Azucena Zapoteca, the smartly decorated restaurant and gallery in San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca, opened its doors to great fanfare in October, 2004. The brainchild of noted woodcarver Jacobo Ángeles and his talented wife María del Carmen Mendoza, the restaurant quickly gained a strong following of tour guides and drivers wanting to ensure that their tourist clients – traveling to the alebrije village, as well as to cotton textile town Santo Tomás Jalieza and the market at Ocotlán – ate quality, traditional Oaxacan food, without fear of gastrointestinal sequelae, in a comfortable and pleasing environment.
History of Azucena Zapoteca, Oaxacan Restaurant in San Martín Tilcajete
Azucena Zapoteca is located on the highway to Ocotlán (known for its Friday market), at the entrance to the carved wooden animal village of San Martín Tilcajete, beyond the black pottery village of San Bartolo Coyotepec, and en route to other towns and villages boasting vibrant craft traditions. The restaurant quickly gained a loyal following; so much so that within a year or so of opening, manager Billy, and chef Israel (María’s brothers) suggested an expansion project. Instead of a combined restaurant and gallery, two separate entities were then created: a gallery featuring quality crafts from Oaxaca and further abroad, and a new and expanded restaurant with seating both indoors and along an outdoor wraparound patio.
This writer has patronized the restaurant upwards of 100 times over the course of five years, usually with tourists wanting a relaxing mid-afternoon meal within the context of visiting villages along the tour route. There has been nothing but accolades regarding the restaurant’s ambiance and fare, from approximately 300 travelers. One would be hard-pressed to claim such consistent praise, even with respect to the more well-known high-end eateries in the city of Oaxaca such as Casa Oaxaca and Los Danzantes, or the middle-of-the-road yet immensely popular La Biznaga.
Suggested Plates at Oaxacan Restaurant Azucena Zapoteca in San Martín Tilcajete
Upon seating, complimentary glasses of mezcal are almost always offered. Mezcal is the locally produced alcoholic beverage of choice for Oaxacans. Give it a try. After ordering, waiters customarily offer a soup-of-the-day, again gratis. Naturally every dish on the menu cannot possibly be superb, so it’s indeed perplexing that patrons will occasionally select something other than Azucena’s signature dishes in the face of a suggestion to choose a particular tried-and-true plate. However one cannot go too far wrong selecting anything from the menu.
On a recent visit to Azucena Zapoteca, five of our group of six ordered the four dishes which have consistently won praise from Oaxacans, other Mexican nationals, and visitors to the state from mainly Canada and the United States. Each plate is worthy of brief description:
- Chile en nogada is a dish traditionally served in restaurants during the late summer and early autumn, coinciding with the anniversary of Mexico’s independence in mid-September. But it’s served year round at Azucena Zapoteca. The plate consists of a chile poblano stuffed with seasonal fruit and pork or chicken, topped with and floating on a walnut cream sauce and garnished with pomegranate seeds. The green chile, white sauce, and red pomegranate represent the colors of the Mexican flag, and hence the plate’s popularity around this time of year.
- Azucena Zapoteca is a vegetarian dish consisting of a battered chile de agua stuffed with cheese and cooked vegetables, swimming in a tangy green salsa and garnished with edible yellow squash blossoms.
- Pajarito is similar to Azucena Zapoteca to the extent of having the same salsa and garnish, but the main protein is cecina (thinly sliced pork dusted with chile), wrapped around a stuffing of melted Oaxacan string cheese (quesillo) and once again legumes.
- Alcatraz Zapoteco is a variation on the above pork plate. But with the Alcatraz it’s thinly sliced beef (tasajo) enveloping the cheese and veggies, resting on a light bean purée.
If forced to choose a weak link, it would be the final dish, but only because tasajo tends to be somewhat tough, at least as compared to the more tender cecina.
Food & Entertainment for Children at This Oaxacan Restaurant
Some are lucky enough to travel with children who are consistently well-behaved, whose broad interests are virtually insatiable, and who will eat everything on the menu. But most are not so fortunate, especially when one wishes to spend a full ten-hour day at sights all of which cannot possibly be of interest to children.
Azucena Zapoteca is one of the stops the children will rejoice having visited:
- The menu includes fries, hot dogs and hamburgers, specifically for the kids (but ask for the mayo, relish, ketchup, mustard, and lettuce & tomato on the side unless the children like their meals “with the works”).
- As well as a regular restaurant kitchen, Azucena Zapoteca has an outdoor grill area where for the asking children can have a lesson on making tortillas over open flame on the comal.
- And best of all, there’s a children’s playground within sight of the outdoor dining area.
Alvin Starkman - Alvin Starkman runs Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast. He is a paid contributing writer for Mexico Today (http://www.mexicotoday.org).
