After the whirlwind that was evidenced in my last post, things downshifted a bit as I had to work during the day. After somewhat regretting that decision, I eventually powered through, helped by the fact my place was attached to a good seafood restaurant. Getting some delicious shrimp tacos delivered directly to my door didn’t hurt either.

After finishing work and a much needed siesta, I was off again. This time I wanted to try some different regional cuisine and had read Terazzo Istmo had one of the nicest terraces in tow and also great food from that area. The weather had once again mercifully cooled down and as I ascended the stairs to the restaurant, I was greeted with a nice breeze.

The echoes from the honking horns were neutralized by the calm, tranquil atmosphere of the restaurant. This was made even more evident once I started sipping on my delicious Mezcal Mule cocktail.

Continuing my quest to try at least 2 dishes per dinner, I asked my server what a good Itsmo starter would be and he recommended the Melina – which was basically a smoked fish pate. Sold.

Consisting on fish first smoked and then grounded into basically a powder via a mortar and pestle, it was a nice way to start the meal. More of a powder than a paste per se, it had a nice gentle heat that made it quite different than a typical smoked fish dip.

I hadn’t had the Oaxacan staple tlyuda (basically a giant tostada) yet so I was intrigued what the Itsmo version would be like. As it turned out, a lot different as this rendition cut it in half and then rolled up like a burrito.

This one was a mixture of fresh herbs, steak, chorizo and of course quesillo. It wasn’t, however, soft like a burrito but still had a crispy texture. Very different and very delicious.

I had noticed that the couple sitting next to me had become just one person for quite sometime. Recognizing he was clearly a gringo, I asked what had happened to his companion and he explained that they had flown in from Mexico City yesterday. Unfortunately, it appeared something else had tagged along and his boyfriend was down for the count.

We chatted a bit, and he noted he was wanting to check out a bar that had also been recommended to me, Sabina Sabe so we decided to head over as it was close by. Unfortunately, Google Maps had lied to us and it was closed.

There was another bar, Selva, that was also on both of our lists so walked a few blocks further and ascended the stairs to a jungle themed (selva = jungle) hideaway. Known for its inventive mezcal cocktails, I asked for a smoky but not sweet version. Our server immediately steered me to his favorite – mezcal with cingar (a smoked artichoke liqueur) It was a bit heavy with the cingar, which added some bitterness but overall a very nice cocktail.

However, before I had taken a sip, the server (different than the one with whom I had placed the order) pointed my glass of water and suggested I have a sip of the side shot before the cocktail. Uh wha? He had disappeared before I had a chance to ask WTF was he talking about so I sat there with my cocktail, untouched. About 10 mins later my new friend agreed with me it must have been a mistake so I finally sipped away.

Having work the next day, I declined another but amusingly enough, the mysterious shot of mezcal finally arrived. By that point, it probably wasn’t wise to down the whole thing so I just took a couple of sips – not bad but not worth the agita I dealt with to get it.

It was closing time so we said our goodbyes. I gave him a couple more places I had been to so far and headed back up to my place for some rest. Tomorrow was going to be another relatively quiet day/night before the real food porn will begin. So fear not, dear readers there’s much more to come.