Let's be real: yelpers have a little fetish for any sort of mom and pop establishment, regardless of how good it is. There have been many times that I've visited such a joint with a five star rating on yelp and had a two star experience, only to look at the faces of the adorably sweet old couple that owns the place, and walking out knowing I wouldn't have the heart to leave a bad review.
I fully expected Cremería La Ordeña to be such a place, but I was wrong. This place is five stars.
I'm trying hard to work my way through Diana Kennedy's "The Art of Mexican Cooking." You'd think a place like Cremería La Ordeña, with its range of high quality, well priced ingredients specific to varying regions of Mexico, would be an asset on this task, but no. It's not.
Why on earth would I spend 12+ hours making mole "the right way" when someone else has done that for me? This is not factory produced stuff that's been put in a jar - this stuff was made the right way by folks who have grown up with the cuisine and spared no expense or effort. And why would I spend five minutes over a food processor, taking little tastes, adding bits of this and that to balance the perfect salsa? Again, Cremería La Ordeña has done it for me. Several varieties, in fact. And their extra spicy salsa doesn't taste grassy at all, like many extra spicy things do.
I love coming here and trying new things. I swooned over their nata, which is a Mexican version of clotted cream that's popular all over Latin America, and one day, on a health kick, I came here and decided to buy several kinds of dried beans. They have a ton of bean varieties.
Despite being a small establishment, they have a rotating assortment of ingredients, so there are always more things to buy. I haven't found a Mexican grocery store I like more, and I don't imagine I will any time soon. read more