Chile en Nogada!
This place is amazing. It's a beautiful little hole-in-the-wall restaurant located right by the El Perian Mercado in Puebla. They serve Chile en Nogada year round! For those of you who are unfamiliar, Chile en Nogada is one of the national dishes of Mexico. It's one of the lesser dishes that makes Puebla famous. It's a poblano pepper (not spicy) stuffed with ground meat, potatoes and spices, covered with a walnut sauce, and sprinkled with cilantro and pomegranate seeds, somewhat resembling a Mexican flag with the colors of red, white and green. It's a sweet dish, with a delectable, creamy smooth walnut sauce that is beyond delicious. It's one of my favorite Mexican dishes. It's also not easy to find, since the walnut sauce is so complicated to make. Usually, Mexican restaurants only serve it around Mexican Independence Day, which is in September. However, La Fonda serves it every day of the year!
We also got a chancla dish, which is Spanish for "flip-flop," or "sandal." It's like a open faced sandwich, covered in a chile meat sauce, that was earthy and slightly spicy. Again, a delicious dish.
The service here was fast and friendly, although they knew no English. Our food was prepared rather quickly, especially seeing how complicated the Chile en Nogada dish was. They didn't deliver the dishes simultaneously, like restaurants usually do- by the time my dish was delivered, my dining companion's dish was finished.
The restaurant was clean, and looked pretty. It had about twenty pictures of the famed Pancho Villa on the wall, and lots of the Puebla ceramics on display. The prices were quite reasonable, especially considering the quality of the food being served.
I opted to take home a full kilogram of the mole sauce, which they have in to go containers. However, the to go container leaked all over the mezcal that I bought, making a big mess, but I guess I can't fault La Fonda for that.
The restrooms here were impeccably clean. The smell of cleaning supplies wafted into the nose, which made me feel cleaner in turn. The bathroom was impossibly small, where your knees touch your chin when sitting on the john, but it was clean, clean, clean.
Overall, this was a brilliant choice for lunch. The price was right, and the food was out of sight. I will certainly return! read more