La Comida Mexicana

When I decided to come to Mexico to study abroad, the food was one of my biggest worries. I had never really loved Mexican food. I didn't hate it, but I pretty much only liked quesadillas. My fears were foolish because the food is incredible! And going out to eat is much more fun now because I'm not just picking an item at random of the menu and hoping it will be good. I know enough food words to be able to make an educated selection, and so far, I haven't gone wrong. Below are some photos of some of the best meals I've had in Guanajuato:

Quesadillas con jitomates y aguacate: quesadillas are the best when you put the avocado inside the tortilla with the cheese. The cheese is different here and so much better.

Sopa de crema de frijol: Basically this is cream of bean soup and it is served with strips of fried tortillas and topped with queso.

Flautas con pollo and topped with guacamole: Flautas have meat inside the tortillas and they are fried and served with lettuce, tomato and some sort of sauce. In this case it was guacamole, but often it is crumbled cheese and a cream that is used for everything here.

Humbertinas con queso: These delicious things are cheese knots that have been fried. They make a wonderful snack and are easy to share with a friend.

Camaron y scampi: Pasta with a scampi sauce, served with vegetables and shrimp.

Tacos Dorados con papas y bistek: tacos filled with potatos and fried to make the tortillas crispy. It was served with ground beef cooked with onions and topped with lettuce, tomato, cheese and crema de vaca. This was probably my favorite meal that I've had here so far.

All the food in the pictures was from different restaurants, but we also eat much of the same things at my host family's house. The food is a little more kid-friendly because of the little ones, but we still enjoy quesadillas, enchiladas and flautas on a regular basis.

So, all this to say that the food is delicious. I still can't really handle the spicy flavor that some of the dishes and salsas have, but I simply avoid them when I can, and I'm good to go. It never ceases to amaze me that in spite of the overwhelming presence of tortillas, chicken, tomatos, and beans, everything has it's own flavor, and I don't feel like I'm eating the same food everyday. I am hoping to learn how to make some of these dishes so that I can make them for my friends and family when I return.