1) here’s the train route we followed (in red)

“The Canadian‘ is one of those iconic railway legends that rail gurus want to try. It is the flagship train that Via Rail runs from Toronto, north of Superior to Winnipeg, then across the Prairies to Edmonton, and from there through the Rockies and across the Continental Divide to Vancouver. The trip from Toronto to Vancouver takes 5 days and you can take your accommodations in anything from an economy seat to a 2-person private cabin (complete with private washroom and all meals included).

G and I have long talked of taking the over-the-Rockies section of this train – from Edmonton to Vancouver – and we’ve just returned from that very journey. We can check this one off our bucket list. Hooray!

We flew out to Edmonton on Thursday afternoon and spent the night at the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald, the historic hotel built back in 1915, a decade after Alberta entered Confederation. The stay was nice but staff let the ball drop with regard to turn-down, morning newspaper, and platinum guest amenity which I will certainly be following up on. Rather then dine out, we ate in-room and watched March Madness. Like all Fairmonts, again, this one proved they do know how to do in-room food that is actually far above what is usually served. Bravo Fairmont. And in a moment of well-that’s-kinda-neat, when we arrived at the Fairmont in the taxi there was a swarm of hockey fans milling about the entrance. We ended up having our taxi’s doors opened by two Columbus Blue Jacket team members (who were playing the Edmonton Oilers Thursday night) that were keen to escape the hockey whores.

2) our room at Fairmont; 3) the view down onto the North Saskatechewan River from the hotel

I don’t know if you’ve ever visited Edmonton but it continues a dreary, dreadful place and, oil aside, I can’t imagine that near on 800K people willingly call what is essentially one big hicktown their home. The stretch along the North Saskatchewan River, one of Canada’s largest urban parks actually, is passable and the city does have a stunning new Art Gallery of Alberta building that one hopes will add some culture and perspective to move it city to some new level. In what must, however, be the height of irony, Edmonton ranked as the best city in Canada in a Quality of Life analysis done by the firm Numbeo last year. Worst, it ranked number three in the world! So, I give you that piece of information to provide a fair perspective. Go figure.

On Friday, we took a taxi over to the Edmonton Via Rail station – near the now ghostlike City Centre Airport – only to discover the train was delayed (somewhere outside of Biggar, SK). While we were supposed to leave at 7:20AM, the anticipated arrival into Edmonton was not expected until 11:30AM which, on calling Via Rail, was subsequently changed to 1:30PM then back to 12:30PM. And so, at 6-blessed thirty am we decided to walk back towards town to grab some breakfast at a McDonalds we saw driving in. From there we crashed for a spell in a day room at the Nova Chateau Hotel & Suites (near the ghostlike airport) and about as upscale as its name suggested. We ate lunch there and walked back to the station only to arrive just as the train was pulling in. Yay!

4) do you see me there? … walking toward G and the Via station … why doesn’t Edmonton have sidewalks out here!; 5) ever hopeful a train may appear

6) we bought this very interesting chocolate at Bernard Calebaut …. the habanero salt was HOT; 7) … and then the train backed it’s way into the station with the Park Car (with observation deck) leading the way

So, it was “all aboard” and by 1:40PM we were on our way. We settled into our cabin, enjoyed lunch with new friends Vicky and her young granddaughter, Creesha (about 8 or 9 years old) – they had flown down from Fort Chipewyan, which sits on the shores of Lake Athabasca in the very, very far north of Alberta near the Northwest Territory border – and sat mesmerized as the Prairies turned to rolling hills and then just outside of Hinton, AB, into the Rockies. Just after dinner we made a stop in Jasper, AB and were able to get off the train and wander about for about 20 minutes. Back on board, our cabin steward, Chris, converted our room from its sitting room configuration to our sleeping quarters (bunk beds actually) and we climbed in and let the rock of the rails coax us to sleep.

8) our cabin was on the Mackenzie Manor car; 9) two chairs available during the day

10) across from the chairs, a small sink and it it’s left a toilet; 11) wow! I thought this was a fascinating fact and achievement

12) if you’re overweight, you’re going to have troubles negotiating the very tight passage; 13) time zones for all of Canada in the Park Car

14) going up to the observation deck; 15) the cocktail lounge on the Park Car

16) it has very pretty etched glass windows

17) crossing over to car 139 (the train was about 500m long all toll); 18) G heads back into our car

19) the view from the back of the train from the Park Car; 20) our beds for the night are made up

21) there is full-on dining with menus and everything; 22) we brought a bottle on board

23) each car also has a full shower you can use and they provide a shower kit with soap, shampoo, towel and face cloth; 24) up I go onto my bunk

25) here’s the dining car; 26) up in the observation deck … this Quebec couple lived up here I think and did that horrible thing of leaving their junk on their seats to ‘save’ their spot (dreadful manners and they and several other hoarders should have been evicted!)

27) into Vancouver, G watches the city roll past; 28) here I am in bed ready to read

29 & 30) it’s amazing what you see … our window was sort of a live tv through the journey

31 & 32) complete with the occasion commercials as freight trains passed

33) taking a peek between cars

This morning we awoke early and saw the full moon on the waters of the Thompson River and were soon fast in the Fraser Canyon as it weaves it way south and west from Kamloops. Past Hell’s Gate – where the Fraser River is forced through a gorge barely 115feet wide – we entered the Fraser Valley and passed through Chilliwack, Mission and Abbortsford before crossing the mighty Fraser near the Palluto Bridge in New Westminster to continue into the city. By noon were were home, walking from Pacific Central after a wondrous journey that, while we’d not do again, are happy to have experienced. If you are considering the journey, do try it! Traveling either way Van-Edm or as we did Edm-Van is highly recommended. Travel for 2 in a cabin for 2 complete with all meals included will run you CAD$1600.

34 & 35) heading west out of Edmonton – flat and snow

36 & 37) and then gentle hills start up

38) at Hinton, AB, you’re into the Rockies

39) with huge granite rock mountains; 40) I can see the front of the train in this shot

41 & 42) the view at dinner … just outside Jasper … it was very pretty and we saw elk and mountain goats

43) bet that water is cold!

44) here we are in Jasper; 45) G takes a stroll up towards the front of the train

46) Mt Robson?; 47) folks anxious to get back on after our stop in Jasper

48) Goodbye Jasper!

49) here’s a ladder to nowhere; 50) in the Thompson River we came across this wreck … eek!

51 & 52) Hell’s Gate … very narrow

53) the Fraser is narrow, fast and angry here; 54) a CN freight on the other side of the river heads East

55 & 56) in the Cascade Mountain range now

57) the Fraser is wider now and a little gentler

58 & 59) and then boom, you’re out in the Fraser River Valley

60 & 61) the river is wide and quiet with neat trees along the shore

62) mud car convention?; 63) Mission, BC

64) fishing for salmon; 65) just outside Chilliwack

66) in North Surrey all types of industry – car wreckage here; 67) wood mill there

68 & 69) the new (and old) Port Mann Bridge famous for the ice bombs that formed on it this February when it opened

70 & 71) the Patullo Bridge … it is here that we crossed the Fraser

72 & 73) over we go … with Surrey on the right; New West on the left

74) the front of the train is in New West while we’re still out in the middle of the Fraser; 75) Skytrain sighting! … we’re home for sure

76) Vancouver!; 77) arrived at 12:10

78) bye bye Canadian; 79) hello home!

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1) homemade ravioli stuffed with carrot, ricotta and thyme and served with a brown butter sauce, carrot capellini and carrot foam (made using soy lecithin)

And so, some food posts.

G and I are avowed molecular cuisine whores I do admit, and we’ve been thoroughly blessed to try some pretty stunning molecular cuisine restaurants globally. The Fat Duck, the now-closed El Bulli and Noma aside, we’ve chowed down at L2O (Chicago); Diva and the Met (here in Vancouver); Tapas Molecular Bar (Tokyo); the now-defunct Rain (in Toronto); El Pujol (in Mexico City); Aronia de Takezawa (in Tokyo). All, magnificent. About three weeks ago we moved ourselves to the next level by investing in a sous vide machine and purchased the stunning new cookbook, Modernist Cuisine at Home by chefs Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young and Maxime Bilet. Modernist Cuisine is the lesser of the two tomes these guys have published, the holy grail being their 5 volume, CAD$500 boxed set (which we hope to one day own) titled Modernist Cuisine (billed as the most important cookbook of the 21st century). The sous vide machine, while costing us just over CAD$500 has been a revelation. Sous vide, which means, en francais, “under vacuum” is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath for longer than normal cooking times—72 hours in some cases—at an accurately regulated temperature much lower than normally used for cooking, typically around 55 °C (131 °F) to 60 °C (140 °F). We’ve been busy trying all sorts of meals using this wondrous machine, including; a bacon mayonnaise (using the sous vide to ‘cook’ your egg yolks results in a much more stable mayo); braised short ribs (that we did, in fact, cook for some 72 hours!); pork (more on this attempt later this week); and steak (heavenly). 

Amid adventures with the sous vide, we’ve been cooking up a storm as you’ll see from the pictures attached herein.

2 & 3) the Sous Vide Supreme machine

4) our Modernist Cuisine at Home bible (I cannot more highly recommend this book); 5) butterflied pork loin that I have just brined in milk, apple juice, salt and sugar

6) the pork will brine for 12 hours and then I’ll sous vide it tomorrow for dinner; 7) I have also set to ‘dry age’ a New York strip loin using, yes, fish sauce (about 3/4 tsp … it will sit in this for 3 days then will sit for a further 3 days in cheesecloth before being sous vided and then seared)

8) G’s homemade fettuccine; 9) the mix of kale and Swiss chard is prepared for a clam fettuccine pasta I made tonight

10) in the pan is Fresno chili, onions, pancetta, olive oil, white wine and the clams; 11) the resulting dish was fabulous

 (as an aside) 12 & 13) if you are a fan of the Showcase tv series, Continuum, you’d love living at our condo … why? … it’s filmed here. Here are shots from last weekend of the crew filming on the roof of the parking garage below us; and on this past Wednesday, the crew took over our common room up on the 42nd floor to film

14) G was busy tonight practicing Beethoven’s Fur Elise and the ridiculously difficult Chopin Fantasie Impromptu. Not to be outdone (and with thanks to G) I have 4 bars of Satie’s oh-so-lovely, Gymnopedie I down pat; 15) scallops with a corn `succotash` I made last weekend

16) here is the oh-my-god marvellous beef short rib I made sous vide, served with a red wine reduction and potato mash (which I also sous vided – the heat treatment prior to cooking gelatinizes the starch and stabilizes the starch granules – you have Jeffrey Steingarten and chef/god Heston Blumenthal to thank for this discovery); 17) here is the ricotta, thyme and carrot filling for our ravioli

18 & 19) we have a very affordable ravioli, hand-cranked machine that produces amazing ravioli

20) last night, I made a prosciutto-wrapped salmon served on a fennel, endive, asparagus, radish and snap pea salad with a warm sun dried tomato, caper and olive oil dressing

And, to close, the decision`s been made, and the brackets are out for this year`s NCAA College Basketball tournament (see here) … so you can guess what I`ll be doing the next few weeks, eh! My world will stop; work will stop; life will be watching basketball. Go Gongaza Go; Go Oregon; and noting my folks are down at the condo, Go FGCU (and congrats for making it into the championship rounds for the first time ever). 

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1) Campeche is a picturesque city with a real colonial Spanish ‘feel’

We would return in an instant to Campeche City! Campeche is the capital city (population about 220,000) of Campeche State. Founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1540 atop – it should be noted – a pre-existing Mayan city known as Canpech. As a port city, it was continually under attack by marauding pirates and buccaneers – Francis Drake attacked here; John Hawkins attacked here; Cornelis Jol (aka Peg Leg) attacked here. Fed up, the Spanish in 1686 hired French engineer Louis Bouchard de Becour to weave all the defensive systems that surrounded the city into a wall. Since then, Campeche has been a walled city with four main gates to access it and two forts, one of which, San Miguel now houses the city’s anthropological museum.

It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and all of the buildings inside the walled city have been painted to their original, colourful glory. The city is very tourist friendly and easily walkable.

We drove in from Hacienda Uayamon a couple times while there. On our first visit, we parked just outside the old walled city. Upon returning to the car, we found a parking ticket, which strangely had no parking ticket fine noted. Upon inquiring about this with our concierge back the the hacienda, it was recommended to simply ignore it but to certainly mention it to the car rental agency upon returning the car to the airport. Okay, duly noted.

The day before we left, we decided to drive back into town for lunch to try Le Pigua, a noted seafood restaurant. On route about 10kms outside of town we were stopped at a military checkpoint.

(as an aside, military checkpoints into and out of Mexican towns is normal (in so far as being stopped by soldiers is normal, I guess) and we came across many, many of these during our trip)

The soldiers, complete with semi-automatic assault rifles, asked us to pull the car off the road and I duly obliged thinking, ‘uh-oh!’ “Placas, placas!” they kept saying. Seems our car’s license plates were gone. The city, in an effort to get folks to pay parking tickets, actually removes plates when the ticket is issued (not a bad idea really). Initially there was sort-of standoff as I plead ignorance and they seemed at a loss as to what to do. Imagine being on a deserted country road with three soldiers in full kit and guns and you’ll get a sense of the predicament. I tried ringing the emergency number of the rental agency to no avail. And, so, as can happen in Mexico there ensued a waiting game with the soldiers saying our car was not going anywhere, and me (disconcerted for sure) being okay to wait and see. Fate interceded at that moment when the maintenance supervisor at the hacienda happened to be driving into the city to visit the hacienda’s second property – the beautiful Hacienda Puerta Campeche. He interceded on our behalf, bless him, with the soldiers agreeing we could follow him – car placas-less and all -  to City Hall where we navigated the bureaucratic-heavy process of paying the fine (about CAD$10) and getting the plates back. 

As I said in a letter to the hacienda manager and Starwood subsequently, there are moments when a citizen of a country is given an opportunity to illustrate the true heart of his/her nation. We were witness to one of these that day and Rafael demonstrated the true heart of a Mexican and Mexico. I also want to make it clear that at no time did we feel intimidated or threatened by the soldiers. They also were thoroughly professional and we all had a good laugh after returning from the city and passing back through the same checkpoint upon our return to the hacienda …. this time with plaquas!

2) the streets in the old walled city are brightly painted with cute curio shops; 3) the top of the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción pops up over the centre of the walled city

4) a peek inside a courtyard; 5) so pretty

 

5 & 6) we stopped for lunch at the Hacienda Puerta Campeche

 

7 & 8) it has such a beautiful pool woven in amid the rooms

 

9) I love this angle and the colours

 

10) Hola! dude; 11) the entrance out from the sea gate

 

12) here’s the back end of the cathedral; 13) into the museum we go

 

14) here’s the gate with the very modern (circa 1960s) City Hall building in the background

15) we ate here on the balcony overlooking Parque de la Independencia; 16) with the cathedral looming over us

 

17) we saw more VW bugs here than anywhere we’ve ever been, interestingly, when driving, all leave the hood over the rear engine open and up (probably because it’s so warm in Campeche); 18) more streets

 

19 & 20) inside the cathedral with very pretty modern stained glass windows

 

21) I’m still not sure what this building was on the main square downtown … next visit must find out

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1) Hacienda Uayamon

To recover from our adventures, we retreated for 3 nights to one of the Luxury Collection hotels, the stunning Hacienda Uayamon (pronounced Y-ah-men) located about 20 miles south of Campeche. This utterly unique hacienda has but 12 villas, that’s it. These twelve villas are served by an army of fine Mexican staff who maintain a stunning pool; a spa (with one of the best massage therapists I’ve ever had); grounds of utter beauty and a restaurant on par with many of the finest in North America. It is in every sense of the word, pampering, and should you ever have the opportunity to visit, do it!

Originally built in 1700, Hacienda Uayamon was a going concern at the turn of the last century when a local bigwig -  Rafael Carvalho Iturbide – ran the site as a farm, ranch and dye factory. Lovingly restored, the site has morphed the original buildings into the various components of the resort – the on-site hospital now houses 2 villas; the original mechanical room is the resort’s pool; a original chapel on site has remained ruin to great effect.

2) the entrance to the hacienda; 3) love the in-the-country tractor sign

4) the hallway that connected our room to the bathroom; 5) our bathroom

6) the massive tub; 7) the lovely bedroom area

8) our little hacienda, called Guarumbo; 9) our little patio that you accessed from the connecting hallway

10) the big beautiful acai tree at the entrance; 11) twilight settles on the pool

12) the (sigh) oh-so-beautiful pool which we had all to ourselves

13) gecko alert in our room; 14) the hospital, now converted to two haciendas

15 & 16) the ruins of the chapel

17) G heads to the main building walking past the spa (the red building on right); 18) the vast reflecting pool

19) standing at the entrance to the resort; 20) the old store rooms

21) wandering among the ruins; 22) another shot of the pool (I’m actually standing in the kiddie pool)

23) breakfasts were fabulous; 24) with a view out onto the entrance

25) G inspects for bats (there are many that live amid the ruins and they would fly out (usually as we sat down for dinner here each night)); 26) the greens are lovely

27 & 28) G heads home

29) detail at the pool; 30) detail in the old chapel

31) amid the ruins; 32) a birdie on the column at the pool

33) beautiful blue bird outside out hacienda; 34) dinner time on the patio (it was SO nice)

 

35) the old chimney; 36) creepy jesus in the old chapel

37) our hacienda (with the dirt cheap flowers we bought in town on Valentine’s Day; 38) the ruins again looking into the pool

39) me at the far end of the reflecting pool

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1) looking across to Structure III at Calakmul from atop Structure II

Time for an adventure!

We flew from Mexico City 2 hours further south to the city of Campeche in Campeche State in Yucatan Peninsula. Campeche is on the opposite side of the peninsula from the tourist-riddled destinations of Cancun and Cozumel and as such, is very much a city and area forgotten in time. More a place for travelers than tourists. Aeromexico flies twice/day here and provides a great in-flight service complete with hot meals and complementary drinks. From Campeche Airport we rented a car (a little PT Cruiser in fact with a cautionary yellow engine light that remained on throughout our journey, rather disconcertingly I thought) and drove 4 hours further south towards the border of Guatemala. 

2) a map to help orient you

Our destination was the Mayan ruins at Calakmul (its original Maya name was Ox Te’ Tuun). The site was discovered by air in December 1931 by biologist Cyrus Lundell. He named the site ‘Calakmul’ which in Maya translated to ‘ca’ meaning ‘two’, ‘lak’ meaning ‘adjacent’, and ‘mul’ meaning – more or less – pyramid, so Calakmul is the ‘City of the Two Adjacent Pyramids’, which is what Lundell would have seen from the air back then – two enormous pyramids poking up above the jungle canopy. While some onsite investigations occurred from 1932-38, all archeological work stopped from then till – amazingly – 1982. As such, visiting Calakmul is probably akin to travelers who visited Angkor Wat upon its initial discovery. The site is enormously difficult to get to; has few supports in terms of accommodations; and is eerily (beautifully actually) wondrous to visit as you are the only visitors there. This, no doubt, will change as the secret of Calakmul continues to emerge. Get there while you can!

After leaving the town of Escarcega (your last petrol fill-up is here along with, rather strangely, a Burger King!) you’ll drive another hour and a bit to reach the gate to the Calakmul Biological Reserve. Just off this turn, you’ll come across the only accommodations for miles around – the very rustic, ecologically-friendly Hotel Puerta Calakmul. From here, you’ve another hour drive down an increasingly narrowing and winding (and dangerous) road to the parking lot and from there a hike of about 20 minutes to the ruins. Bring plenty of water, some snacks and plan a (very) early start.

We loved our stay at Hotel Puerta Calakmul – we had a little hut to ourselves and enjoyed our meals in the ‘restaurant’ hut where, honestly, we had some of the best food we ate in Mexico (hundreds of miles from anywhere and in the middle of a jungle, go figure!).

3) reception at Puerta Calakmul; 4) I managed to get up close to a bird while wandering the trails here

5) G wanders the compound; 6) there was even a swimming pool

7) a pretty much perfectly done omelet in the middle of nowhere at Puerta Calakmul; 8) the view from our hut

9) here’s our little hut; 10) and our beds inside – rather rustic and no tv, no phone, no radio

11) I’m ready for bed in the mosquito net; 12) the bar inside the restaurant at Puerta Calakmul

Archaeological documentation at this site is still in its infancy but archaeologists believe the site served as a city for up to 50,000 people from circa 411AD through to about 800AD (more or less). Its height was during the reign of Yuknoom Che’en II, sometimes called Yuknoom the Great, 636-686AD and it ruled over several smaller cities that spread out some 150 miles distant. In this time, it was the capital of what has come to be called the Kaan (or Snake) Kingdom.

13) we’re getting close; 14) you pass this swampy area as you hike into the site – it is VERY buggy during the season and I can’t imagine that people lived here all the time

15 & 16) suddenly, hiking in, there was a tremendous rush overhead and viola, an entire family of Howler Monkeys wandered by

17) G hikes up to the first ruin; 18) there are hundreds of stelae at the site like this one

 

19) the site is truly eerily quiet like this shot implies; 20) up G goes

 

21) G stops to ponder the ball court and what games may have been played there 1500 years ago

 

22) in the main city square, g heads off to explore; 23) me in front of Structure III

 

24) G heads up; 25) across the way – using my telephoto lens, other travelers!

26) me atop Structure III enjoying the view above the canopy; a view only the royals would have enjoyed at the time

 

27) me atop Structure II, with Structure III in the background

 

28) looking across to the main square of the city; 29) Structure III taken from Structure II

30) again, the quiet rules; 31) one of the stelae – how’s your ancient Maya?

32) a direct on shot of Structure II – or, the lower half of it at least … it goes up beyond the sight-line

33) to finish, a video from the top!

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1) a view of the Pyramid of the Moon and the Avenue of the Dead taken from the Pyramid of the Sun

We had our driver drive us the roughly 48kms north and east of Mexico City – through some of the most amazing views of Mexico City’s ‘shanty towns’ built with haphazardness up each and every mountain ringing the city – to the pre-Columbian city whose name means, “where man met the gods” – Teotihuacan. To this day, very little is still known about the Teotihuacanos and the city they built, which at its zenith in circa 450AD spread out over some 30 square kilometers and was home to a population of some 125,000 (making it one of the largest cities in the world at its time).

The city was founded and built, scholars believe, between 100BC and 240AD-ish. Its people built it willingly by all accounts and lived a life based on agriculture and trade. Teotihuacan was no Sparta despite how history has since protrayed it. It is best know for its two massive pyramids – the Pyramid of the Sun (the third largest pyramid in the world) and its counterpart, the smaller Pyramid of the Moon. Linking these two icons is a kilometer long road known as the Avenue of the Dead (a misnomer as the buildings that lined the avenue were in fact what we would know as government administrative buildings and residences for the elite). 

The Pyramid of the Sun was so-named by the Aztecs who visited the site centuries after the Teotihuacanos had disappeared. Originally, it was covered over with plaster on which the builders painted jaguars, stars and snake rattles. 

The city petered out sometime in the early 8th century, we think because of changes in the weather that left agricultural activity in the lurch.

 

2) the shanty towns of Mexico City are never-ending; 3) the Pyramid of the Sun

4 & 5) some of the still-surviving painted decorations at Teotihuacan

6 & 7) detail of the construction

8) me atop the Pyramid of the Sun

9) looking straight up the Avenue of the Dead from the Pyramid of the Sun

10) G heads up the Pyramid of the Moon; 11) looking back to the Pyramid of the Sun

 

12 & 13) some perspective of the steepness of the climb on the Pyramid of the Moon

 

14) it is really a climb at this angle

 

15) atop the Pyramid of the Moon there is a constant struggle to get to the summit point; 16) looking down from the Pyramid of the Moon

 17) the short video I shot atop the Pyramid of the Sun

Mexico City is home to one of – if not the – greatest museum of Mesoamerican anthropological history in the world – the Museo Nacional de Antropologia. Designed by Pedro Ramirez Vazquez in 1963, it is a very impressive structure with several exhibit halls that surround a patio and huge pond with a cantilevered roof suspended over it by a single slender pillar called “el paraguas” (Spanish for umbrella). If you do nothing else whilst in Mexico City, visit here.

18) detail of the umbrella

 

19) the central court of the museum and the famed roof; 20) another shot of the umbrella to give you perspective of its height

 

21) inside the Aztec gallery; 22) inside the Mayan gallery is this stelae taken from Calakmul (way down in Campeche State) – we were keen to see these stelae as our next stop was a flight to Campeche followed by a 4 hour drive into the jungle near the Guatemalan border to hike the ruins at Calakmul

23) one of the famed jade masks found at Tenochtitlán; 24) a picture of what the Spanish would have encountered when they arrived – Mexico City (Tenochtitlan, as it was called then)

25) the famous Stone of the Sun … which was a real draw for the many Mexicans who had gathered at the museum

The Stone of the Sun is some 3.7m across and was discovered in the Zocalo (the historic centre of Mexico City) in December 1790 when repairs were being made to Mexico City Cathedral. While debate continues to abound about its purpose, it is likely the stone was used primarily as a ceremonial basin or ritual altar for gladiatorial sacrifices, than as an astrological or astronomical reference (which has often been the case). Most, if not all, Mesoamerican cultures practiced human sacrifice. The massive altar below was used for just this purpose.

 

26) one of the huge altar stones used for human sacrifice at Tenochtitlán; 27) a map of Tenochtitlan as it was – a city of canals, the Venice of the Mexico – when the Spaniard arrived

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1) the interior of Paxia

While in Mexico City we dined at two of the city’s best restaurants, Paxia and Pujol. Both were touted by the concierge at the St Regis as molecular cuisine establishments that took simple – and classic – Mexican dishes and fused them with molecular techniques. Indeed, this was more true of Paxia than Pujol but essentially both are built more in a contemporary cuisine mold first and foremost. Of the two, I give nods to Paxia as a place I would return to as I found both the dishes – especially the ‘oyster’ and ‘bone marrow’ courses – and the service better. We were honoured to have different members of the kitchen attend our table as each course was served, which I thought was a gracious act. Food at Paxia is more homey, I suppose. That said, Pujol is one-notch higher in terms of its presentation and refinement, and dishes are esthetically … stunning. I suspect this is the result of a numbers game – Pujol is tiny and a one-off while Paxia is a larger restaurant and one of several in Chef Ovadia’s pantheon.

Paxia was our first stop. This is one of several restaurants of Chef Daniel Ovadia and Paxia actually has two locations (so make sure you know which you’re after). Paxia on Juan Salvador Agraz is the newer of the two and is located out in the very business-like community of Santa Fe. If you’re after a dinner in an environment similar to any bland, large American city, by all means head here. If you’re after something more authentic in a real community where real Mexicans live, visit the original location – which we did – on Avenida La Paz in the San Angel area.

2) the amuse was a small croquette with chili sauce; 3) Almeja blanca en rescolda, salsa de lentejas, cebollitas, chile serrano y gajos de limon (this was an inventive take – a baked clam in a clam shell made of blue cornmeal)

4) here is the ‘shell’ opened to reveal the baked clam 5) Escabeche de pulpo (pickled octopus); the ‘seaweed’ you see is actually a thin wafer that tasted like smoke

6 & 7) Quesadillita “Oaxaca”, rellena de pollo y mole negro, cubierta de axucar (a very rich mole into which you dipped the chicken quesadillita)

8) Costillitas y cueritos de lechon, yema de huevo, guacalmole, rabanitos, totopos de maiz, limon, cebolla y brotes de cilantro criollo (a delicious salad that concealed a soft boiled egg yolk, it was excellent); 9) the open kitchen at Paxia

10) Tuetano al horno, sal de colima, ceniza de tortilla, aguacate, corazon de alcachofa y redccioin de cebolla quemada (another outstanding dish – bone marrow but the ‘bone’ is potato the Colima black salt was so good) … and I could not believe you could make avocado into the small tubes you see

11) Selva chiapaneca, canela, cafe, cacao, algodon de azucar, pinole, sorbete de Tlaxcalate y planton liofilizada (essentially a Chiapas State pork in a mole sauce);  12) Molleja cocinada en miel de abeja, pure de poro, melao, acite de chile de agua, limon quemado y panecito de amaranto (um, essentially that is sweetbreads in a honey, molasses, chili broth)

13) this was a digestive that was prepared right at the table – Bebida de muicle, coco, chia, apio y mexcal espadin de santiago matatlan (so, a Mexcal, chia, celery and coconut drink); 14) the light proceeded to get darker as we dined as you can see … this was one of three desserts we had – Esponja fria de yogurt con galleta de almendra y miel, mermelada de capulin, raiz de amaranto, merengue de leche y chocolate (a cold sponge cake with chokecherry jam, almond cookie and a milk and chocolate meringue)

15) and some petite fors before we left (very full)

Dinner for two at Paxia taking the 11-course tasting menu, a cocktail each, a bottle of excellent, excellent Mexican rose, and tax/tip will run you MXN$3,150,00 (or about US$250 … a good deal we thought).

Meanwhile, over at Pujol, ranked as one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants (it’s at number 36), chef Enrique Olvera is preparing traditional Mexican dishes with a decidedly modern take. Unlike Paxia, I think Pujol gets a fair share of English speaking clients so you can get by here without having to speak any Spanish (which perhaps detracts a tad from its ambiance). Pujol is just north of Chupultepec Park and immediately east of Polanco (the swank area of Mexico City with more Gucci, Prada, Tiffany and etc stores than you’ll find on Rodeo Drive and Chicago’s Magnificent Mile combined).

 

16) the amuse was a perfect disc of chia topped with avocado and a Serrano chili; 17)  Beef tartar tostada. Alfalfa. Serrano chili.

18 & 19) the signature dish at Pujol is this – Bocol. Tomatillo. Cream – and it is marvelous (I could have eaten 10 of these little corn on the cobs) 

 20) Fish ceviche taco. Hoja santa tortilla. Beans … delicious … these you eat as all Mexicans do, lifted with three fingers to the mouth

21) Fried frog leg. Chayote squash. Cauliflower purée. Poblano chilli sauce.

 

22) Baby romaine, deep fried basil and radish salad with fresh cheese; 23) Suckling lamb and eggplant. Isthmus stew. Pineapple. Flowers in escabeche. Chared herbs.

 

24) Yucatecan pork confit. Almond. Raisins and cumin mole. Tamarind. Cauliflower.

 

25) Banana. Macadamia zest. Camomile flower. Cacao. Cream;  26) Guava sorbet. Mezcal and worm salt.

27) Thyme biscuit. Lemon gelatin. Pulque sorbet. Cookie soup. White chocolate – the pulque sorbet was interesting. Pulque is a beer-like drink native Mexicans made before the arrival of the Spaniards; 28) finally, a chocolate mousse to finish

Dinner here for 2 including a cocktail each, the full tasting menu, a bottle of Mexican Chardonnay, tax/tip will run you MEX$4,265,00 (or about US$335 … also a good deal).

Certainly, if you ever find yourself in Mexico City go try both places. You shan’t regret it. G and I have been blessed to have dined in some of the best ‘molecular gastronomy’ restaurants going and meals of this caliber in other cities would cost double and treble.

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I’ve long harboured the idea of manufacturing a bar of soap shaped in the figure of the pope. I’d market this bar as “Pope on a Rope” with the tagline, “Take the pope places he’s never been”.

The idea has re-surfaced as the globe is about to wade its way through another conclave. And this got me to thinking about a way to bring the sad, antiquated institution that is the Catholic Church into the modern world. I’d like to suggest we use a new method which I’ll call, “Papacy Idol”. Based on the American Idol model, we’ll elect the pope by popular vote, narrowing down the selection of cardinals through several segments that test their skills in various religiously-significant competencies. Judges for these segments would provide expert commentary to assist us as voters and could include God, Jesus and the Virgin Mary, or, if we wanted to really be inclusive and test the waters, Buddha, Mohammed and Vishnu. Or maybe Satan? He could sort of be the Simon Cowell of the show.

As to the segments we’ll put the cardinals through, I’m thinking:

• deliver a sermon;
• perform an exorcism;
• take a confession; and,
  
• ex-communicate someone.

If there is a tie, perhaps we can assign them a written test to develop a communication plan to cover-up a sex scandal, say. They’ve plenty of experience in that and it is an important competency in any future pope.

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With the advent of the let’s-nominate-100-movies-for-best-picture mentality the Academy adopted in 2011, we’ve taken to a new angle on our Oscar Dinners whereby appetizers take front and centre. Guests are assigned a film and bring an appetizer somehow related to the film’s spirit. We have kept the annual tradition of a cocktail that honours one of Hollywood’s fallen stars. This year’s drink we dubbed a “Gin Whitney” (based on a Gin Rickey) and honouring Whitney Houston, of course. The drink consisted of bathtub gin (get the reference?!), club soda (as the water) and a garnish of mint and a Lifesaver (as she could of used one the night before the Grammys).

Joining us this year were the twins; Don & Sandra and WestJet Sue & Kevin. It was a fun evening – with too much champagne granted – and won the most-correct Oscar-Categories-Right Award.

1) the Gin Whitney; 2) bread but of course for Les Miz

3) the twins arrive; 4) for Lincoln, Oreo cookies that pitted black on white; 4) for Zero Dark Thirty, a morphed Aero bar

5) WestJet Sue brought an Iranian-inspired melange of dips and breads; 6) for Amour, a movie about aging and the impact of stroke and its accompanying challenges with mobility and memory, we served … um, I forget!

7) for Life of Pi, we made from scratch mini butter chicken tarts that were omg fabulous; 8) for Silver Linings Playbook, it was earl grey tea-infused marshmallows we made from scratch then incorporated into a Rice Krispie square; the couple in this film first meet in a diner where they order tea and cereal

9) with the remaining marshmallow, G covered them in tempered chocolate – yummy!

For the last two films, I forgot to take pictures – blame the champagne – but they were two types of chicken (one bbq-ed; the other battered) that Don did up for the film Django Unchained and auroch-shaped chicken nuggets we made and served with a creole style to support the film, Beasts of the Southern Wild.

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1) the poncho of Juan Diego above the alter in the Basilica of Guadalupe

The Villa de Guadalupe (or The Basilica of Guadalupe) is one of the most visited Marian shrines in that most silly of cults we call Catholicism. To briefly recount the story, way back on December 9, 1531 the aboriginal Mexican, Juan Diego (Cuauhtlatoatzin) was wandering into Mexico City when he heard a voice calling him from atop Tepeyac hill. He climbed up to see an apparition of a young girl – who he believed was the Virgin Mary. Mary counseled him to tell the bishop of Mexico, Juan de Zumarraga, to build a church on the hill. Juan duly obliged and conveyed the message to the bishop. However the bishop was unmoved and basically called for the proverbial proof. When Juan returned to the hill and recounted this, Mary had Castilian roses appear (they are not native to Mexico). She had him collect them – and here’s the key part of this story – in his poncho and advised him to show them to no one but the bishop. Miraculously when he met with the bishop, the roses cascaded from the poncho and *gasp* an image of the Virgin Mary – the one you see above – had been impressed on his poncho. Tada, magic!

Course, the fact here is a little more sobering. Upon the Spanish conquest 1519-21, local Mexicans continued to adhere to the ‘old’ religion and worshipped the mother-goddess Tonantzin at Tepeyac hill. To say it was convenient that this site ten years later was suddenly home to Mary speaks volumes to the ingeniousness of Spaniards to circumvent one god and transform him into another. The Spaniards had obviously read their Alexander the Great and Constantine histories well and knew the power of a good conversion. ANYhow, this bit of skillful maneuvering aside, the dear bishop was hence a believer and thus started the construction of a shrine on the site that was replaced in 1622 with the original church, known as the Templo Expiatorio a Cristo Rey. That church is still there, though sinking and much suffered through 400 years of earthquakes. 

The new basilica was built between 1974 and 1976 by the Mexican architect Pedro Ramirez Vazquez, who was also the architect of the stunning National Anthropology Museum in Chapultepec Park, and which is best known for its massive central pillar (cum waterfall) called el paraguas.

The silliness of the silly religious crap aside, the Basilica is a magnet for Mexicans. Entire families visit the site regularly and will spend the day there picnicking, walking about, and presumably praying now and again. Mass occurs pretty much every hour of the day year round and entire villages arrange busloads of citizens who travel into Mexico City to make a pilgrimage. The site really is a quintessential part of the Mexican psyche and a foundation that links all Mexicans together. Today, its environs are a circus of religious paraphernalia stores (complete with rose-scented rosaries). It is utterly and totally worth a visit and if you can suspend the cultish aspect for a moment and see the site as a force for good – which on many levels, it truly is – you’ll enjoy an hour watching the power superstition has on people even in this day and age. It is also a stunning architectural gem.

2) inside the modern basilica; 3) the original – and listing church in the foreground with the newer basilica in the background

4) families attending the service, I thought the lamps were just outstanding; 5) the utterly gorgeous wooden roof of the new basilica

6) here is the bishop greeting Mary with Juan to her right, note that Mary is also black (another tip of the hat to the smart Spaniards); 7) Templo Expiatorio a Cristo Rey

8) inside the Templo Expiatorio a Cristo Rey

9) here is a close-up of Juan’s poncho with the image of Mary from 1531; you actually stand on a moving sidewalk beneath the poncho and are whisked past it

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