There are many non-monger things about Atlixco to reccomend it.

FOOD - The food sure is different:

Cecina is a beef jerky type of meat sliced very thin, but cooked until it is juicy.

It is served from one of the 8 stalls along side each other in the municipal market - located in mid-block on Avenida Independencia between "3 Poniente" and "5 Poniente". It is great stuff.

As they sell it plain, I coaxed the owner (Doña Filo) into making me a torta out of it. There was a sudden scurry of girls heading off in all directions to buy the bread, the cheese, and the tomato & onion to make the torta.

Indian ladies sell Tlacloyos, a kind of tortilla folded around its contents (in Atlixco, usually frijol). In some locales (Teziutlan) it resembles a small gordita and might be stuffed with a paste made from garden peas or avocado.

There are a few places that sell Huesitos de Capulin (a hard seed resembling that of a cherry, with a small edible seed inside), at about half the price I pay in Tijuana. Even though they are common in Puebla, I got about the same reaction out of the girls that I get in Tijuana - they love the damn things.

I also bought an ear of Huitlacoche-infected corn and had a fonda in the market prepare me a couple of quesadillas from it. I had never tried it fresh before. I haven't seen fresh huitlacoche (also spelled Cuitlacoche) in Tijuana in years. It's some ugly looking stuff but sure tastes good.

The old refrain goes "Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I think I'll go eat worms." Of course it's a popular song in Spanish, on the juke box in many mexican bars. Another part of the song goes "You pull off the head, suck out the guts...."

Now I know why. I encountered a indian lady selling something odd looking. At first I thought it was Huitlacoche, but asked the lady what they were and she said "Gusano de Árbol". When I asked how you eat them she popped one in her mouth whole. But later someone else told me you take off the head before you eat them. Some people take out the guts and throw them away, other just eat the whole thing minus the head.

The correct name is Cuetla, and it appears to be a (almost completely dried out) caterpillar. Not bad, I ate a few.

I took both the Huesitos de Capulin and the Cuetlas to Bar Chubasco with me. Almost all of the girls wanted the huesitos, but the Cuetlas really separated the men from the boys.

Only one girl (Marina) and one bar patron wanted the Cuetlas. She scarfed down more than a few.

She was raised in the country, and had eaten them before.

I also visited a pulqueria, but I don't remember where it was located. It was my first time trying pulque and I didn't care for it. But I also detest beer.

I also found Chapulines (dried locusts) in the market, at a price far below that which I paid to eat them in an expensive Tijuana restaurant (La Diferencia). I sampled them again, and again I didn't prefer them.

Chiles en Nogada seem to be the "National Food" of Atlixco. They had a Chiles en Nogada elimination (contest/exhibition) at the kiosco in the Zócolo and sold them afterwards. I bought a few and took them home to the girls (the hookers working out of my hotel).

I plan more food explorations today.
(Yes, that's why they call me Paunch-o.)

MUSIC - I attended a triple threat concert; Sonora Santanera, Acapulco Tropical, and Sonora Dinamita. 6 hours for a big 50 pesos (5 bucks) per ticket. I was able to put myself right in front of the stage.

My puta date stood me up but I had a great time anyway. I got tired and left before Sonora Santanera played.

I went for the sole purpose of seeing Acapulco Tropical (and didn't get to hear them play "Mar y Espuma" as I left early), but what I ended up really enjoying was Sonora Dinamita. Their music could make a dead man want to dance. I suggest that - if you get a chance - see them.

Sonora Dinamita has been around a long, long time. I've never seen them, but their music has been very popular in deep South Texas and the Laredo-Reynosa corridor for years. They kick it real good.

What I want to know is if the big hill in the center of the town is a covered pyramid or not.

A REAL STEAK

If you have ever eaten beef in México, you know that their idea of a steak is vastly different than ours.

The Gringa at the juice stand (actually she's half mexican, born in the states of an American mother, raised in the states until age ten, afterwards in Atlixco) said "If you want a REAL steak, go to my uncle's place in the mercado, he's got rib eye, T-bone, New York, you name it."

It is "La Magnolia" (de Jacobo Palacios G.", [Asador Ahumador de Carnes Finas - Cortes Tipo Americano], Interior del Mercado Benito Juárez, Área de Comedores, Atlixco, Puebla.)

You enter the mercado from the front - on the left side in the area of the eateries. Go about 8 or 10 feet past "Puesto de Cecina Doña Filo" [neon sign] and turn left, walk 10 or 15 paces and it's on your right - a little hard to find.

I had already eaten and was full, but couldn't resist the glowing accounts of his niece.

Well, he didn't have rib eye that day, but he had T-bone. He pulled out a -bone literally two feet thick and said "you want about this much..." (indicating 3/4 inch with his fingers) and i said "yeh..".

He cooked it with a very flavorful garlic sauce, and when he delivered it to my plate, it was good-sized. Accompanied by squash and onions (I passed on the salad, but his niece bragged on it, too.).

It was absolutely delicious - and I am not much of a steak person. Better than many I have consumed in the states.

If I get back to Atlixco again this trip, I definitely plan to return with an appetite.

With the 3 sodas I consumed, the tab was 120 pesos - in my opinion well worth it.

Sr. P.

I had no idea that there was anyone in Puebla that could cut and/or cook a steak. Next time I'm in Puebla city I'll make the trip to check it out.

FWIW, I don't like pulque either, and I do like beer. To me, it's more like one of those foo-foo mixed drinks--either you love it or hate it.

Glad to hear you're getting out of TJ.

Dem Proud Gnomes

I returned to Atlixco and had another steak - this time I was hungry. Worth the trouble.

The salad is nothing special.