Pujol - Miguel Hidalgo

El chef enrique olvera está inspirado en las calles de México para crear platos que representan un lenguaje contemporáneo de la cocina mexicana. el menú de degustación consiste de ocho a nueve veces más emparejamiento, que no es para la comida diaria, sino para ocasiones especiales, el talón de langosta con la tortilla de hoja santa es una mordida memorable y la infusión de las peltas de maíz un manjar.

Pujol is Mexico City's culinary temple, and my meal here did not disappoint. While a couple of dishes missed the mark for me (like the octopus chicharron), I thought the food overall was very impressive. As expected, the service was absolutely wonderful. The staff engaged in friendly conversation throughout the night and made the entire experience feel like we we're dining in a friend's home. To top it off, we were invited to visit the kitchen after our meal and go behind the scenes to see the magic happen. As a fun parting gift, we got to keep our dinner napkins, made from agave fiber left behind from their cooking. I would definitely recommend a visit to Pujol if you ever find yourself in Mexico City. I had the tacos prix fixe dinner. The menu was: 1) Rice chicharron, amberjack, trout roe. The trout roe was sooooo sweet. Each little pop was like a candy explosion in my mouth. 2) Tomatoes, heart of palm juice. This dish was so refreshing! It also had a delightful spicy kick to it. Our waiter explained that these two dishes cover all five tastes: salty, sweet, sour, spicy, and unami. This would open up our pallete for all the incredible flavors that were to come. 3) Lobster rasurado, macadamia, pico de gallo. Another wow. The lobster ceviche was creamy and so pure tasting. The pico de gallo salad with traditional Mexican vegetables was so fresh and savory. The combination was magic in my mouth. 4) Cured tuna taco with blue corn tortilla and salsa campechana. Very clean flavor. Not as standout as the previous dishes, but stilln very solid. 5) Seabass taco, oyster emulsion. Sliced thin and deep fried, the seabass was super crispy and delightfully flavorful. I loved how the dish was served with a Cantonese XO sauce with a Mexican flavor twist. 6) Japanese Giga oyster, fermented tomato, celery, chives. A really clean dish featuring a super fresh Giga oyster. I'm not normally a big oyster fan, but this was pretty tasty. 7) Octopus chicharron prensado gordita, veracruzana. This dish was not it favorite. 8) Mole madre 3236 days, mole nuevo (seasonal fruit: plum). I've never been a fan of mole and this dish didn't change my opinion. It did have a nice spicy kick to it though. 9) Fresas con crema gaznate. A strawberry fried roll filled with strawberry creme. Light and sweet. 10) Sorbet on grilled pineapple. Salty and sweet. This dish was simple and nice. 11) Macadamia Panna Cotta. This was just ok. The flavor was very subtle. 11) Corn silk tepache (like a tea) with elderberry flower 12) Meringue with lemon sorbet and fig on an almond cookie

For all of the hype, we had several better dinners AND lunches even in Mexico City. The setting is wonderful, but not so out of the ordinary for the amazing restaurants in the city. The service is good....but SLOW...excessively slow. The portion sizes are tiny, as to be expected based on a 7 course tasting menu, but no better is quality, flavor and ingredients than so many other places we went. There is no wine pairing, and their excuse is that people like to pick their own wines--not a Michelin Star response...and for those of us non-drinkers, their selection is poor, with a tiny cup of a non-alcoholic drink and no non-alcoholic beer. With all of the great NA wines and sparkling wines from around the world, they should be doing better for the puffed up ratings they are getting as one of the best in the world ...NOT!