I’m usually not one to visit the same country in back to back trips but going from Cabo to Oaxaca is decidedly different. After my friend Ed had visited here for a wedding last year and almost convinced me to hop to a plane, it was definitely a place I wanted to visit muy pronto.

As readers of this blog know, last year I decided to take advantage of remote work by truly working remotely. Plus in this case, I’d have a holiday to get my bearings before working the rest of the week. So, having found both a decent deal on a non-stop flight and a really good AirBnB spot, off I went.

After a thankfully smooth flight, I soon arrived in the Centro of Oaxaca. Given it was 9:30pm on a Sunday, my options for food were a bit limited but fortunately, the highly rated El Destilado’s more casual upstairs (aka el techo) was open.

Known for their cocktails, I opted for a mezcal drink that intrigued me – Negroni de Cantora – which had mezcal, Cinzanno rosso and of course, Campari, except in this case the ingredients had been mixed together in a clay pot and then set aside in a dark room for 1335 days to mimic a solera method of aging rum. A nice start.

The menu, while short, had a few dishes that looked good but I was instantly drawn to the Open Grilled Vegetables of the House – broccoli, broccolini, smoked pickled carrots, nori, onions in a guajillo and another local Oaxacan pepper sauce. The vegetables were perfectly cooked and the sauce was rich and just enough heat. They eventually gave me a basket of blue corn chips to dip, which was a great choice.

Next up I choice the tamal with pork rib, onions and herbs with both a pickled red cabbage puree and a local smoked pepper sauce. The tamal was full of flavor and moist with the acidic puree cutting through the richness nicely. Wary of potential garlic issues in the pepper sauce I only had a quick pour of it, which was enough.

Knowing how hot the weather would be during the day, I decided to take advantage of the now perfect weather to wander a bit around my new ‘hood for the week.

After a fitful night of sleep due to never getting the room temp quite right, it was time for lunch so I headed over to a highly recommended sandwich/bakery. Alas, there was a line down the block and in this intense heat, that was a non-starter. Fortunately, the next block over was what appeared to be a pop up inside a bar which was selling quesillo (what Oaxacans call their famous local white cheese) sandwiches. Simple but cheap and delicious.

The heat was becoming very oppressive so the museum of pre Hispanic art sounded good to me. Rufino Tamayo took over 20 years to curate this truly impressive collection of mostly ceremonial art, some dating back over 3000 years, and then gave it all to the museum in his hometown.

Two of my favorites.

Each room was dedicated to a specific region of Mexico, color coordinated.

There was also a very pretty courtyard filled with votive statues.

The heat was now pushing 95 and was sapping me of my remaining energy so I decided to cool off back at mi casa. This turned out to be fortuitous as about an hour later a massive isolated thunderstorm ripped through, knocking out power for a bit.

After a quick siesta and thankfully cooler weather, I walked a few blocks to my next destination – El Mezcalado – which was an appointment only mezcal tasting room. Focused on almost exclusively Oaxacan mezcals from tiny producers, I was given an option of 3-5 tastes. I decided to split the difference with 4.

My host explained how different species of agave (there are over 20 of them), the cultivation and distillation styles – from copper boilers to clay pots – affect the end mezcal. He gave me 2 that had been distilled only once, which were cleaner and not really smoky like a traditional mezcal and 2 that were smoky being twice distilled and cultivated via more ancient methods. Of course, the one I liked the most was the most expensive but at least I coaxed a for the road second shot of it.

Before I left, I asked my host where he goes on his day off and he immediately replied with La Popular, which was pretty nearby. It was a small corner restaurant that featured classic Oaxacan dishes in a more casual setting than some of the other places I’d be visiting later in the trip.

First up was a truly ancient dish called Hongos de Oaxaquena – grilled mushrooms with melted quesillo and a tapenade of champulines (ground grasshoppers) The latter came as a surprise as there wasn’t the expected crunch but my server told me they use a mortar and pestle to turn it into a paste. A very interesting and tasty dish.

I decided to be a bit more traditional for my next course – tostada of braised pork leg and chícharones. This was very rich and very tasty. This was a massive tostada filled to the brim with puerco, puerco, puerco. Vegetarians look away!

Needing to walk off that meal, I headed down the street to the main cathedral which was teeming with people. It turned out there was a massive teacher sit-in to protest their lack of support, which had now lasted 15 days. The flood lights being used washed out my pictures so y’all will just have a visualize in your mind’s eye.

I walked back up the small hill to my place, tried and ready to get some much needed sleep. Tomorrow was going to be even hotter than today so perhaps not such a bad thing I have to work then.