contrast in white. White walls broken only by discrete and narrow strips of contemporary art, crisp white table linens, oversized white china, white jacketed waiters and blond woods. It's cool, it's trendy and sexy, but definitely not sterile. And for all the whiteness, the room still manages to be open and inviting rather than cold and stark. The meal opened with an amuse bouche of mock quail egg. A puddle of light and airy cauliflower puree filled a flat-bottomed Asian soup spoon (white, of course). The puree was topped with a small dab of caviar and then a yellow puree, creating the look of a quail egg, but clearly a different taste sensation. (I'm sorry, but I don't remember what the yellow puree was, it's the only part of the meal I can't recall). The amuse was followed by Carpaccio de Pato con Pipian Verde y Espuma de Mexcal - or, in English - Duck Breast Carpaccio with Pipian Verde and Mezcal Foam. The duck breast had been sliced wafer thin and shingled out across the (white) plate with the pipian verde drizzled over the top. The flavor of the mezcal foam was subtle more than anything and rounded out and balanced the flavors rather than being a single, distinctive component. The dish was meaty, earthy, floral and nutty with a soft smooth finish from the foam. Good as the duck was, the Squash Blossom Soup with Coconut Foam was even better. The soup was served in a double Old-Fashioned glass and was designed to look much like a capuccino; deep creamy golden soup, topped with the snowy white coconut foam and garnished with a sprinkling of nutmeg. This is not a soup meant to be eaten with a spoon but rather picked up and drunk straight from the glass so that as the glass is raised, the heady aroma of freshly grated nutmeg stimulates the taste buds, followed by the light and sweetly airy coconut foam and then finally the lushly rich and intensely flavored squash blossom soup. The entree was Costillas de Mole de Olla, or Short Ribs Braised in Mole de Olla. I made very short work of 3 exceedingly tender and surprisingly lean short ribs that were bathed in a suave and well balanced mole sauce. Decorative strokes of chayote puree, carrot puree and potato cubes the size of dice rounded out the plate and complimented the meat very well. Once again, as with every course, the flavors of the short ribs and the mole made their statement(s) by being seductive rather than bold and brassy. Flan de Guayaba con Espuma de Rompope y Canela - Guava Flan with Rompope Foam and Canela Ice Cream - ended the meal. The Rompope foam had been stabilized with gelatin which made it a little denser than the other foams. It also provided a little more body to counter the texture of the flan which was more like a New York cheesecake than custard, with the canela ice cream providing a cool, spicy accent. The whole dessert was set off by a large circular tuile. Service was flawless. And do try the bread, it's incredibly good, some of the best I've had on either side of the border. The roving bread waiter will keep your plate filled. Chef-owner Enrique Olveras has said that he's only recreating the flavors with which he grew up. He has done a remarkable job of translating family flavors to the contemporary dining scene, proving why he is one of the darlings of fine dining in D.F. The accolades are well earned and well deserved. Pujol Francisco Petrarca #254 Col. Polanco 55 45 41 11 Thu Nov 17 01:49:12 -0800 2005 0 Gayla 1 1408612 Thanks for this review. I'm looking forward to reading about the other restaurants you visited during your trip. We are going to Mexico City for the first time in January and I'm very excited about the eats. I'm currently in the process of narrowing down our restaurant choices. Including a ballpark figure for costs would help...if you don't mind sharing that info. Thu Nov 17 11:34:12 -0800 2005 1408604 0 ck 2 1408613 I've attached the web page for Pujol. It is in Spanish, but there are a lot of pictures and the link to the menu is pretty easy to figure out.....it says "menu" :-). Just be aware that the menu changes seasonally, so what is listed now might not be available when you go. Prices are moderate by U.S. standards. The Duck Carpaccio was around $8.50, the soup $3.50 and the short ribs $16.50. The listed menu prices are in pesos and the current exchange rate is about 10.75 +/- pesos to 1 US dollar. To get a ballpark idea, just move the decimal point. If the menu says 165 pesos, it means the dish is around $16.50 +/-. Also, using a credit card is not a bad idea. You will often get a better exchange rate from the credit card bank at the time they process the charge than you do from a bank, casa de cambio or ATM in Mexico. You can make reservationsfor through OpenTable before you go if you want. Link: http://www.pujol.com.mx/ Thu Nov 17 12:09:27 -0800 2005 1408612 0 Gayla 1 1408772 Darn you, Gayla. Here I am waiting for some students to finish up their work at nearly 8pm, hungry as heck, trying to kill some time by browsing in chowhound and then I make the mistake of reading one of your posts. Reading Site Talk was no problem, but now after reading this post I am ravenous and well aware that the Mexican food I will eventually get tonight won't quite measure up to your D.F. experience. But thanks a lot for sharing anyway!! Your posts are a joy and a model of what a good post should be. ed Tue Nov 22 21:53:15 -0800 2005 1408604 0 e.d. 2 1408802 Just keeping you honest ;-) It's not all bad e.d., Yuma has taco trucks. Things could be worse. Are you going to be in SD over the holidays? I need to do some food related research in TJ and a couple of other Chowhounds have expressed an interest in tagging along. If you'll be over here during the holidays maybe we could all do a day trip. Wed Nov 23 11:34:41 -0800 2005 1408772 0 Gayla 3 1408810 I will be over to San Diego. My break begins around Dec 10 and I need to be in Yuma around Christmas and my break for all intents and purposes will be over by Jan 6. Of course, I will not be in SD for more than a few days during the break, but I do expect to make 1-3 trips over. As much as I would love to break bread with you, I'm not too wild about a south of the border trip as border Mexican food is one thing I can get out here in the desert. For me, SD is Asian or other things I can't get good over here. ed Wed Nov 23 15:32:22 -0800 2005 1408802 0 e.d. 4 1408811 Well, to be perfectly honest, I'm not so wild about Tijuana either. I fail to see the allure. I'll travel all over Mexico, to the largest cities, but will I go 30 miles South to the border? Hardly. But I've got people that want to go to the Mercado Hidalgo and I figured I needed to do a reconissence trip first. Also, Cristina mentioned in a post a couple of posts below that Charco de las Ranas had a branch operation in TJ and I want to check that out and do the comparison thing. Wed Nov 23 17:40:46 -0800 2005 1408810 0 Gayla