Retire Early
Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler
In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age
of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this
financially independent lifestyle, they invite you
to take advantage of their wisdom and experience. |
|
Casa Oaxaca
Reforma
Oaxaca, Mexico
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
The
Mexican
Colonial City of Oaxaca is known for its cuisine.
Restaurants abound and food choices run from
fusion to indigenous.
We read about Casa Oaxaca
located in the pleasant neighborhood of Reforma, about a 22 minute walk from our
hotel.
The online menu looked very attractive, so we
wanted to try it out.
Entrance to Casa Oaxaca
It was actually a bit
warmer than we thought when we started out walking to Casa Oaxaca. Adding to
that it was a bit uphill and there was little shade.
Arriving at the entrance,
we were hot, thirsty, and ready for lunch.
Happy to see shade and open
doors, we wandered in to be seated.
Indoor/outdoor seating
Waitstaff were just setting up, so we
lingered around until we were allowed to enter.
The special board was not written up yet, but
after a short interim, we were seated at a nice corner table against the wall.
Akaisha and Billy at Casa Oaxaca
Here we are, and ready for our beverages!
Waiter and his ingredients to make fresh salsa
Mexican restaurants sometimes offer tableside
service in making a fresh salsa especially to order.
Here you see the various ingredients,
including several fire-roasted chiles, roasted tomatoes, sea salt and chopped
garlic.
The volcanic mortar is in the center and you
can see the volcanic rock pestle at about 9 o'clock in the photo.
Waiter is splitting an aguachile pepper for the freshly made salsa
While we waited for our
food to be cooked and delivered, our waiter proceeded to make our
individual-styled salsa.
We chose a dry dark chile
for the smoky flavor and a roasted aguachile, roasted red tomato, onion, cilantro,
and garlic.
When the waiter put a
little water into the salsa, he teased us saying
that it was mezcal!
Silly me, I believed him!
We
think the salsa was one of the best things we ate here.
Waiter mixing the ingredients in a volcanic mortar
The waiter cut and smashed
our chosen ingredients and then continued to mix by hand.
Yes, of course wearing
gloves in a food situation is sanitary. But in all seriousness, some chiles are
very hot, and to have that chile oil on your hands can cause blisters. If
one is careless and touches their face or eye while having this chile oil on
them... a doctor visit may be in order!
Don't ask me how I know...
a friend told me!!
A closer look at the finished salsa
Here you can see the
roasted bits from the chile peppers, diced onions, cilantro and the seeds from
the chiles.
What flavor!!
Fried tortilla with beans and day cheese as an
appetizer
This fried blue corn
tortilla with a soft, sweetish cheese on top was an appetizer to share. It was
delicious with our custom-made salsa!
Grilled beet salad
We shared a salad of grilled beets, grilled apple, goat cheese, water cress,
orange slices, both pumpkin and sesame seeds with a bit of pureed mango for contrast.
It was lovely, and the presentation was
beautiful.
The contrast of flavors was well thought out.
The sweetness of the mango and beet against the tartness of the orange slices
was a good meld. The slightly salty goat cheese also added distinction, and the
peppery watercress pulled off the complete set of flavors.
Lechon with beans and house salad
As I mentioned earlier, the special board was
not up at the time we ordered our meal. Had it been, we would have ordered the
rack of lamb.
To add to the main course switch-a-roo, Billy
had considered the roasted octopus (which is a specialty) but for some reason,
we were "talked into" ordering the lechon by several different waiters.
Lechon is a baby piglet and is normally very
moist, delicious and falls off the bone. We have eaten it many times over our
years in Mexico, so we went with the various waiters' suggestions for us to try
it.
This was the first time we had lechon with a
crispy outside and that was very interesting. However, the piglet was a bit dry
and hard to cut, not the fall-off-the-bone style we were accustomed to.
This meal was served with salad and red beans.
Crispy tortillas in a basket on the left.
Our Bill
Before tip, our bill came to about $30USD for
the two of us.
The special board
At last the special board!
Listed are grilled marlin, tuna, rack of lamb
and fajitas of Rib Eye.
Oh... had we only known!
The next time we visit Casa Oaxaca, we'll
come a bit later and check out these offerings of the day!
Would we return? Yes.
Casa Oaxaca Café Jazmines 5
18 Colonio Reforma
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, C.P. 68050
Tele: 951. 502. 6017
Website:
https://www.casaoaxacacafe.com/php/spa/index.php#comidaYCena
For more information on Oaxaca, CLICK HERE
For more information and photos of Mexico,
Click Here
About the Authors
Retire
Early Lifestyle appeals to a different
kind of person – the person who prizes their
independence, values their time, and who doesn’t
want to mindlessly follow the crowd.
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