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�Viva Mexico!: The quick word on Xochitl's Pre-Hispanic menu
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�Viva Mexico!: The quick word on Xochitl's Pre-Hispanic menu
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Earlier this evening, Team Meal Ticket got an opportunity to sample a few dishes from chef Dionicio Jimenez's Pre-Hispanic Menu, a limited-time four-course prix-fixe designed to honor Benito Juarez, who served as the nation of Mexico's first president from 1858 to 1872. The menu (pictures coming in the morning see below) will be offered from March 17 to March 21 (Juarez's birthday) at Jimenez's Xochitl (408 S. Second St., 215-238-7280, xochitlphilly.com).
Juarez placed political power in the hands of his 19th-century kinsmen by founding a liberal political party that dissolved the stranglehold the military and the Roman Catholic Church had on pre-democratic Mexico. With the assistance of Monroe Doctrine-rocking U.S. President Andrew Johnson, he led a extended fight against conservative-sponsored European monarchical rule. Cinco de Mayo, which most of us here in the States celebrate by slamming Cuervo, eating nachos and yelling, is truly intended to honor Juarez-led Mexico's victory over the French forces that grossly outnumbered them in 1862's Battle of Puebla.
What better way to celebrate the man's legacy than by eating the stuff his people ate?
Chef Jimenez, who got the CP thumbs up last March for his Frida Kahlo-inspired prix-fixe menu, looked to many indigeneous ingredients to come up the Pre-Hispanic menu. This means that he's tossing around a lot of stuff that Americans are simply not used to seeing at their typical Mexican eatery — think grasshoppers, veal brains, frog legs and crayfish. "Back in the day, nobody wanted to eat this," said Jimenez of the atypical foodstuffs, which bore the stigma of being peasant food. Today, however, the sheer scarcity of these ingredients means they're rare deliciacies, especially if you're a Mexican food fan in Philly. "Now, everybody wants to eat them."
Tacos de Chapulines y Guacamole, or grasshopper tacos, boasted a pile of the leggy little dudes on a tortilla accompanied with either a chipotle or salsa verde drizzle. The unexpected sweetness of the insects, which were sourced from Oaxaca, is thanks to the hoppers living in avocado trees, Jimenez said. Sesos de Ternera Empanizado, breaded and fried veal brains, were another silky, crunchy Meal Ticket fave. (Does eating brains make you smarter? Hope so.) We also dug into some supple frog legs, cooked up simply in butter and garlic; a sneakily spicy monkfish-laden tostada; and a moist, nearly latke-like Mexican broccoli cake paired with a rich black mole sauce.
Check out Jimenez's full Pre-Hispanic menu after the jump.
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[...] having a little issue with the owner of the restaurant and the owner of the building,” said Xochitl chef/owner Dionicio Jimenez, who co-owns Paxia with his brother-in-law Ismael Torrez. “The lawyers are starting to figure [...]
[...] … and you’ve got the limited-time Benito Juarez dinner at Xochitl, ending tomorrow night. Chef/owner Dionicio Jimenez’s pre-Hispanic menu honors the guy who kicked the French out and became united Mexico’s first president. Meal Ticket previewed the menu in February, and it knocked our gringo socks off. [...]
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