There was so much good food in Puebla that it would be hard to choose a favorite. Cemitas comes close. This ridiculously big sandwich seems to stay the same size no matter how many bites you take.
My hostess Nuria had to call her husband to remind her of the name of the place she likes best. Both Nuria and Fernando pride themselves on knowing the best places to go for Poblano street food. I think they could write a book.
They both agreed that this place was the best. The workers were giving me dirty looks as I photographed the mayhem and I thought this was odd until I saw the signs posted all over that said No Photos! I guess their sandwich ingredients are a closely guarded secret.
All of the sandiches contained the weird herb papaloquelite which tastes like mint, gasoline and dirt all at the same time. On its own, it’s not so nice but teamed with meat, it’s a real treat.
I thought when they asked if I wanted pata they meant duck. They didn’t. Duck is pato. Pata is leg but it’s really a not so pleasant gelatinous pig’s foot. I tried but I couldn’t finish it and ended up ordering a milanesa.
Do’t you think a stand with these would do well here in the states?
I think it would, er, does! Where I live in Philadelphia, there is a boon of Mexican restaurants (with roots in Puebla and elsewhere) serving magnificent tortas and cemitas. In fact, right next to the…notorious cheesesteakers Pat’s & Geno’s, a Mexican restaurant (La Lupe) produces a sandwich that completely outclasses the overdone waste of cheap shaved meat that Pat and Geno have the gall to call a sandwich. Your pictures give me yet another reason to visit Puebla.
Mexican street/market food, from all regions, is just unbeatable. I always try to explain this to friends who have never traveled in Mexico, and there’s really no way to talk about it – you have to eat it and try all kinds of different things to really get how beautiful, flavorful and varied it is. And healthy, I would even argue.
it’s funny, we don’t have many Poblanos here in California. most of the Mexicans here are from jalisco, Michoacan and some from Oaxaca. So the cuisine in Puebla was very new to me. Michael, I’d never even heard the word “cemita” until I was in Puebla.
Joanna, I think you are right. And i use some common sense but I wouldn’t call myself cautious and, knock wood, I’ve never gotten sick from the food.
Here in Chicago there is a fabulous restaurant called Taqueria Puebla, with the most delicious Cemitas outside of Puebla. They are well chronicled at http://www.lthforum.com and by doing a simple search for “cemitas” or “taqueria puebla”.
Let me know when you plan to visit Chicago and I will be sure to get your fan club out to do a taqueria crawl…
Steve, we are going to Puebla at the end of December, and would love to have the name (Las Poblanitas?) and address of that cemitas place. It looks like it’s in a mercado.
Gracias y saludos,
Mike
In Chicago with have Cemitas Puebla which was recently featured on Food Network’s Diners Drive-in’s and Dives. I haven’t actually tried it yet but it is very close to my house. I plan to visit it this weekend. http://www.cemitaspuebla.com/index.htm