Alvin Starkman asked:


We non-native Oaxacans have our rules…don’t drive outside the city after dark, never eat fresh unpeeled produce, be cautious feasting on the street or in markets. For me, after less-than-orgasmic culinary experiences, there was “wait ‘til you’re on the coast to eat fish or seafood.”  Thankfully all changed after starting to dine at Veracruz a couple of years ago. For over 10 years owners Leo and Rosita have been serving up some of the best seafood I’ve ever eaten, anywhere.  Perhaps because as native Veracruzanos, mariscos is in their blood. Perhaps because they take pride in their fresh, and exquisitely prepared and seasoned dishes, as is abundantly evident when you see Leo continually seeking assurance from his patrons that all is well.

 

Located a few kilometers out of Oaxaca proper, Veracruz has a quaint coastal flavor to it, one side simple marine décor and the other a palapa.  I prefer the atmosphere of the beachy palm leaf roof with walls of reed construction, so for this comida we dined in the palapa.

 

Friendly and attentive staff promptly present an array of complimentary starters foreshadowing the rest of the meal….each dish distinctly flavorful, not too spicy, light, cold when it’s supposed to be, and hot when that’s what you would expect!

 

Crisp tostadas appear almost as quickly as you are seated, with sides of   green and red salsas and requisite mayonnaise and saltines.  Next a meaty crab leg salad in a light spicy vinaigrette with chopped tomato and green pepper, lime and chile.  Your intermezzo is steaming crab leg and pincer tomato based soup ready to give your teeth and fingers a workout. 

 

We decided against the cocktails (octopus, shrimp, crab, etc) which come in 50 and 90 peso sizes, and the larger meal sized broths and bouillabaisses ranging from 85 to 150, opting for cold seafood platters.  First came the lightly dressed shrimp salad with sliced red onion, lime and habanero chiles, followed by large triangles of sea scallop combined with white onion, chile and orange slices, each of these plates having been prepared with attention to color and flavor combinations.  Finally appeared a tray of still steaming succulent cracked crab pincers over a bed of citrus slices and ice.

 

Entrees, ranging from 125 pesos, arrive appropriately garnished, together with baskets of sliced oven-fresh baguette style bread.  My wife’s giant split-shell shrimp were served in a chipotle sauce, almost in defiance of the traditional strong flavor of this chile, alongside a healthy dollop of melted Oaxacan string cheese.  Our daughter opted for shrimp in a semi-sweet white wine marinade, with sides of cooked cubed veggies, and undressed mixed salad.  My whole sea bass, Veracruzano style, was served in a savory sauce with tomato, olive, caper, carrot and chile.  The red snapper of Fernando Gonzalez our culinary cohort for this meal, still enveloped in aluminum and extending well beyond the edges of the plate, was baked with pureed green tomato and spices, the steamy aroma of hierba santa filling the air upon the foil being stripped away.

 

After a feast of such Bacchanalian proportions, which included several copas of the best house mezcal any of us had previously tasted, coffee and dessert were out of the question, although we yielded to temptation and finished off with the sweet Spanish liqueur, “43”, chased with soda over ice.

 

NOTES:

Full bar

Credit Cards

From noon, 7 days

Margen Izq. Del Rio Atoyac #250, Col El Pilar   51-27610

Frank Keller asked:


Ocean City offers a wide variety of dining choices. My favorite restaurant is the Marina Deck located at 306 Dorchester Street. Try their cream of crab soup for a taste of true Maryland cuisine, or select from any of their seafood dishes, everything is very good. As with any restaurant, house specialties are always the best so don’t go to a seafood restaurant expecting great ribs. Marina Deck is a must visit while in Ocean City.

If you’re in the mood for ribs or beef I would suggest Nick’s Original House of Ribs located at 14410 Coastal Hwy, or Bull on the Beach with 2 locations, one at 94th Street & Coastal Hwy and one just outside Ocean City on Route 50. While Nick’s has the best ribs, Bull on the Beach has the best pit beef in Ocean City. Many visitors and locals consider Bull on the Beach is a must place to eat while Ocean City in and their bar is a relaxed gathering place for locals. JR’s used to be the place to go for ribs but I have gotten some bad reviews about service the last few years and I have not been overly pleased with their service.

When you’re in the mood for Italian head downtown to Adolfo’s Italian Restaurant located at 806 S. Baltimore Avenue. Their food is excellent and highly recommended by locals, however; the best doesn’t come cheap so be prepared to pay top dollar to eat here. For very good Italian food at family prices try Salvatore’s Italian & Seafood Family Restaurants located just outside of Ocean City on Route 50. I don’t consider Salvatore’s a step down from Adolfo’s, just a different menu with a more family friendly menu and reasonable prices.

The Japanese steak house, Sakura, is one of my family’s favorite places to eat. Located in the White Marlin Mall just outside of Ocean City on Route 50 it offers some excellent beef, poultry, and seafood dishes all cooked in front of you by some talented chefs. Wait times are not too long, but keep in mind that parties of less than 6 will be seated with other small parties. This is really fun and gives you a chance to meet other couples or families. While I’m not into Sushi, I’m told theirs is very good. Sakura’s is a must visit while in Ocean City. Unfortunately there is no one Chinese restaurant that I can recommend over another, so this will have to be a try it and see selection. I always suggest you try new restaurants at lunch or at early bird dinner hours when the prices are usually much lower.

On days when all you can think about is dinner I recommend going to a buffet. This has become a popular dinner alternative in our area because you can really get a good value for your dollar when you’re super hungry. If you mainly want crabs or crabs and shrimp my favorites are Waterman’s located on Route 50 just outside of Ocean City and Higgins Crab House with two locations; 31st & Coastal Hwy and 128th St & Coastal Hwy. Both of these are, in my mind at least, must visit restaurants. Crab feasts are the most economical way to get crabs but buying them by the dozen allows you to get larger crabs and take the leftovers home to eat later. Both of these restaurants have carry-out as well as eat in and all you can eat menus. If buying crabs to go I always recommend buying them by the ½ bushel or whole bushel, because you get more for your dollar. When you’re in the mood for more variety the best buffet is at The Bonfire located at 71st St & Ocean Hwy and the Embers Restaurant located at 24th Street & Coastal Hwy. Both of these offer prime rib and seafood buffets that are the best in town.

Tired from being at the beach all day? Try Ponzetti’s Pizza located at 144th Street & Coastal Hwy, this is a non-chain pizza parlor with very good pizza, an amusement area, and a full service bar. There are many pizza places in Ocean City but Ponzetti’s, Lombardi’s located at 9203 Coastal Highway, and the Dough Roller with 4 locations; 70th & Coastal Highway,  1125th Street & Costal Highway, Division Street & Boardwalk,  213 North Atlantic Avenue, are, in that order, the best in my opinion. If you’re in the mood for a sub try Fat Daddy’s located at 216 S. Baltimore Ave. Of course all of the fast food chains are represented up and down Coastal Hwy, but I really think you will like our local restaurants and Deli’s much better for close to the same cost.

As stated earlier; try unknown restaurants at lunch or for their early bird dinners to see if they are worth spending your hard earned money on. Like all resort areas there are what I call “rip-off” restaurants that appear for a summer or two and then vanish. You may have noticed that several of the restaurants I recommend are located just outside of Ocean City, but all of them are less than 5 minutes away. Every restaurant I recommend is frequented by locals and is open year-round with the exception of the Marina Deck which has a smaller restaurant in Ocean Pines that is open year-round. Almost every question I am asked about restaurants starts with; where do the locals eat? The restaurants listed here are where my family and friends eat that is in or near Ocean City.

Alvin Starkman asked:


Alvin Starkman  M.A., LL.B.

Middle class residents of major American and Canadian cities tend to have their favorite all-day Sunday brunch haunts…relaxed, clean, diner-style restaurants dishing up home cooking in a comfortable familiar environment.  Six days a week from 1 to 6 pm Los Almendros serves such a function for local Oaxacans.   Tucked away on a cobblestone privada close to Blvd. Manuel Ruiz in Colonia Reforma, a few blocks northeast of the baseball stadium, Lionel Leyva with wife Soledad and family have been greeting friends and new devotees since 1974.  You can’t help but feel at home in this Cheers-esque setting as you watch Lionel greet his own set of Frazier Cranes .

 

Upon entering the quadrangle-shaped comedor you’re struck by its warmth and amiability, without a trace of pretension.  Wooden tables with traditional colorful woven cloths are covered with thick plastic.  Walls are adorned with framed photos of the owners with family and patrons of celebrity…no politicians, but rather actors, singers and songwriters.  Two mounted deer busts serve as testimony that the Leyvas do things their way, and the throngs of faithful as evidence of approval.

 

The menu is limited to perhaps 15 or 20 authentic Oaxacan plates, some of which are appetizers.  You can choose daily specials not often found in other local eateries.  All is á la carte, so begin with one or two of the modestly priced botanas, perhaps memelas or an appetizer sized grilled meat dish, each of which is accompanied by salsa and guacamole.  The house mezcal is noteworthy and definitely worth sampling if nothing else.  For this visit Lionel had a tobalá and a surprisingly smooth gusano.

 

Although we arrived relatively early for this comida, by the time we were ready to order entrées, surprisingly the Sunday staple of Barbacoa de Borrego (bbq goat) had been sold out to patrons who knew better than we did to order ahead or for take-out.  All was not lost, however, since my wife’s main dish of tender pork ribs was prepared in the same style as one of the traditional barbeque recipes, baked in a tangy sauce and enveloped in foil.  Try the black beans with aromatic flavor of hierba de conejo as a side dish to any of the grilled or baked meats.  I began with a generous, piping hot serving of absolutely spectacular caldo de espinazo with an assortment of carrots, beans, potatoes and requisite pork, flavored with chili pasillo and accompanied by a dish of sliced lime, chopped onion and serrano chili for added acidity, spice and texture.  That, after appetizers and some of the better tortillas I’ve had in a while should have been enough, but the tongue in its traditional mole called out to me.  With whole black and green olives, and a tomato based sauce flavored with onion, garlic, raisin and almond, this bowl of lean, succulent sliced meat ranked with the best.  To complete the meal, if you haven’t had cajeta, the goat’s milk caramelized sweet, try it here in a light gelatin, alongside a cup of café de olla.  

 

Just as the regulars returned to that immortalized Boston bistro every week, you too will be drawn back to Los Almendros time and again, if not on a subsequent visit during this trip to Oaxaca, then upon your return… and greeted just as warmly as the old gang. 

 

Notes:   Comida only, 1 – 6 pm

             Closed Thursdays

             Beer, spirits and liqueurs

             Full meal incl beverage  70 – 90 pesos

 

Comedor Familiar Los Almendros

3ra Privada de Almendros #109,

Col. Reforma, Oaxaca

 tel: 515-2863|

Alvin Starkman asked:


Alvin Starkman  M.A., LL.B.



 

Thankfully the recent expansion from 24 to 40 seats hasn’t detracted from the intimacy and quaintness of this downtown Italian restaurant and pizzeria.  It still has classy yet welcoming décor of deep cranberry and white walls, simple pine tables and cushioned chairs stained dark to enhance a bistro-like feeling, and not to be overshadowed, floor-length draperies well-matched to the magenta / wine tones. The soft sound of jazz heard from the street is alone enough to make you want to take a peak in, and then you’re hooked. 

   

 

You’re warmly welcomed by Italian owner Simone, who is almost always on hand.  His presence remains, yet more in the nature of consultant, available to make suggestions, innately knowing when his attention is needed, and when not.   He advises regarding selections from the printed menu, or large blackboard.  We’ve never been disappointed with his wine recommendations, each having been carefully chosen by Simone so as to ensure appropriate pairing of food with wine, as well as affordability for middle-of-the-road patrons. 

 

 

The primary culinary reason for visiting Vieja Lira is its pizzas.  However, the fish, seafood, pastas and zuppas run a very close second.  And even if the temptation to order a traditional plato fuerte is too great to resist, and you’re inclined to pass on the pizza, suggest to others in your party that pizza as one of the appetizers might satisfy the curiosity if not secret yearning of all. 

 

 

Drinks arrive almost as readily as the crusty, soft yet dense bread, hand-cut to be drizzled with the herb infused olive oil or perhaps some paste-like salsa de chile de arbol.

 

 

The pizza is one generous size, with crust as thin as I’ve ever chomped, surely worthy of winning an award.  It borders on the thickness of a tortilla or perhaps tlayuda.  For this cena our eight-slicer had cheese, tomato and the usual herbs and spices, each quarter with a healthy topping of one of artichoke, black olive, mushroom and pepperoni. While it was the first appetizer to arrive, and we knew there were more entradas to follow,  the four diners in our party were drawn to devour it all, without even a single, obligatory “no, you take the last piece.”

 

 

Our appetizers were rounded out with a bowl of ten or so medium-sized garlic shrimp, skewered, and an order of bruschetta of chicken liver paté, dare I say good enough to remind me of my grandmothers’ recipe from The Old Country.  Watch out asiento, schmaltz is making inroads into Oaxaca.

 

 

My wife’s seafood bouillabaisse consisted of a medley of seafood and fish, juices appropriately spiced with a blend of fresh local herbs including your standard Italian selections, served in an oversized bowl.  I continued with the crustacean theme, indulging in a hefty serving of fettuccini with seafood including squid, octopus, shrimp, scallop and local langostina in their shell.  One of our guests ordered seared tuna over a bed of mixed exotic greens.  She’d requested “rare, much less than medium,” I piped in “almost still swimming,” yet the plate arrived disappointingly overcooked, bordering on well.  Without question or discussion the dish was removed, and in short order another serving, properly grilled, arrived with appropriate apology.  The final entrée was one of the daily specials, rabbit with choice of penne or linguini, in a tangy tomato sauce.

 

 

Two bottles of Italian merlot having been retired, the restaurant by now almost empty, we were nevertheless still inclined to continue with just a bit more catching up with good friends.  A couple of brandies and herbal teas, a tiramisu, and a coconut ice cream served in its half shell, most agreeably put the finishing touches on an evening of overall contentment.

 

 

Vieja Lira

Trattoria & Pizzeria

Pino Suárez 100

Centro, Oaxaca

Hours: 1 – 11 p.m., closed Tuesday

Tel:  516 – 1122