LAST DAY IN MEXICO CITY
We crammed a fair bit into our last full day in Mexico City. It was all built around our reservation for a 1:30 lunch at Pujol, considered the best restaurant in the city. Our exquisite meal lasted nearly three hours. Pujol changes the menu daily, and we had our choice between two seven course tasting menus, one built around corn and the other, the sea. We chose, “Mar,” the sea, and were delighted and intrigued by the range of tastes, textures and presentation.
Everything from street foods including two tender ears of corn that had been smoked in incense and coated with a caramel covered sauce, to a wreath of diced scallops in a lime pico, to a beautiful piece of grilled octopus with a dollop of pureed carrot that looked like egg yolk (I was never a fan of octopus, but this trip has expanded my palate), to a square of sea bass on tomato marmalade under a brittle green leaf, a puddle of two kinds of mole, plus more. It was the height of culinary talent, but also very tasty.
BIRDS
Before going to lunch, we visited the aviary in Abraham Lincoln Park in the Polanco neighborhood. We got there just after it opened and the birds, parrots, parakeets, songbirds, and one lone peacock, were noisy and screechy, but oh, so colorful. With an assist from the Chief Penguin, I made some camera setting adjustments that enabled me to get some satisfactory photos. And it was fun! The other visitors were mostly mothers or nannies with young children plus one young couple. Not crowded and you could get up close to some of the parrots and to the peacock.
ART
After lunch, we made brief tours of two museums. Museo Jumex is a relatively new museum, opened in 2013, which focuses on contemporary art and aims to “become a laboratory for experimentation and innovation in the arts.” There wasn’t a lot on exhibit, so we didn’t stay too long. Across the street is another museum which in some ways is more noted for the building’s architecture than the collection.
Museo Soumaya is a large private museum and is the collection of founder Carlos Slim, one extremely wealthy man who named the museum for his late wife. Its distinctive building, narrow at the base and widening like a vase as it rises to a rooftop space, make it stand out from the more linear buildings surrounding it. This collection of 66,000 pieces covers a wide range of time periods from European art to Mexican artifacts and articles to the largest collection of Rodin sculptures anywhere. We were there very late in the day and the museum had been invaded by several big groups of what appeared to be middle school students all in like garb, each group with a different colored stripe on their black pants. I’m not sure if they had a specific assignment, but there was an adult or two herding the separate groups. They made for a noisy visit so we somewhat quickly wound our way up several levels and then in a more leisurely way surveyed the art and wound our way down.
FLORIDA RECOVERY
We returned home several days ago. What better way to recover from a gastronomically challenging trip than to go to a prized Irish sports bar? Several of our male friends have enthused about going to Clancy’s after golf for a leisurely lunch. Bill, marketeer supreme, has suggested for the past year that several couples should go with him and Alice for the experience. It finally happened! We four, along with Cathy, Dean, Jane and Mark, gathered for a relaxed lunch. Clancy’s outside is very pleasant. There is a now a sunshade over the tables, new pristine restrooms, and an owner and waitress who know our crew well.
The menu has all those good items you probably shouldn’t eat but will willingly indulge in on the right occasion. This was the right occasion. Between us all, we ordered a tuna melt, chicken quesadillas, a burger, wings, a Clancy roll (fried and very special) and scoops of tuna salad on greens. The latter proving that if you want to be healthy, it’s possible to find a salad or two! Oh, almost forgot to mention the Clancy’s chips with blue cheese dip that Mark ordered to share. These orders went along with an IPA or two or three just to wash it all down. A good time was had by all; and as my sister Sal might add, we laughed a lot! We will return.
Note: Mexico City photos by JWFarrington; Clancy’s photos by Bill & Mark. Header photo is a ceviche served at Pujol.
