in my happy place

[squeequeg]

Today I encountered mole sauce for the first time.

My world will never be the same.

Comments

[nadyezhda.livejournal.com]

If I could cook mole, I would have made it for you before.

Every once in a while I'm reminded how small CA is... :) in that my experiences, which seemed so universal there, are limited to a small geographical area. :)

[silvarwyrm.livejournal.com]

Hm, what in god's name is mole sauce...?

[gtrout.livejournal.com]

Lucky you, to have tasted it for the first time! Benighted you, to have been denied mole for so long!

Mexican food is comfort food for me--it's that California upbringing. When I was in Boston a coupla weeks back my friend Tabitha took me to a seriously fabulous place whose name I can't remember just now but which I'll be happy to find out for you. Their mole is to die for.

[gtrout.livejournal.com]

:dons foodie pedant hat:
Mole (pronounced MOH-leh) is a Mexican dish. The word means "sauce." The Mexican states of Puebla and Oaxaca are particularly known for it. Moles are rich, complex, and highly flavorful and come in many many varieties. The most famous mole, and the one most commonly seen here in the States, is mole poblano. It contains (among other things) chiles, onions, nuts, seeds, and unsweetened chocolate. When you order a mole dish, you may be surprised by the ratio of "sauce" to "solids"--it's often served with a lot more sauce surrounding the chicken/scoop of rice/etc than you might expect. As the saying goes, the mole is the meal. And when it's good, it's good.

:removes hat:
Mmmm. Mole.

[stealthmuffin.livejournal.com]

It wouldn't happen to be Sol Azteca, would it?

I must learn how to make mole sauce.

[kmunson779.livejournal.com]

Hey! You took mine when I went off to class. But here it is again...


Mmmmmmmmm-olé!

[gtrout.livejournal.com]

Oh, is this hat yours? Thanks. I got some manchamantel on it, but it should come right out...

[ffoeg.livejournal.com]

The best authentic Mexican food (ie not Tex-Mex) I've had in the Boston area is at the Forest Cafe, on Mass Ave in Cambridge somewhere between Harvard Square and Porter. It's a seedy little dive, but the food is consistently great.

[kmunson779.livejournal.com]

Nope. Not my hat. Though it's quite tasty... My hat looks like this [pulls out rainbow beanie with shiny twirly propellor on top and lot of blinkie LEDs].

"Mine" was the mmm-mole comment. But I don't have it copyrighted (yet) so don't worry. ;)

[gtrout.livejournal.com]

As it happens, no--it was the Olé Grill in Cambridge. I called my host to check. Mmmm, tasty.

An excellent Mexican cookbook that will give you all kinds of mole ideas is Zarela Martinez' The Food and Life of Oaxaca. Be warned, though, that Ms. Martinez is all about the authenticity. Many of her recipes begin with something like "First, render your own lard (see p. 336)."