Former quality Oaxacan restaurant La Catrina de Alcala is now an Italian restaurant. Temple, another downtown Oaxaca restaurant, just never took off, and now it too has gone Italian, under the name Vieja Lira; that makes two Vieja Lira restaurants in Oaxaca’s downtown core. Epicuro opened its doors in early 2011, yet another Italian restaurant in the city center, this one styling itself as serving healthy Mediterranean & Italian food. Change has been brewing since 2006.
Food Traditionally Served in Restaurants in Oaxaca
Oaxaca has traditionally been acknowledged as the gastronomic capital of Mexico, with its diversity of moles; its tlayudas; its grilled cecina, chorizo and tasajo; its range of tamales; and umpteen other dishes. The opportunity to indulge in the richness of Oaxacan cuisine has been one of the draws for tourism to the city. And of course there has been the instructional aspect, fostered via several Oaxaca cooking schools which have also attracted foodies, chefs from abroad, and simply aficionados of Mexican food.
For decades, restaurants in Oaxaca catered to mainly tourists, and hence their menus specialized in Oaxacan fare, of course not without eateries representative of food from other parts of the country, and the odd ethnic restaurant such as Italian and Chinese. The latter constituted an attempt to attract locals, in addition to tourists who just weren’t interested in exploring the variations in dishes using corn, chilis and a rich array of herbs and spices.
Cause of the Change in Complexion to Restaurants in Oaxaca
Tourism to Oaxaca took a dramatic tumble during the latter half of 2006, as a result of a period of civil unrest which drew international media attention. Vacationers stopped coming to Oaxaca. The entire state of Oaxaca has never fully recovered. After 2006, came the US economic crisis, Swine Flu and the war between drug traffickers and the government of Mexico and the resultant violence and deaths, each spelling a decrease in tourism to both the city of Oaxaca, and the state’s coastal resorts such as Huatulco and Puerto Escondido.
It didn’t seem to matter that the drug – related deaths and violence were (and still are) essentially restricted to border towns, or that Swine Flu came and went fairly quickly. Tourism has continued to suffer, and thus, many existing restaurants in Oaxaca have had to adapt to survive; and new entries on the Oaxaca restaurant scene have wisely been catering to more of a local crowd.
One former stalwart on the tourist circuit, El Naranjo, simply shut down in the wake of 2006, it is suggested because it either chose to not attract a local clientele, or was unable to do so. Its subsequent owner tried a Oaxacan menu; tourism was still weak and he was unable to lure locals. Perhaps he should have gone Italian.
Italian is Only One Manifestation of the Change to Restaurants in Oaxaca
In addition to the above – noted Italian restaurants which have recently opened in Oaxaca, over this same period of time two other Italian eateries have appeared in the north suburb of San Felipe del Agua. The area, noted for its lofty land values and homes of the wealthier residents of Oaxaca, as well as the nearby neighborhood known as Colonia Reforma, have both witnessed a plethora of new coffee shop openings, such as Cafeina and Italian Coffee Company. Once again, they cater to mainly Mexicans. They continue to open in the downtown core of Oaxaca where they attract tourists as well.
Over the years the odd Chinese restaurant has opened and closed in Oaxaca, but now the number of Oriental establishments appears to be on an upward curve, with Thai amongst them. Can comida from Sechwan be far behind? El Morocco Moroccan restaurant opened its doors in early 2010, and his been thriving ever since. Sushi is now available eat in, take out, and home delivery on motorcycle.
The Future of Oaxacan Restaurants in Oaxaca
It is indeed sad to witness traditional Oaxacan restaurants closing their doors. It does not bode well for tourism, in the sense that Oaxaca appears to be allowing one of its major draws, its culinary greatness, to slowly slip away. One solution is to find a way to convince tourists to patronize small eateries serving up the best of Oaxacan cuisine in the most modest of dining environments - traditionally shunned by Americans and Canadians concerned about gastrointestinal afflictions.
For residents of Oaxaca, this metamorphosis to coffee houses with high priced java, and to ethnic cuisine, has been a welcome change, especially since the quality of fare of the latter has by and large been stellar, in particular at restaurants such as Vieja Lira and El Morocco. But if tourism continues to remain soft, one must wonder for how much longer Oaxacans, relying directly or indirectly on visitors from abroad for their economic survival, will be able to support the existence of the new Oaxacan restaurant.
Alvin Starkman - Alvin Starkman runs Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast. He is a paid contributing writer for Mexico Today (http://www.mexicotoday.org).
