Good authentic Mexican eats

On Saturday, friends Ron and Debi invited me to join them for lunch at their friend's house. Their friend Miguel and his wife Gaby operate a take out restaurant out of their home, but only on Saturdays. But since Ron and Debi were friends of Miguel's, instead of take out, we were invited to have our lunch in their home. You have a choice amoung 5 items to eat: Pozole ($20), tacos (6 for $30), tostadas ($20), enchiladas ($5) and sopes(6 for $30) (Prices are listed in Mexican pesos). For those Cdn and US readers, just divide by 10 to get the rough USD$ equivalent. For example, the massive bowl of pozole costs approx $2USD.

I opted for a bowl of Pozole and a small serving of enchiladas. For those of you who do not know, Pozole is a type of traditional Mexican stew or soup that varies by region and family in Mexico. It is a soup made with meat and hominy, along with some herbs and some vegetables. In my experience, you typically find it prepared with some sort of pork meat, although I have heard of pozole served with other meats. As far as what kind of pork meat, you can get many different types depending upon the region or the family that is preparing it. Typically, it is prepared with tripe and pigs feet but others use pork shoulder and/or other cuts. In this case, from what I could understand, this pozole was made with pigs feet and I thought I saw some tripe also. Since I have never tried tripe before, I was not certain and could not remember the spanish word to clarify. The other main ingredient besides pork is hominy. Hominy is dried white or yellow corn kernels from which the hull and germ have been removed. It basically looked like massive corn kernels. So, enough of the educational stuff, was it good you ask? It was absolutely delicious! I had never had tripe or pigs feet before, so I was a little nervous, but wow, the flavour was unbelievable. Debi liked it so much she had a second helping. For my next dish, I opted for a small plate of 3 enchiladas which were seriously the best ones I have ever had. They were prepared with ground beef and a homemade mole sauce that was to die for! So, my two courses of food cost 35 pesos in total (I had 3 mini enchiladas and the pozole) which is roughly equivalent to $3.50 USD.

While we were enjoying our meal, many local people from the neighborhood were coming by with large tupperware containers or pots to purchase her famous pozole or tacos, etc. Gaby and her mother did all the cooking and you could tell from the steady stream of customers at her door that people from far and wide enjoyed their food very much.

For those of you here in Manzanillo, keep in mind that she is only open for business on Saturdays from 10-6 (mas o menos). And it is take out only. You can bring your own container or she has some styrofoam ones there if you do not bring your own. Here is the address if you are interested in checking it out:

Gaby and Miguel

Avenida de los gonsos
Barrio 5, #66
Manzanillo

Here are some photos of the house and family.


This is Gaby and Miguel's house


This is a photo of Gaby and Miguel, their two children, a nephew and Gaby's mother


Debi, Miguel and Ron

What a wonderful afternoon and meal. Gaby and Miguel's hospitality was incredible and the food was delicious. And the price, well, I came out of their stuffed for less than $4USD. It does not get much better than that!