Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Global Traditions
189
Fonda El Refugio
The Folk Art of Food
Mexico City, Mexico
This Zona Rosa reliable is hardly a secret.
In fact, this popular little side-street spot
with its bright
folklórico
blue facade has
been around so long, and is so resolutely
old-style, that gourmets often bypass it for
trendier places. But as a primer on Mexi-
co's many regional cooking styles, Fonda
El Refugio can't be beat.
Meaning “country inn of refuge,” Fonda
El Refugio is as unassuming as its name
promises, with white-washed brick walls,
ladder-back black chairs, small white-
clothed tables tucked into niches, and a
yawning fireplace hung with gleaming
copper pots and pans. The atmosphere is
pleasantly informal and unhurried, with
respectful service and genuine congenial-
ity; it's the sort of place where families
gather to celebrate birthdays and anniver-
saries and other special occasions, and
you'll find as many locals as tourists here.
When folk-art collector Judith Martinez
Ortega first opened the restaurant in 1954,
she already had an encyclopedic collec-
tion of recipes gathered from her travels
around the country; her family still runs
the restaurant, and those recipes are the
backbone of the menu. You'll find dishes
from each region of Mexico—mostly
hearty country dishes like
arroz con pláta-
nos
(rice with fried bananas),
albóndigas
chipotle
(meatballs laced with spicy chili),
or
enchiladas con mole poblano,
topped
with the rich, thick, spicy chocolate sauce
of Puebla. Chiles stuffed with ground beef
or cheese are particularly popular, as is
the
chicharón
with salsa verde (deep-fried
pork rinds in a spicy green sauce) and the
pig's trotter marinated in vinegar (
manitas
de cerdo en vinegre
). Daily specials are
just about always worth trying. You might
find tasty seasonal specialties like red
snapper cooked Veracruz-style (in onions,
tomatoes, and olives); stuffed peppers in
walnut sauce with pomegranate seeds;
zucchini blossom quesadillas; or a special
mole sauce made with pumpkin seeds. For
dessert have some coconut candy, mouth-
watering flan, or the Saturday night spe-
cial,
huevas reales
—baked eggs glazed
with sweet syrup.
Baskets of freshly handmade tortillas
land on your table like magic; refreshing
drinks include some excellent fruit juices
and potent, delicious margaritas. El Refu-
gio is very popular, especially on Saturday
night, so make a reservation, and get here
early.
Liverpool 166 (
&
55/5207-2732
or
55/5525-8128; www.fondaelrefugio.com.
mx).
(
Mexico City (9.2km/5
3
/
4
miles).
L
$$
Best Western Hotel Majestic,
Av. Madero 73 (
&
52/55/5521-8600;
www.majestic.com.mx). $
Hotel Cate-
dral,
Calle Donceles 95 (
&
52/55/5521-
6183;
www.hotelcatedral.com).
