Coapan

Sometime, (we can’t remember when) someone (we can’t remember that either) recommended that we go to a tiny village north of Ahuacatlan and have a buffet brunch there. The restaurant is only open on the weekends and only for the morning. This is our last weekend here so we decided to go.

We hopped on the bus to Jala, 7 km away, and then took a taxi, 6 km away, to the very small village of Coapan.

Coapan is located at the foot of the huge volcano and the whole area is very picturesque. This is a prime agricultural area due to the volcanic nature of the soil. We passed greenhouse after greenhouse filled with sweet peppers that are sold to the U.SA. The largest cobs of corn in the world are grown here too.

This two street village only has about 300 people living in it and they are either cow farmers, make cheese or work in the only restaurant in town, El Rincon del Campesino. That’s where we were headed.

When we went, it was packed but of course they had room for two more. It’s Mexico.

The restaurant seating is outdoors under a giant Tamarind tree.

A young lady gave us a tour of all of the foods offered and explained the procedure. We were supposed to pick up a pottery plate and filled it with delicious traditional foods. We could go back for as much as we wanted.

One area had all the foods, another all the interesting condiments and cheeses, a third area had cut fruit and a fourth table had fruit drinks and Cafe de Olla, a delicious coffee made with cinnamon and possibly sweetened with an unrefined sugar made from boiled sugarcane called piloncillo.

All the food was cooked over wood fires and bbqs made out of lava rock. It is quite a place. The cheeses are made on site. Everyone was very kind and loved showing us what they were cooking. Even the guests explained what we were eating - the cactus paddles, the chiles, the traditional mixed dishes, etc.

After a wonderful meal, they called a taxi for us (I think that there is only 1 in town) and while we waited, we were treated to a shot of tequila, lemon and salt. They make the tequila on site too.

Next door, there was a tiny shop that had small items made of lava rock. Chris bought a pumice stone for his feet. Authentic!

As usual in this area, we were the only outsiders but were made to feel very welcome. We are happy that we made the effort to go to Coapan. Maybe, just maybe, I will attempt a Mexican breakfast when we get home…if I can find cactus paddles, handmade tortillas, homemade salsa ingredients, and so on…Leggi altro